AUSTIN, TEXAS -Â At approximately 8:29AM local time, Eric Kipkemei Chirchir, 29, crossed the finish line of the Statesmen Capitol 10K run, only 29 minutes and 24 seconds after the race started. Two hours and 28 minutes later, 79 year old Virginia Cisneros crossed that same finish line. Two different people with two different stories, each accomplishing the same goal.
Chirchir, who is originally from Kenya, competes professionally in races — marathons, 10Ks, road races, and more — across the country.
Cisneros, from Kyle, Texas, is an H-E-B employee who was competing in her first race.
Though different in nearly every way, Cisneros and Chirchir both entered today’s Capitol 10K with the same goal, “To finish as fast as I possibly can.”
For Chirchir, that meant running the 6.2 miles from the Austin American-Statesmen offices to Auditorium Shores, at a 4:44 mile pace. His 29:24 mark set a new record for the race in its 36th year.
“I felt great today,” said Chirchir. “Everything — the weather, the course — it just set up for me perfectly. It means a lot to me to win this race. Racing in Austin, my new home, it means a lot.”
Chirchir moved to Austin two years ago, but continues to race in national events.
“I love to run. It reminds me of when I was back home, in Kenya,” said Chirchir. “It just brings me so much joy.”
Cisneros, on the other hand, ran each mile at a 27 minute 48 second pace. Though she finished her first mile only a minute and a half before Chirchir finished the entire race, Mrs. Cisneros could not have been happier with her performance.
“It felt so great to be outside, to be exercising. I don’t get to do that much at my age,” said Cisneros. “My goal for today was to finish this race, and I did, and that is something that I am really proud of.”
Though she walked nearly the entire race, with 50 meters left to the finish line, Cisneros broke into a slow trot to cross the line, where she was greeted with a huge cheer by the remaining spectators.
“I wanted people to know that I can still move. That age does not limit me as much as people think,” said Cisneros. “Will I regret this in the morning? Most likely. But I wouldn’t change a thing.”
  [Matthew Reese reporting; 04.07.2013 at 2:18pm]
