Carlisle race approaching

One of the next races on the local calendar is a terrific one.

On Saturday, Aug. 25, the 10th annual Thomas Chamberas 6K Cross Country Race will begin at 9 a.m. at Great Brook Farm in Carlisle.

I’ve run this race several times and the course is one of the best around. The entry fee is a very reasonable $20. Proceeds assist the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, as well as the Hannah Randolph Memorial Fund.

The first 150 entrants will receive a custom sports bottle. To enter the race, go to http://www.thomasxc.org

— BARRY SCANLON

Sanca can’t make finals at Olympics

LONDON — UMass Lowell graduate Ruben Sanca, representing his native Cape Verde, was up against the best distance runners in the world when he placed 21st out of as many runners in the 5,000 meters preliminary round Wednesday morning at the Olympics.

The Dracut resident posted a time of 14:35.19, while Dejen Gebremeskal of Ethiopia won the heat as well as the overall preliminary in 13:15.15. Hayle Ibrahimov of Azerbaijan won the first section in 13:25.23.

The top five runners in each group, along with those with the top five times thereafter, advance to the 5,000 meters final Saturday at the Olympic Stadium. Bernard Lagat (13:15.45) and Galen Rupp (13:17.56) of the U.S., Mo Farah of Great Britain (13:26.00), and Gebremeskal each sealed their places in the final, as did Lopez Lomong (13:26.16) of the U.S.

“Ruben is handling it really well,” said head coach Gary Gardner. “This is not the race we envisioned. But based on the splits, Ruben would’ve been in the lead pack in the first heat after 3,000 meters, so there was some bad luck in the draw.”

Along with the top five qualifiers in each section, the next five fastest all came from the second heat. After two laps, Sanca started to fall behind, unable to keep pace with the lead pack.

“Ruben’s section went out fast,” Gardner said. “In fact, that was the fastest preliminary in Olympic history.”

Sanca was also hampered by an injury shortly before departing for London. Tendonitis in his knee, which also affected his hip, nearly kept him out of the preliminary. He spent nearly as much time in physical therapy as he did training after arriving in London. He was unable to train the week before he and Gardner left for London.

“Unless he was unable to walk, Ruben would’ve raced,” Gardner said.

Wednesday’s preliminary is a means to another goal: qualifying for Brazil 2016 in the marathon.

“We’re going to let his injury heal and then put together a new plan for the next 6-10 months,” Gardner said.

Sanca was a four-time All-American and a three-time New England Champion at UMass Lowell from 2005-10. He is the business manager for UMass Lowell’s Office of Student Affairs.

A native of Cape Verde, Sanca immigrated to Boston when he was 12.

— BARRY SCANLON

Scott tames Maine mountain

At Central Catholic High School, Andy Scott was known for his pole vaulting exploits and his hard hits on the football field.

Today, the 21-year-old Merrimac resident is turning into a top-notch trail runner.

Scott finished third out of 144 finishers over the weekend at the Bradbury Mountain Breaker, a challenging 9-mile trail race in Pownal, Maine.

Scott finished in a time of 1 hour, 4 minutes, 38 seconds.

He defeated everyone in the field except for winner Kevin Tilton of North Conway, N.H. (1:03:31) and runner-up Judson Cake of Bar Harbor, Maine (1:03:38).

The top local finisher, in 68th, was Tyngsboro resident James Banyas, in 1:37:33.

— BARRY SCANLON

GLRR workouts on Thursdays

The Greater Lowell Road Runners’ Summer/Fall Track workouts will be held each Thursday, from Aug. 9 to Oct. 11.

They will begin at 6:30 p.m. At least the first couple of workouts will be held at the McCarthy Middle School track in Chelmsford. There are two workout plans — one for marathoners and the other for weekend 5K runners.

Runners are asked to arrive by 6 p.m. in order to properly warm up.

The workouts are free to GLRR members and the organization invites other runners to join them. After the workouts, runners are invited to the Willow’s for pizza and or pasta.

— BARRY SCANLON

Kenyans steal show in Maine

Race founder Joan Benoit Samuelson ran. So did fellow United States running greats Bill Rodgers and Frank Shorter.

But stealing the show at the 15th TD Beach to Beacon 10K Road Race in Cape Elizabeth, Maine, on Saturday were a pair of Kenyans — men’s winner Stanley Biwott (27:59) and women’s champ Margaret Wangari (31:51).

The Kenyans were hardly affected by the hot and humid conditions. The race attracted approximately 6,000 runners. Samuelson, of course, is best known for winning the first Olympic women’s marathon title in 1984.

– Barry Scanlon

Great duel to the finish in Newburyport

The news is a bit dated, but no less interesting.

At the 52nd annual Yankee Homecoming Race in Newburyport on Tuesday, there was an incredible finish in the 10-mile race.

When the dust had settled, Daniel Hocking, 32, of Dover, N.H., was the winner — by just one second — over Dereje Hailegioruis of New York. Ten miles … one second. Wow. Would have liked to have that finish.

A total of 1,397 runners finished the 10 miler, while 1,872 completed the 5K.

The top local finisher was Ethan Brown of Lowell. Brown, who recently finished fifth at the U.S. Olympic Triathlon Trials, crossed in 55 minutes, 8 seconds.

Right behind Brown was Chelmsford’s Joseph Koech, who took 14th in 55:20.

Other locals finishing in the top 50 were William Warren of Chelmsford (31st, 58:36), Peter Fortunato of Tewksbury (47th, 1:01:29) and Erik Taber of Tewksbury (48th, 1:01:31).

— BARRY SCANLON

Running camps in Lowell

LOWELL — Noelle’s Running Clinic summer camps — conducted by former Lowell High star athlete Noelle Horelik — will start Monday, Aug. 6.

There will be two general running camps, followed by a camp for cross country. Each camp is one week, Monday through Friday. The running clinics will run from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at Shedd Park (near the tennis courts).

The first camp is Aug. 6-10, the second Aug. 13-17. The cross country camp will start at Shedd and then go to various other venues Aug. 20-24. Cross country is limited to students in grades 5-8. The cost is $75 for one child/week, then $60 for two weeks, $50 for three weeks.

— BARRY SCANLON