World-class road racer Ed Eyestone, celebrating Pioneer Day close to home, ran to a decisive victory in the 12th annual Deseret News/Granite Furniture men's 10K July 24. He had so much going for him that the rest of the field in the race was quickly reduced to a group of "also-rans."

Not only was the race a tune-up for Eyestone's next competition, the marathon in August's World Track and Field Championships in Sweden, but it was also within running distance of his Layton, Utah, home and was on a day he joined others in honoring Pioneer ancestors."Mom told me the other day that we have 16 direct ancestors who came here as pioneers between 1850 and 1875," Eyestone said after winning the 10K for the third time in three tries. "In addition to everything else, it was nice to be able to put forth some physical exertion on this day to honor the great effort the pioneers made coming here."

About 1 1/2 miles into the race, Eyestone opened up a gap on eventual second-place finisher Jon Sinclair of Ft. Collins, Colo., and was in control from there to the finish line at Liberty Park. His time was 28:05, less than half a minute slower than his race-record time of 27:36 set in 1986. He had celebrated his victory for 42 seconds before Sinclair finished.

John Hume of Lakewood, Colo., finished third followed by Eyestone's training partner, Paul Pilkington of Roy, Utah. Pilkington will join Eyestone in the marathon in Sweden.

Olga Appell of Albuquerque, N.M., turned in a record-setting performance while defending her title in the women's 10K. Her time of 30:55 was faster than the record she set last year here, 31:04, and was also a North America record.

Competitors in the Deseret News/Granite Furniture Marathon started in chilly morning darkness in Parley's Canyon at 5 a.m. After the race, several runners commented that it was unusually cold at the starting line. The temperature warmed up as they made their way down the pioneer path in Emigration Canyon, through downtown Salt Lake City and to Liberty Park in the 26th annual, 26.2-mile race.

The warmest feeling belonged to winner Alvaro Palacios of Salt Lake City, a native of Colombia. The second-place finisher in 1994, Palacios won the marathon for the third time in 2:27:19. Patty Murray of Boulder, Colo., running her first marathon ever, was the winner in the women's race with a time of 2:50:48.

In wheelchair competition, John Rodolph of Hanford, N.M., set a course record in the men's 10K at 18:55, almost four minutes ahead of the second-place finisher. John Brewer of Salt Lake City raced uncontested in the wheelchair marathon to win for the fifth consecutive time in 2:24:47. Sharon Penney of Salt Lake City was also a repeat winner in the women's 10K; her time of 30:08 gave her four straight titles.

It became feasible for Eyestone, who runs for a living, to compete in the Salt Lake City 10K after it was placed on the newly organized USA Track and Field All-Star Road Race Circuit. In addition to $4,000 in prize money, he picked up 15 points on the circuit to move into second place in the race for another substantial monetary reward at season's end. "As long as it's part of the circuit, I'll keep coming here," he promised.

Eyestone grew up in Ogden and was an NCAA champion distance runner for BYU in the 1980s. He competed in the last two Summer Olympics. He was just released after "three years of faithful service," according to his stake president, as elders quorum president in the Oak Woods Ward, Kaysville Utah Crestwood Stake.

"Considering his schedule, he did an amazing job," said Pres. Robert Mouritsen.

Race director Doug Padilla called Eyestone an ambassador for the Deseret News race. "Ed is a dream to have," Padilla said. "He's not only good, he's not only local, but he's a class guy. He's talented and a great guy."

A total of 3,155 competitors registered for the Pioneer Day races. There were 2,302 runners who finished the 10K and 588 who finished the marathon.