Paul Lekuraa outsprints Julius Kiprotich for the win. © www.photorun.net
It’s hard enough to run a marathon healthy. Running one sick while winning the whole thing and setting an event record: is that even possible?
It is. It happened Sunday at the 26th Annual Athens Marathon.
At the start of the race, one of the top-seeded runners, 25-year-old Kenyan Paul Lekuraa didn’t feel well. “I didn’t feel good. I had headaches,” Lekuraa said. Along with his sickness, he had another problem to deal with: He barely made it to the race. Because of an unforeseen visa mix-up, he wasn’t even allowed into the country until the day before—something that can have disastrous consequences for a runner, because of the need to acclimatize and start the race rested.
After the starting gun went off and the nearly 10,000-runners began racing along the historic Athens Marathon course, up Mount Pendeli, Lekuraa’s headache persisted. “I wanted to drop out at times,” he later recalled.
Still, he persevered.
For 20 kilometers, all uphill, Lekuraa battled on, coming to terms with his headache while struggling to keep up with the lead pack comprised of fellow Kenyans Julius Kiprotich and Paul Kogo. At the 30K mark, Kogo tried to make the decisive move, but the two countered and so the race’s dynamic remained unchanged.
Running through his pain, Lekuraa reminded himself to wait and see—that perhaps it would get better. He ran with the leaders until the last kilometer. “I might even win this,” he eventually told himself.
In the final sprint, Kogo couldn’t keep up and it came down to a footrace between Lekuraa and Kiprotich. They passed through the gates of the venue for the first modern Olympic Games of 1896: Panathinaikos stadium. Several thousand spectators cheered them on.
In the end, it was Lekuraa who prevailed. He edged out Kiprotich by two meters! Both runners were given the final time: 2:12:42 hours. But Lekuraa was awarded the win and the event record. 2004 Olympic gold medalist Stefano Baldini’s course record of 2:10:55 still stands, but Lekuraa’s finishing time was the eighth-fastest ever on the most famous marathon course in the history of the event. Paul Kogo, who lost contact in the final kilometer, finished third in 2:12:49. His time was well inside the previous event record of 2:14:40, set by Benjamin Korir in 2007.
A final interesting factoid about Lekuraa: It turns out the former world-record holder, Paul Tergat, advised him to enter the race. Apparently, Tergat trains in the same group with Lekuraa. In a recently workout, Tergat noticed that Lekuraa appeared to be in peak shape and so he phoned Lekuraa’s manager, Zane Branson, and asked him to find a race for Lekuraa. Branson chose the Athens Marathon: a wise choice. Lekuraa’s victory was worth 6,000 Euros in prize money plus a time bonus of 3,000 Euros—a total worth nearly $12,000!
Mai Tagami celebrates the biggest race of her career in Athens. © www.photorun.net
In the women’s race, Japanese runner Mai Tagami emerged victorious. Her time, 2:36:58, was the third-fastest women’s time in the history of the event. Tagami is a prolific runner: the Athens race marked her 20th career marathon.
In contrast to the men’s race, the outcome of the women’s was clear-cut. Tagami crossed the line nearly almost four minutes ahead of second-place finisher Elena Tikhonova of Russia who ran 2:40:45. Georgia Ampatzidou of Greece finished third in 2:40:53.
Mai Tagami ran a brilliant tactical race on a difficult course. Having won the Melbourne Marathon in 2:38:46 last month, she waited till halfway before making her move. At that point she broke away from her remaining rival, Elena Tikhonova. “I didn’t have any problems in the first half as the course started to climb because the pace wasn’t fast. But it was harder when I was running on my own,” Tagami later commented. “I’m proud to have won in Athens,” she said. Tagami received 6,000 Euros (nearly $8000) in prize money for her victory. Tagami is hoping to qualify for the World Championships in Berlin in 2009 by running the Osaka Marathon at the end of January. “I want to improve my personal best in Osaka,” said Tagami, whose fastest time is 2:29:43.
In preparing for her marathons, Tagami logs incredible mileage—over 300K a week which is more than a marathon a day on average! She is sponsored by Aruse, a Japanese chain of amusement arcades and gambling parlors. “But I don’t bet on myself!” Tagami joked after the race.
Top Times at the Delhi Half-Marathon
Countries in the developing world are gaining increasing attention with the successful staging of large-scale, highly successful events—events like the Delhi Half-Marathon race on Sunday with its 25,000 participants. The course, fast and flat, wound through the Indian capital. Accordingly, it produced high-class winning times.
Three men went under an hour: Deriba Merga of Ethiopia won in a sprint finish in 59:15 by just one second ahead of Wilson Kipsang (Kenya). Third was another Kenyan, Wilson Chebet (59:34). Another four athletes dipped under 61 minutes. The 26-year-old Deriba Merga improved his personal best by one second, equaling the fastest time in the world this year which was set by Haile Gebrselassie. A year ago, Merga ran 59:16 for fourth place at the World Half-Marathon Championships. In the past two years he has established himself as a world-class road runner. In April he finished sixth in the London Marathon in 2:06:38.
The women’s race was also a fast one. Like the men’s race, it also came down to a sprint finish with Mergia Aselefech (Ethiopia) winning in 68:17 over Genet Getanah by one second. Aselefech’s time was the third-fastest in the world this year. The Kenyan, Peninah Arusei, took third place with 68:20.
World Marathon Majors plan rule changes
Following the recent decision regarding the women’s winner of the second World Marathon Majors (WMM) Series 2007-2008, the five race directors are planning to amend the rules in case of future instances where the leaders finish tied. The German runner, Irina Mikitenko, was declared the winner after the New York Marathon after a vote by the race directors. She and Gete Wami (Ethiopia) had finished tied in points and with the same win-loss record. According to the chief executive of the London Marathon, Nick Bitel, who is also a lawyer, this decision was in accordance with the rules which could not be changed while the series was still in progress.
By the 2009-2010 series, however, other criteria will be allowed for consideration in the case of runners finishing similarly tied. It is conceivable, according to the Berlin race director Mark Milde, that a runner with fewer races or their average finishing time of their WMM results could be considered as additional tiebreaking criteria. “We want to amend the rules to avoid having a vote to decide the outcome in future,” said Mary Wittenberg the race director of the New York City Marathon.
