BAA 5K Sees More Than 8,000 Runners Despite Weather

BOSTON (CBS) -- Despite the poor weather, over 8,000 runners took part in Saturday morning's Boston Athletic Association 5K.

Hagos Gebrhiwet of Ethiopia won the men's race, defending his title, and Monicah Ngige of Kenya won the women's. In the wheelchair division, Francisco Sanclemente of Colombia and Eliza Ault-Connell of Australia each set course records, finishing in 11:24 and 12:16, respectively.

Gebrhiwet broke the tape in 13:42, followed by Ben True in 13:44 and Justyn Knight of Canada in 13:46. On the women's side, Ngige (15:16, a personal best) was followed by Kenya's Violah Lagat (15:29) and Ethiopia's Gotytom Gebreslase (15:35).

"I trained very well," said Gebrhiwet. "The only thing I did not think about was the rain. I hoped for a faster time. I'm sure next year … I will improve my time."

Kenya's Violah Lagat at one point had a 20-meter leader over Ngige.

"She was strong, and she was moving so fast. I keep moving, and I make my speed to be a little bit faster, and I catch up. But that is not the end – you have to keep moving," Ngige said.

Among other notable finishers was Adrianne Haslet, a survivor of the tragic acts of 2013, who has already pledged to run the 2020 Boston Marathon as part of the B.A.A.'s Para Athlete Division.

"It was all about having fun out there, and I'm really proud of what I did," said Haslet, who finished in 32:30. "This was well-earned today. It was emotional, for sure."

The BAA 5K serves as the first race of the BAA Distance Medley, a three-race series that also includes June's BAA 10K and October's BAA Half Marathon. Athletes can win $50,000 for winning three of four events in a calendar year, with the Boston Marathon as the fourth.