The hopes for the first American win since 1983 rest with Ryan Hall. © www.photorun.net
The Boston Marathon on April 20th will be the first race in the World Marathon Majors (WMM) series this year. The Olympic champion, Sammy Wanjiru from Kenya, leads the men. Germany’s marathon record holder, Irina Mikitenko, is at the top of the rankings for the current 2008-2009 season. Each series of the World Marathon Majors takes place over two years, so Boston also marks the beginning of the new season. The top five men and women will therefore continue to win points for both competitions.
Standing on the starting line of the men’s race at Boston will be one of the world’s fastest non-African marathoners: Ryan Hall. Over two years ago, this 26-year-old American sensation got the attention of the running world when he ran a sub-60-minute half-marathon in Houston—setting a new U.S. record (59:43). When he debuted at the marathon in London, he ran blazing 2:08:43 hours. And a year later, he whittled his time down to an amazing 2:06:17. This impressive time makes Hall the fastest-seeded man in the field in Boston. But winning will certainly not be easy. He’s up against a whole host of strong Kenyans. Among them will be the defending champion, Robert Kipkoech Cheruiyot, who is aiming to win Boston for the fifth time.
Besides Hall, the only other non-African marathoner who might have been competitive in the WMM series is Viktor Röthlin. But the Swiss runner unfortunately had to drop out of the London Marathon after twice suffering a pulmonary embolism.
The second spring race of the World Marathon Majors series takes place in the British capital on April 26th. Both the men’s and women’s leaders in the current series, Sammy Wanjiru and Irina Mikitenko, will be running.
Mikitenko, who won the 2007-2008 series and collected half a million dollars in prize money, has 50 points—a solid lead thanks to her victories in London and Berlin in 2008. If she should achieve a second victory along the Thames, which would bring in another 25 WMM points, she could capture the WMM jackpot for the second season in a row. Two runners are tied for second place with 30 points: Alevtina Biktimirova (Russia) and the Olympic champion, Constantina Dita of Romania. However, Biktimirova isn’t running Boston or London so will not be able to win any more points in the spring season.
Besides Ryan Hall, the Americans also have a top-seeded runner in the women’s field in Boston: Kara Goucher. If Goucher manages to beat an equally competitive field which includes last year’s winner, Dire Tune of Ethiopia, it could play into Mikitenko’s favor. The reason: Kara Goucher only has 10 points so far and is therefore not a factor in the current WMM rankings.
WMM-Rankings 2008-2009:
Men:
1. Samuel Wanjiru (KEN) 40 Points
2. Martin Lel (KEN) 26
3. Evans Cheruiyot (KEN) 25
Robert K. Cheruiyot (KEN) 25
Haile Gebrselassie (ETH) 25
Marilson Gomes dos Santos (BRA) 25
Abderrahim Goumri (MAR) 25
8. Abderrahime Bouramdane (MAR) 16
9. Jaouad Gharib (MAR) 15
James Kwambai (KEN) 15
David Mandago (KEN) 15
Women:
1. Irina Mikitenko (GER) 50 Points
2. Alevtina Biktimirova (RUS) 30
Constantina Tomescu-Dita (ROU) 30
4. Lidiya Grigoryeva (RUS) 25
Paula Radcliffe (GBR) 25
Dire Tune (ETH) 25
7. Catherine Ndereba (KEN) 16
Ludmila Petrova (RUS) 16
Askale Tafa Magarsa (ETH) 16
10. Rita Jeptoo (KEN) 15
Svetlana Zakharova (RUS) 15
Mikitenko Proves Her Fitness in Paderborn
Irinia Mikitenko proves she is in top shape two weeks before the London Marathon. © www.photorun.net
Irina Mikitenko demonstrated that she is well prepared to defend her Flora London Marathon title when she won the Paderborn Easter Race in Germany on Saturday. The national record holder for the marathon (2:19:19) ran a 31:22 minutes 10K to win at the traditional Easter race which also featured a huge turnout of 8000 runners. Her blazing time was the second-fastest 10-kilometer-race this year and was also the second-fastest 10K ever run by a German woman.
