Martin Lel triumphs in New Orleans. © www.photorun.net
Martin Lel and Berhane Adere ran to victory in the debut edition of the Rock’n'Roll Mardi Gras Half Marathon in New Orleans this past Sunday. Lel, from Kenya, won in 61:07. Sammy Wanjiru, owner of the world half marathon record and winner of the 2008 Olympic Marathon, came in second place. Adere of Ethiopia ran the fastest women’s half marathon ever on U.S. soil in blazing 67:52 minutes. Approximately 16,000 participants turned out for this first-ever race held in the Crescent City—a city that suffered so much from Hurricane Katrina five years ago, yet a city quickly on the mend. Runners taking part in the multiple events on Sunday raised close to $24,000 for the American Cancer Society.
Once the starting gun went off, a five-man pack formed: Martin Lel, Sammy Wanjiru, Shadrack Biwott, McDonard Ondara (all from Kenya), as well as Irishman Martin Fagan went clear of the rest of the field. After going through 15 kilometers in 43:42, Lel decided to break away from his rivals and widen his lead. By the finish, Lel, the multiple winner of the London Marathon, was 26 seconds ahead of Sammy Wanjiru (61:33). Shadrack Biwott, brother of Kenya’s world-class marathoner Duncan Kibet, took third place in 61:40 with Martin Fagan placing fourth in 62:11.
Berhane Adere wins in the home straight. © www.photorun.net
“I expected to win today. The race has given me confidence in preparation for the London Marathon. I felt good,” said Martin Lel, who has been training with his race-day rival Sammy Wanjiru in Kenya. Wanjiru will also be running the Virgin London Marathon on April 25 as the defending champion.
The women’s race turned into a thrilling duel between Berhane Adere and New Zealand’s Kim Smith. The race was only decided in the home stretch. Smith led for most of the race and ended up placing second. Her time of 67:55 was still a top-class performance. The 36-year-old Adere—a former world 10,000-meter champion—capitalized on her trademark finishing speed. “I knew I could rely on my kick,” she said after the race. “I did all I could to drop Berhane during the race but it didn’t work. I knew she had a strong finishing kick,” said Smith. The third place finisher, Azalech Maresha (Ethiopia), also broke 70 minutes with her time of 69:46.
A Record Field in Tokyo Refuses to Let the Weather Get in the Way
Three years ago, runners who turned out for the debut edition of the Tokyo Marathon in its new form were greeted with freezing rain. Last year, they experienced storm-force winds during the race. For the fourth edition of Japan’s biggest marathon, conditions were even more challenging with temperatures just above freezing, and a cold rain that turned to snow pelting the course. And if that wasn’t enough, a Tsunami warning was issued for the area of the coast where the race was taking place. Nevertheless, demand for places in the Tokyo Marathon was greater than for any other race in the world: an unbelievable 272,134 runners applied to run in Tokyo with a record number of 32,000 receiving a starting place. Tokyo clearly has the potential to become the biggest marathon in the world some day.
Alevtina Biktimirova, pictured here winning the Frankfurt Marathon, was victorious in Tokyo on Sunday, © www.photorun.net
The extreme weather understandably had an effect on the elite race. Masakazu Fujiwara won in 2:12:19 hours, becoming the first Japanese runner to win the men’s title in this new version of the Tokyo Marathon. The Russian, Alevtina Biktimirova, ran uncontested to take the women’s title in 2:34:39.
“Since it was so cold, I knew it wouldn’t be possible to run a fast time. So I concentrated on winning the race,” said Fujiwara, who made headlines in Japan in 2003 when he won the Lake Biwa race in 2:08:12 on his marathon debut. That race remains the fastest debut ever by a Japanese male runner. Various injuries as a consequence of training too hard then hindered his progress, but Fujiwara showed in Tokyo that he was back on course. At 33K he briefly forced the pace. Fujiwara then dropped back before making a decisive move at 40K. “This was exactly how I planned it. I had prepared for that kind of fast race,” explained Fujiwara, who believes he can run around six minutes faster in future assuming good conditions. Arata Fujiwara finished second in 2:12:34 and Atsushi Sato third in 2:12:35. Japanese runners took the first five places. The highly touted African runners struggled in such extreme conditions. Rachid Kisri of Morocco was the fastest African, coming in seventh place in 2:12:59.
In contrast to the men, the women’s race took a different turn of events in the freezing cold. The Russian, Alevtina Biktimirova, seized the initiative early and went clear of her rivals after 12K, extending her lead consistently. The margin eventually became so big that she was no longer in danger of being caught, even as she slowed down from 35K onward. “After finishing fourth here a year ago, I’m of course delighted to have won this time,” said Biktimirova, whose previous biggest marathon victory was 2005 in Frankfurt where she set her current personal best of 2:25:12. This record was in her sights in Tokyo. “That’s why I started so fast. But because of the cold I knew I couldn’t achieve that kind of time. So in the second half of the race I concentrated on winning,” she explained. Almost two minutes behind was Robe Guta of Ethiopia who placed second in 2:36:29. Romanian Nuta Olaru was third (2:36:42). Maki Kono was the highest placing Japanese runner in fourth with 2:39:01.
