Spokane, WA—2002 Bloomsday champion Colleen De Reuck’s time of 38:53 is the fastest 12 kilometers ever run by an American female in women’s-only competition, according to USA Track & Field, the sport’s governing body. The organization ratified De Reuck’s record during its annual convention in Greensboro, North Carolina, earlier this month.
While Bloomsday is a mixed gender event, the fact that elite women start 15 minutes before the rest of the field means that the women compete unescorted by male runners, which therefore allows times to qualify for women’s-only record status. Women’s-only competition is considered the gold standard for women’s road race records. De Reuck, originally from South Africa, is a naturalized U.S. citizens who lives in Boulder, Colorado. She finished second to Russian Lyudmila Biktasheva in Bloomsday ’03.
USA Track & Field has also confirmed that four runners in Bloomsday ’03 set single-age 12-K records–June Machala of Spokane (59:44, age 72 female record), John Keston of McMinnville, Oregon (58:44, age 78 male record), Regina Joyce of Lynnwood, Washington (45:15, age 46 female record), and Colleen De Reuck (40:22, age 39 female record). Machala and Keston were timed using watches that were operated independently of the overall Bloomsday timing system to ensure record status.
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