Samuel Ndirangu en route to victory in Carlsbad. © www.photorun.net
Samuel Ndirangu won Sunday’s Carlsbad 5000, in Carlsbad, California, in 13:28. In his first U.S. race, the KIMbia runner easily handled his closest competitors, Mexicans Juan Luis Barrios (13:32) and David Galvan (13:42).
In the women’s professional race, Ethiopian Meseret Defar had hoped to improve the road world best of 14:46 that she set in winning this race last year. Although she came up well short of that goal, she still notched a convincing victory with a time of 15:01 over the 5K course. In doing so, she became the first woman in the event’s history to successfully defend her title. American Olympian Jen Rhines was second in 15:21, four seconds ahead of Defar’s countrywoman Aheza Kiros.
One of the great stories of the day occurred in one of the men’s masters races. Kenyan legend Henry Rono placed second in the 55-59 age group with a time of 17:48. In 1978, Rono set four world records on the track in the span of 81 days. After years of struggling with alcoholism and homelessness, Rono is healthy and sober, and has set his sights on the age 55-59 world record for the mile. Sunday’s race was the first indication after several months of high-volume training that Rono is on track to meet his goal of breaking 4:40 in the mile.
After his victory, Ndirangu said he was confident by the two-mile mark that he would win. Ndirangu’s next race will be the Dallas 8K in Texas this coming Saturday. There, his main competition will likely come from KIMbia teammate Richard Kiplagat, who won Saturday’s Cooper River Bridge Run 10K in Charleston, South Carolina in 28:35.
Patrick Makau Musyoki Runs Course Record, Benita Johnson Wins Berlin Half Marathon
Kenya’s Patrick Makau Musyoki crowned the 27th edition of the Berlin Half Marathon with a new course record of 58:56. The 22-year-old improved the record of his countryman Paul Kosgei from last year by 11 seconds and set the fourth-fastest time ever in the half marathon on record-eligible courses. Another two Kenyans broke an hour in Berlin: Francis Kibiwott took second in 59:26, while Evans Cheruiyot was third with 59:48. Ethiopian Eshetu Wondimu took fourth in 60:08.
Australian Benita Johnson was the women’s winner in 68:28. She was ahead of Irina Mikitenko (69:46), while another German, Luminita Zaituc, took third in 71:56. Defending champion Edith Masai (Kenya) had to be content with fourth place, clocking 72:03. Both Zaituc and Masai suffered stomach problems. Among all of the events, there was a record number of 22,048 athletes from 70 nations; 18,531 ran the half marathon. An estimated 150,000 spectators lined the streets of Berlin to watch.
The men set off at a blistering pace, covering the first kilometer in 2:34. Inevitably, they settled down a bit, but still reached 5K in 13:39. A group of seven reached 10K in 27:27—faster than any 10K ever run in a German road race! For example, the course record for the Berlin 10K held every August is 28:38.
Due to the high pace, the leading group was soon reduced to the eventual top four finishers. The pace slowed and Sammy Wanjiru’s world record of 58:35 seemed to have slipped out of reach at 15K (41:46). Then Makau Musyoki decisively broke away at 16K, and clocked 2:42 between 16K and 17K. But in the final stages of the race there was a head wind, which slowed him again.
“I’m happy to have broken the course record and very pleased with how things went for me in Berlin,” the winner said. “The course is very good and I’m sure that the world record can be broken here. The first ten kilometers were run at a pace that were very good for me and the tailwind was also a help, of course, as we went through in 27:27. We were all working for each other. But at the end the wind was sometimes quite strong.”
In the women’s race the expected duel between Johnson and Masai seemed to develop right after the start. The Australian passed 5K in 16:03 with Masai following, much as she had trailed Deena Kastor last year before taking the lead midrace for the win. But this time, Masai dropped back at 9K. Johnson reached 10K in 33:20 with an 11-second lead over Mikitenko. There were no changes in the first two positions from this point on, with Johnson passing 15K in 48:33
“I am happy with my result and I very much liked the race and the support of the spectators,” Johnson said. “But it was a bit windy in the last part; otherwise, I could have gone faster.” Her goal had been to break Kerryn McCann’s Australian record of 67:48. “I am a bit disappointed to have missed this and my personal best of 67:55, but it is great to have won this race,” she said. Looking ahead to the London Marathon in three weeks, she said, “I know this is a very strong field, and one has to be able to run sub 2:20 to win. But I think I can do this.”
Ethiopians Win Cherry Blossom, Solid Showings by KIMbia Runners
Ethiopians Tadesse Tola (46:01) and Teyba Erkesso (51:44) ran fast times to win the Cherry Blossom Ten Mile Run in Washington, D.C. on Sunday, but in different fashion. The elite women started ten minutes before the main field, and the second woman was Russian Tatyana Petrova in 52:58, meaning that Erkesso essentially ran alone the entire race.
Tola, in contrast, was part of a group of three that entered the last mile together. KIMbia runners John Yuda and John Korir battled Tola for the win, with Korir making a move half a mile from the finish. Korir was seeking his fourth Cherry Blossom victory, a feat achieved only by Bill Rodgers. But Tola, fresh off a seventh-place finish at last week’s World Cross Country Championships, handled all moves easily. Yuda placed second in 46:04, and Korir ran 46:11, which is his fastest time at the event.
Another KIMbia runner, Kathy Butler, also ran well, placing third in 53:26 in her final tune-up before the London Marathon in three weeks.
Micah Kogo Barely Misses 10K World Record
Kenyan Micah Kogo missed Haile Gebrselassie’s 10K road world record by only five seconds in the Dutch town of Brunssum. The 20-year-old ran 27:07, and was almost 90 seconds ahead of his countrymen Barnabas Kosgei (28:33) and Charles Koech (28:37). Gebrselassie clocked 27:02 in Doha in 2002. Kenyan Hilda Kibet was the fastest women in Brunssum with 32:24, ahead of Peninah Arusei (Kenya/32:29) and Genet Getaneh (Ethiopia/33:28).
