MIDDLETOWN, N.Y. -- Frank Shorter, running over the roads he has trained on for years, Sunday outdistanced a field of some 2,000 in the 10-kilometer Orange Classic.
Running before his hometown fans, Shorter led the entire way and finished in 29 minutes, 18.4 seconds.
Rod Dixon of New Zealand finished second in 29:39.3 seconds. Gary Fanelli of Oreland, Pa., was third at 30:32.1 and Dick Beardsley of Minnesota, the second-place finisher in the Boston Marathon, was fourth.
'There's much more pressure on me,' Shorter said of performing in his hometown. 'The people in New Zealand don't really care what's going on here today.'
Joan Benoit of Watertown, Mass., captured the women's division in 33:17.5. She was followed by Dianne Rodger of New Zealand in 34:46.
The race was a benefit for the United Way.
