The road was on fire at the Carlsbad 5000 in Carlsbad, Calif., Sun., March 30, as a stellar field of runners did battle in the elite invitational division of this famous race, now in its 29^th year.

Fast? You bet it was  – as Dejen Gebremeskel, 24, of Ethiopia, who has run 12:46 for the 5000 on the track, won his fourth consecutive Carlsbad 5K in a blistering 13:13!

Gebremeskel, who raised four fingers in the air as he hit the finish line, put in two hard, sustained surges in the last kilometer of the race to leave the great Bernard Lagat in his wake. It was payback time as Lagat had finished ahead of him in the 3000 meters at the World Indoor Track Championships earlier this year in Sopot, Poland, where they placed second and third.

Lagat, who’s originally from Kenya but has been a U.S. citizen since 2004, clocked 13:19 in Carlsbad, setting a new U.S. 5K road record.

Augustine Choge, 27, of Kenya, who had been ninth in the 3000 at the World Indoor Championships, finished third in Carlsbad with a time of 13:22.

Edwin Kipyego, 24, of Kenya was fourth in 13:26, Diego Estrada, 24, of Salinas, Calif., fifth in 13:31, and Haron Lagat, 30, of Kenya (no relation to Bernard) sixth in 13:39.

Fast road times seem to be the norm in the Carlsbad 5000. After all, both the men’s and women’s 5K world records were set in Carlsbad – Kenya’s Sammy Kipketer ran 13:00 in both 2000 and 2001, Ethiopia’s Meseret Defar set the women’s best of 14:46 in 2006.

Following his victory on Sunday, Gebremeskel said, “To win here for the fourth time is very special. After the first mile, there was wind and I could not push. Bernard is a 1500-meter runner, that is his specialty and he has a good kick. I knew I could not sprint with him, so I had to go (well before the finish line).”

The lead runners in the race at Carlsbad (Gebremeskel, Bernard Lagat, Choge, Kipyego, Haron Lagat, Estrada and Ethiopia’s Tariku Bekele) ran the first mile in 4:14. After the lead group made a sharp hairpin turn north on Pacific Coast Highway, Choge forced the pace up a gradual incline but to no avail as everyone in the lead pack stayed with him.

By two miles (8:34), the lead group had been reduced to four, with Gebremeskel, Bernard Lagat, Choge and Kipyego running four wide as the large crowd lining both sides of the road cheered wildly.

Only 600 meters later, it suddenly became a two-man race as Gebremeskel initiated an attack that only Lagat could answer – at least initially – with the Ethiopian ultimately prevailing by six seconds.

Lagat, running this course for the first time (in fact, this was his first road 5K ever!) said afterwards of Gebremeskel’s experience on this course, “It was a big advantage (for him).”

He elaborated, "I knew from history that this course would be a challenge. It’s not that easy even though it looks flat. I went in with the mindset to have fun, stay relaxed as much as possible. Dejen was right there pushing the first mile, and at halfway I couldn’t even see him, but he was right behind us. He was basically taking a breather at the back, he was waiting. And when he took the turn, he just unleashed it, so experience matters a lot on this course."