Mikitenko was delighted with her victory. When interviewed after the race she had this to say: “I am happy with this result. The time is just what I wanted, because I was aiming to run 31:30 today.”
She took the lead at 4K and dominated the race afterwards. Her 5K split was timed at 15:45 which means she ran a negative split for the second 5K—an impressive feat. She crossed the line over a minute ahead of the Kenyans, Sally Barsosio (32:25) and Alice Mogire (33:21).
Mikitenko had just returned from a month-long altitude training stint in Kyrgyzstan. “Running on the fifth day after coming down from altitude is probably not ideal, but it is all part of the schedule for London and Paderborn was just a test,” she said. Regarding the sharp change in weather conditions with temperatures rising to between 73.4 and 77 degree Fahrenheit, she commented: “I felt it was a little bit too warm, especially because of the change of temperature.”
Only the Kenyan, Vivian Cheruiyot, has logged a faster 10K this year when she ran 31:12 in Puerto Rico. Mikitenko’s German record is 30:57 which she set in 2008.
The men’s race was won by Peter Kamais (Kenya) in 28:16 minutes while Job Tanui (Kenya/28:23) and Urige Arado Buta (Norway/28:24) finished second and third respectively. Kenyans also dominated the half-marathon which was staged after the 10K race. They took the first eight places with Stephen Koech winning in 62:34. Eliud Kiplagat (62:37) placed second and Phillip Rugut (62:41) placed third. Susanne Hahn of Germany won with a 1:13:19 in the women’s half-marathon. Irene Cherop (1:14:11) finished in second place and Loise Kangogo (1:14:54) finished in third. Both Cherop and Kangogo are from Kenya.
Paul Tergat to Run BIG 25 in Berlin
One of Kenya’s all-time greats, Paul Tergat, will run the Berlin BIG 25 on May 10th. The race director, Gerhard Janetzky, announced that Tergat would compete in the oldest city road race in Germany. The 25K race was founded by the French military in West Berlin in 1981 and was then called “The 25K de Berlin.” Part of its attraction is the spectacular finish on the blue track of the Olympic stadium. The course leads the runners from the arena through the city center, leading them through the Brandenburg Gate and then back into the stadium which will host the IAAF World Championships in August. Organizers expect up to 10,000 entries for their race, which will also include a 10K race and a 5×5K relay.
Tergat returns to the German capital almost six years after achieving his most spectacular victory in Berlin. In 2003, the Kenyan became the first to break 2:05 hours for the marathon.
“We are extremely happy to have signed one of the best runners in history for the BIG 25 Berlin. Paul Tergat is not only one of the most successful athletes, but also a symbol for the sport of running and a role model for many. In addition, he takes a strong interest in social issues and supports charities,” said Janetzky. Paul Tergat has been an ambassador to the United Nation’s World Food Programme (WFP) since 2004.
He was the first man to win the long-course race at the World Cross Country Championships five times in succession from 1995 to 1999—an unprecedented achievement in this event. But he also distinguished himself in track and road races. There are only a small number of athletes who have managed to achieve extraordinary success on all three surfaces. In the 1990s, he broke world records at 10,000 meters on the track as well as in the15K and half-marathon road races. At the Olympic Games in 1996 and 2000, he won two silver medals in the 10,000m.
His career contained many other memorable achievements, but probably top of the list would be in 2003 when he took the world marathon record down to 2:04:55. Even today, Tergat is ranked as the fourth-fastest marathoner in history.
The course record for the BIG 25 is held by Kenya’s Paul Koech who ran 1:12:45 in 2004 which is also the official world record. It remains to be seen whether Tergat can threaten the world mark. The 39-year-old former champ is still in remarkable shape. At the beginning of March, he won the Lake Biwa Marathon in Japan, running 2:10:22 despite suffering from jetlag. Last weekend, he finished second in the Great Ireland 10K in Dublin, beaten only by the Portuguese runner, Rui Pedro Silva, in the home straight.
“To be able to run so fast again three weeks after a marathon isn’t just good, it’s fantastic for me. Now I’m going to be concentrate on speed work. The stamina is already there. I’m delighted with my performances so there’s no reason at all to be talking about retirement despite my age,” Tergat recently said in an interview.
