Moen Opens Season with Florida Victory

Team USA Minnesota's Josh Moen kicked off his 2009 racing season in style by winning the Edison Festival of Light 5K in Fort Myers, Florida on Saturday.

Moen clocked14:08, well ahead of second place finisher Mike Korir in 14:52.

Moen (pictured) went through the first mile in 4:20, according to a Team USA Minnesota media release. His finishing time was the fourth fastest in the 31-year history of the race and the fastest since 1992.

"I didn't know if I would have any competition for this race or not so I had decided I was just going to do my own thing right away," Moen said. "A couple of guys ran with me for about a quarter of a mile but then I was on my own. When I started back at the turnaround, which was a 180-degree turn in the middle of the road, I saw how far ahead I was so I had no doubt that I was going to win this thing."

"This was a real confidence builder," the Wartburg College grad added. "I was going to be happy with anything under 14:10 since I ran around 100 miles this past week so I'll take the 14:08. I'm glad to be back out there racing again. I'm good to go for the season."

Next up for Moen will be the USA 15K Championships in Jacksonville, Florida on March 14.

Photo by Victor Sailer/Photo Run.