Despite the fact that she had a baby just eight months ago and ran in a 7-mile race four days earlier, Libbie Hickman figured this was the year she might win the Deseret News women's 10K race after finishing fourth and third in her two previous appearances.

She would have won Wednesday morning's race with an excellent time of 31:36, except for last-minute entry Esther Kiplagat, whose final kick edged Hickman with a time of 31:31, fourth-best in race history.

Kiplagat, a 35-year-old from Kenya, decided to run Sunday night and turned in her entry form Tuesday. Her manager said she would have to pay her own way, so she caught a ride with some fellow Kenyans living in Albuquerque and drove up Tuesday. Kiplagat got her money back and more by earning the $2,500 first prize.

"I'm so happy about it," she said in broken English. "It was fun — very nice for me. I enjoyed the race."

Just three weeks ago in the Peachtree race in Atlanta, Hickman had edged Kiplagat, as they finished 8th and 10th, respectively.

Kiplagat jumped ahead early, running with the men's leaders for a mile before dropping back. About halfway through the race, Hickman caught her and they raced together for most of the next three miles. Then with about 2 tenths of a mile to go, Kiplagat surged ahead to win by perhaps 15 yards, one of the closest finishes ever in the women's 10K race.

"I knew it was going to be a tough race and I wanted to kick," said Hickman, who lives in Fort Collins, Colo. "When I challenged her, she stayed right with me. I thought I had another gear, but she had the other gear I didn't. Unfortunately she got me."

Although she didn't want to use it as an excuse, Hickman said racing Saturday in a seven-mile race in Davenport, Iowa, may have hurt her Wednesday.

"I knew my legs were a little fried from that," she said.

Kiplagat ran for Jackson State more than a decade ago and competed in the 1992 Olympics at Barcelona. Since then she started a family and has two children back in Eldoret, Kenya.

She has been in the United States since the July 4 race and was attracted to the Deseret News race after seeing Utah during the Winter Olympics.

"Everyone said it was wonderful and I was looking forward to coming," she said. "There's no snow, but I wanted to see the place." Grace Momanyi of New Jersey finished third in 32:31, Orem's Kara Ormond was fourth for the second straight year, in 33:24, while Nicole Hunt of Missoula, Mont., finished fifth in 33:32.

For Hickman, it was disappointing not to win, but overall she was pleased as she walked around Liberty Park with her husband, who had their baby on his back.

"I really wanted to win," she said. "I was fourth, then third and now second. At least I'm moving up."

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E-MAIL: sor@desnews.com