Pitarresi: Surprise, surprise for Kosakowski

Jackie Kosakowski ran a very good Falling Leaves Road Race Sunday, and got a couple of surprises, to boot.

 

She finished the 14-kilometer division in 53:49, certainly one of the better times ever in the 34-year-old race and better than all but nine men in the race.

 

“I was kind of surprised, actually,” said the former Sauquoit Valley and College of William & Mary star, who was making her first start at 14K after running the 5K many times. “I felt strong. I felt strong all the way through.”

 

But she didn’t win. Claudia Camargo of Danbury, Conn. did, in 52:35, a pretty hot time. Not that Kosawkowski knew who Camargo was. It seems no one did. However, Kosakowski later went searching on the Internet, as did a few others, and found that Camargo is a former Argentine national champion at several distances, a former New York Road Runners runner of the year, and that she qualified for the Olympic marathon this year, although she did not run.

 

“I  said, ‘Oh, my God, I don’t feel so bad finishing second to a 2:36 marathoner,’” she said. “That’s funny.”

 

Kosakowski, who counted on running about 6:30 miles, actually covered the distance at 6:12 pace, and came from way back to pass Kristin White of Manlius and Katie Danner of Alpine.

 

Kosakowski, 25, is working as a physical therapy assistant and coaching cross country and track and field at Hanover High School, north of Richmond, Va. She is racing regularly, and working hard at it.

 

“My mileages are consistently high for a change,” she said.

 

Continued good luck running to Kosakowski, certainly one of the area’s best high school runners seven or eight years ago. She appears to have a racing future in front of her if she wants