Olympic silver medalist Meb Keflezighi will try to make his third Olympic team on Saturday. © www.photorun.net
Marathon fans would be hard-pressed to find a more exciting place to be this weekend than New York City. On Saturday, the best American men will vie for the three spots on the Olympic team that will contest the marathon next summer in Beijing. The following day, the New York City Marathon will feature a deep international field, including the post-childbirth marathon return of world record holder Paula Radcliffe, and 37,000 runners traversing the city’s five boroughs. Take The Magic Step® will be in New York City to provide race-day reports for both marathons.
Pete Pfitzinger, who won the 1984 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials, calls the field for Saturday’s “the best at the top” in Trials history. “There’s never been another Trials where the top ten or so guys are as good as the top guys this time,” he says. A recent poll of experts predicted that the top three finishers would be Ryan Hall (2:08:24 hours in his only marathon), Abdi Abdirahman (2:08:56 in Chicago last fall) and Meb Keflezighi (silver medalist at the 2004 Olympic Marathon).
If so, that would leave the following runners off the team: Khalid Khannouchi (American record holder, former world record holder); Alan Culpepper (2004 Olympic Marathon Trials champion); Brian Sell (2:10:47 in Chicago last fall); Dathan Ritzenhein (only 2:14:01 in his debut in New York last year, but track PRs such as 8:11 for 2 miles and 27:35 for 10,000m, as well as a 1:01:25 half marathon); Mbarak Hussein (2:08:10 in 2004 at age 39); Peter Gilmore (top American in the most recent Boston and New York City Marathons); and Dan Browne (2004 Olympian at 10,000m and the marathon), among others. In the last several Trials, the runners in this latter group would have been considered as sure a bet as can be possible in the marathon. The quality of the field is why Saturday’s marathon is the most eagerly anticipated American distance race in years.
World record holder Paula Radcliffe will run her first marathon in two years on Sunday. © www.photorun.net
Adding to the intrigue is uncertainty surrounding several top entrants. Hall, Sell and Culpepper haven’t raced in several months. Khannouchi managed only 1:05:30 at the San Jose Rock ’n’ Roll Half Marathon a few weeks ago; he had hoped to run 1:03. Keflezighi raced well throughout the summer, including 27:41 for 10,000m on the track in September, but because of a calf problem, had to scrap his plan to use the San Jose race as his final tune-up.
The men’s Trials have a history of surprise finishers near the top. Pfitzinger wasn’t ranked in the top15 entrants when he won the Trials in 1984. Mark Conover entered the 1988 Trials with a 2:18 personal best, and won in 2:12. At the 2004 Trials, Trent Briney improved from 2:19 to 2:12 in one race to take fourth. A good candidate for such a surprise performance this time is Fasil Bizuneh. He’s run only two marathons, with a best of 2:18. But he’s twice run under 1:03 for a half marathon, and since August has been training in Boulder with KIMbia’s Stephen Kiagora, who was second at New York City last fall and third at Boston in April. The chances of a dark horse coming through are even greater than usual at this Trials because the field contains some marathon novices who qualified by virtue of their track times. Of these, one to watch is James Carney, who ran 27:43 for 10,000m in the spring and placed second at the national 20K championships in early September.
New York City Marathon
If possible, the women’s race at the following morning’s New York City Marathon could be even more exciting. Organizers have assembled an amazing field, including two-time defending champion Jelena Prokopcuka; two-time world champion Catherine Ndereba; reigning Boston champion Lydia Grigoryeva; world record holder Paula Radcliffe; and Gete Wami, who won her second Berlin Marathon title just more than a month ago. KIMbia’s Elva Dryer, who debuted in 2:31 at Chicago last fall, is the top American entrant.
The return to marathoning of the world record holder after giving birth would usually be an unbeatably compelling pre-race story. Certainly, Radcliffe’s first marathon since winning the world title in 2005 is cause for concern for her rivals. In September, she ran a 1:07 half marathon, and other than the 2004 Olympic Marathon, she has won each of the seven marathons she’s started. Yet even Radcliffe’s return is, if only slightly, overshadowed by the race-within-a-race match-up of Prokopcuka and Wami, one of whom will emerge after Sunday as the overall winner of the first World Marathon Majors series and its $500,000 prize.
After her win in Berlin, Wami has a 10-point lead over Prokopcuka in the series rankings. Of course, after her win in Berlin, Wami might also start Sunday a lot more fatigued than Prokopcuka, whose last marathon was Boston in April. Although there are several scenarios for Sunday’s finish, the gist is this: If Wami beats Prokopcuka, regardless of their places, Wami will win the series. Prokopcuka can win the series if:
- She wins the women’s race;
- She places second, and Wami places fourth or lower; or
- She places third, and Wami doesn’t place in the top five.
The men’s race on Sunday is hardly an afterthought. Last year’s surprise winner, Marilson Gomes dos Santos, will be on hand to defend his title. Between last year’s victory and a recent half marathon personal best of 59:33, he will be closely watched by the other top runners, who last year let him get away at 30K.
Three other former New York City Marathon winners—Rodgers Rop, Martin Lel and Hendrick Ramaala—will be among those hoping to unseat dos Santos. Rop set his personal best of 2:07:32 earlier this year, while Lel beat a stellar field at London in April. The man who finished second in London in his debut, Abderrahim Goumri, should be a factor. Also hoping to move up on the podium is KIMbia’s Stephen Kiagora, who outsprinted then-world record holder Paul Tergat for second at New York last year.
