Rose Kosgei takes the lead right from the start at the New York Mini 10K on Sunday. © www.photorun.net
Rose Kosgei won the New York Mini 10-kilometer race in 32:43 minutes in New York City’s Central Park on Sunday. The 27-year-old Kenyan was the only person to dip under 33 minutes. Serena Burla of the United States surprised the field, coming in second place with 33:04 while the Ethiopian, Hirut Mandefro, placed third in 33:13. Marathon world champion Catherine Ndereba (Kenya) came fourth in 33:21. Over 4,000 runners participated in this women’s-only race.
Deena Kastor of the United States, who was one of the top seeded athletes, decided not to compete due to a foot infection. Kastor had made a comeback this spring after she had broken her foot at the Olympic marathon in Beijing in 2008. She decided to not risk further injury and jogged the course instead.
During the race, Rose Kosgei took the lead early—dictating the pace from the front. Before she reached 5K, Kosgei put a large gap between herself and her closest rival, Ethiopian Ashu Kasim. Kasim later dropped back to 18th place. After Kosgei passed the 5K mark in 15:52 minutes, she slowed down a little. Her victory, however, was never in danger. “I was surprised that no other runner kept up with my pace,” Kosgei said afterwards. This past March, she won the Prague half marathon in 69:03 minutes.
Her 32:43 minutes on Sunday was coincidentally the same exact winning time that Hilda Kibet (Netherlands) ran a year ago.
Gebrselassie Going for it Again in Berlin
Haile Gebrselassie is taking another shot at improving his own world record in Berlin. © www.photorun.net
This upcoming September, one of the greatest distance runners in history, a man who has set 19 official and seven unofficial world records, Haile Gebrselassie, will return to run the real,- Berlin Marathon.
And for good reason: Berlin has been very good to the 36-year-old Ethiopian.
Last year, he won the race, setting a new world record. His time, 2:03:59 hours, was the first time anyone has dipped under 2:04 hours. And the year before, he ran it in 2:04:26—then a world record as well.
Can Gebrselassie break his own world record yet again? After his 2008 victory, he hinted it may be possible. “I can still run a little faster. I know that I can run 2:03:30, perhaps even 2:02:59 when everything is right on the day,” he said.
Should Gebrselassie succeed in breaking his own world record for the third time in a row at the Berlin Marathon, it will be an unprecedented achievement since no runner has done that in the same race on consecutive occasions. In addition, Gebrselassie could become the first athlete to win Berlin four times—and in succession as well. Apart from him, German runners Ingo Sensburg and Take The Magic Step’s own Uta Pippig as well as Renata Kokowska of Poland have won it on three occasions.
After winning the Dubai Marathon earlier this year in 2:05:29, Gebrselassie indicated that he will definitely not be running the World Championship marathon in Berlin in August. Since then, however, the Kenyan, Duncan Kibet, has improved the world leading time this year with 2:04:27 in Rotterdam. Never before has anyone come so close to Gebrselassie’s world record—a big reason why the Ethiopian is coming back to Berlin to try and distance himself from the competition.
The real,- Berlin Marathon is Germany’s largest marathon and the second largest marathon in the world. A record 40,000 runners registered for the race in record time. Entries have long since been sold out.
Wanjiru’s Surprise: U.S. Marathon in the Fall
The Olympic champion, Sammy Wanjiru, has decided not to run the Berlin Marathon. © www.photorun.net
It was originally speculated that the Olympic gold medalist in Beijing at the marathon, the Kenyan, Sammy Wanjiru was going to toe the line against Haile Gebrselassie in Berlin—setting up one of the most storied duels in marathon history.
But this is not to be the case.
Wanjiru’s manager, Federico Rosa of Italy, confirmed that Wanjiru will not be running in Berlin. This was also confirmed by Mark Milde, Berlin’s race director.
After his Olympic triumph in Beijing, Wanjiru boasted that he would break Haile Gebrselassie’s world record (2:03:59) at the 2009 Berlin Marathon. After his triumph over one of the deepest marathon fields in recent memory at this year’s London Marathon where he also set a course record of 2:05:09 in April, the Kenyan star was initially selected to represent Kenya at the World Championship marathon. However, Wanjiru passed up that opportunity in order to go for the world marathon record.
One reason the two aren’t racing each other may have to do with money. It’s speculated that the Berlin budget may not have been big enough to pay the kind of appearance fees required from both star athletes.
So if Wanjiru is not heading for the German capital in the fall or the World Championships in August, where’s he going to race?
Wanjiru’s coach had the answer: the United States. “We are looking to run a top marathon later in the year in the USA,” Rosa commented. That could mean Wanjiru runs Chicago in October or New York in November. Chicago is a fast course and may be a place where Wanjiru can set the world record. If he decides to run in New York, he will most likely have to postpone his plans to go for the world record, because its course doesn’t favor fast times.
