Deena Kastor, seen here winning the London Marathon in 2006, makes a triumphant comeback in Edinburgh on Sunday. © www.photorun.net
Deena Kastor made a perfect comeback to the international road racing scene in Europe on Sunday. Kastor, who unfortunately had to drop out of the Olympic marathon in Beijing in 2008 because of a stress fracture in her foot, won the Bupa Great Edinburgh Run (10K) in 32:38 minutes. She finished well ahead of Jelena Prokopcuka (Lithuania/33:14) and the former 10,000-meter world champion, Sally Barsosio (Kenya/33:34). The tough, hilly course through the city of Edinburgh ensured the race was not going to produce world-class times. “That was a really tough course. You normally only get that in cross-country. But at home in Mammoth [California], I train on those kind of undulating courses so it suited me,” explained the 36-year-old Kastor who added that she was still 25% short of her best form. In that case it was all the more astonishing the way the American dominated the race. She took the lead after just 2 kilometers and proceeded to build on her advantage.
Micah Kogo had a tougher time of it in the men’s race. The Kenyan world-record holder in the 10K went clear of his strongest rival and compatriot, Bernard Kipyego, after 3K. But the winner of the Berlin Half-Marathon a month ago stayed right on Kogo’s tail. “I could never relax, because now and again he would cut back my lead.” said Kogo who eventually won in 28:13 minutes. Bernard Kipyego finished in 28:27. The Spaniard, Jose-Manuel Martinez, finished third in 29:33.
Langat and Hahn Win in Dusseldorf; Pollmächer Impresses
Originally a pacemaker, David Langat surprises the field to win the Dusseldorf Marathon. © www.photorun.net
David Langat, Susanne Hahn, and André Pollmächer were the stars of the Metro Group Marathon in Dusseldorf on Sunday. Lagat won the men’s race in 2:10:46 hours which was the second-fastest time in the event’s history. Susan Hahn won the women’s race in 2:29:26—a personal best for her. From a German point of view, André Pollmächer made history, running the fastest time for a German male marathon runner in nine years. His time of 2:13:09 was good for third overall which was an incredible accomplishment.
Taking all forms of competition into account, the Metro Group Marathon attracted nearly 10,000 participants from 65 countries. Approximately 400,000 spectators lined the course. It was a good day not only to watch the marathon, but also to run it as temperatures hovered around 59 degrees Fahrenheit.
The 29-year-old men’s winner, David Langat, was originally hired to run the race as a pacemaker but then announced that he wanted to run to the finish. “I reached my decision the evening before the race that I wouldn’t drop out. I’ve been in good form and the weather forecast was good,” said Langat who took home 10,000 Euros for his stunning victory. This was the Kenyan’s first major marathon win. Second place went to the pre-race favorite, Wilfred Kigen (Kenya/2:11:30). A calf injury gave Kigen some problems at the 36K mark which made it difficult for him to maintain pace. Both Kigen and Langat crossed the half-marathon point in 63:57, giving them a very good chance of breaking the course record (2:09:47).
Third-place finisher Andre Pollmächer had this to say after the race: “I felt good and know there’s more to come. I want to improve still further. The big objective this year is, of course, the World Championship marathon in Berlin.” Sunday’s marathon was his second for the year. Six months ago, he ran 2:14:18 in Frankfurt. Talking about his prospects for the World Championship marathon, Pollmächer commented that “it’s going to be a different kind of race. Of course, it’ll be man against man as the priority rather than a race against the clock.”
Susanne Hahn sets a personal best and breaks the tape. © www.photorun.net
In the women’s race, the defending champion, Melanie Kraus, had to drop out because of a pulled thigh muscle shortly before 5K. This left it up to Susanne Hahn to win the race in commanding fashion. Afterwards she commented about her struggles nearing the finish. “I had planned to run faster but found it very tough from 30K onwards. I could barely pick my feet up,” she said. Hahn went under 2:30 hours for the second time in her career and comfortably achieved the qualifying time of under 2:32 for the World Championships in Berlin. For much of the race she had even been on track to run 2:27, reaching halfway in 1:13:24 hours. “I don’t know why I suddenly had those kinds of problems. The marathon can always teach you something new. At the end I was just happy that I could set a personal best,” explained Hahn.
Marathon debutant, Melanie Schulz, finished runner-up in 2:42:47 and Sonja Oberem placed third in 2:43:49.
Irina Mikitenko Sets her Sights on the World Championships
London Marathon champs Sammy Wanjiru and Irina Mikitenko are the clear favorites in the World Marathon Majors Series. © www.photorun.net
The World Championships in Berlin are the next major goal for Irina Mikitenko of Germany following her win in the London Marathon last week. In her career as a track runner, she has been able to finish in respectable places in major world-class events on several occasions, but has never succeeded in winning a medal. She intends to change that in Berlin. “There’s not really a lot of time in terms of training for the marathon before the World Championships. I’m taking a two-week break now to recover and then I’ll start preparing for Berlin. The marathon at the World Championships will probably be my next race because there’s not enough time to include other competitions. My training schedule for the World Championships will be the same as last year. I’ll be training in St. Moritz again. But I shall be trying to increase the volume of my training,” said Irina Mikitenko, who increased her weekly training to between 180 and 200 kilometers and ran up to 220K in the build-up to London. “I’m concerned if it’s going to be hot at the World Championships in Berlin, because I’m not a good runner in the heat. But I’ll be going all out to win at the World Championships,” she explained.
Mikitenko’s second triumph in London last week puts her in first place in the World Marathon Majors Series. She has a maximum total of 75 points which makes her the odds-on favorite to win the series. The second-place runner, Dire Tune of Ethiopia, is 35 points behind. Sammy Wanjiru looks equally well placed in the race to win the men’s series for 2008-2009. The winner of the London Marathon and Olympic champion has 65 points and also has a lead of 35 points.
WMM Rankings for 2008-2009 Series
Men:
1. Sammy Wanjiru (KEN) 65 Points
2. Deriba Merga (ETH) 30
3. Martin Lel (KEN) 26
4. Marilson Gomes dos Santos (BRA) 25
Evans Cheruiyot (KEN) 25
Haile Gebrselassie (ETH) 25
Robert K. Cheruiyot (KEN) 25
Daniel Rono (KEN) 25
Abderrahim Goumri (MAR) 25
Jaouad Gharib (MAR) 25
Tsegay Kebede (ETH) 25
Women:
1. Irina Mikitenko (GER) 75
2. Dire Tune (ETH) 40
3. Salina Kosgei (KEN) 30
Alevtina Biktimirova (RUS) 30
Constantina Dita (ROU) 30
6. Lidiya Grigoryeva (RUS) 25
Paula Radcliffe (GBR) 25
8. Kara Goucher (USA) 20
Svetlana Zakharova (RUS) 20
