This year's London Marathon champions Irina Mikitenko and Sammy Wanjiru are both running Chicago. © www.photorun.net
One of the largest marathons in the world is ready to kick off Sunday in Chicago. And as usual, the Bank of America Chicago Marathon, with its 45,000 runners, promises to be an incredibly exciting race with a field full of world-class talent. At the top of the start list is the Kenyan Olympic gold medal winner at the 2008 Olympics, Sammy Wanjiru, the Virgin London Marathon champion, Irina Mikitenko, and the bronze medalist in the 2004 Olympics, the American record-holder, Deena Kastor.
In the men’s race, Wanjiru has made a bold prediction. In an interview with the Kenyan newspaper The Daily Nation, the 22-year-old indicated that he wanted to run a time that was “around 2:04 or 2:05.” This is indeed possible in Chicago given that it is an incredibly fast, flat course provided the conditions are favorable and that Wanjiru is arguably one of the best distance runners in the world. He owns the world record in the half-marathon (58:33 minutes). Toeing the line with him are two runners who have broken the 2:06 barrier: Abderrahim Goumri of Morocco and Vincent Kipruto of Kenya. Kipruto ran 2:05:47 hours to win the Paris Marathon and Goumri ran 2:05:30 in London last year. Goumri is hungry for the win. He has come in second place in New York twice (2007 and 2008) and London once (2007). The 2008 Chicago champion, Evans Cheruiyot, had been expected to start, but suddenly withdrew on Tuesday.
Deena Kastor is one of the favorites at the 2009 Chicago Marathon. © www.photorun.net
A German citizen has never won the women’s race. This may change on Sunday as 37-year-old Irina Mikitenko stands a good chance to win. She has run the fourth-fastest marathon ever and has won four major marathons in her incredible career. There is some speculation about her form going into this race, however, considering the unfortunate passing of her father over the summer forced her to take an unexpected break from training. Along with Mikitenko at the start line will be the American record-holder, Deena Kastor. When Deena spoke with Take The Magic Step® in August she had this to say about Chicago: “My goal is to win the race and I typically get in shape fast and now it seems my body is able to handle the workload that I want it to. It’s coming around at the right time.” And not to be left out when reviewing the women’s field is the returning champion, Lidiya Grigoryeva of Russia who has also won the Boston Marathon in 2007. Others to watch: Teyba Erkesso (Ethiopia/2:24:18), Mizuho Nasukawa (Japan/2:25:38) and the Russian Liliya Shobukhova who debuted this year in London with a 2:24:24.
Irina Mikitenko: “I’m excited about my U.S. debut on the road in Chicago”
Irina Mikitenko spoke with Take The Magic Step® before her start at the Chicago Marathon.
How are you feeling before your very first road race in the U.S.? You’ve only completed in the United States once before and that was in the 5,000 meters at the Olympics in Atlanta in 1996.
Irina Mikitenko: I’m really excited about this debut in the U.S. I’m looking forward to running in the USA, because it has so many big and high-class races. As well as that, this is where the mass running movement and the big-city marathons began. It will also be very interesting to see how I cope with the time change in a race like this and how everything else comes together as well. The Bank of America Chicago Marathon will be the third of five races in the World Marathon Majors which I have run. So far I’ve done Berlin and London and maybe I can run all five before my career is over.
Boston and New York are quite hilly in comparison to the other races in the series. How would they suit you?
Irina: I tend to prefer flat courses, but I hope I’ll be able to run Boston and New York in the future.
Was the course also a factor in your decision to run Chicago rather than New York?
Irina: Yes, that did play a big part in my decision. I knew that Chicago is a fast course. I wouldn’t have had enough time to prepare for a tough, hilly course like New York. I would have needed another three weeks in order to incorporate a lot of hills in my training.
Were conditions in your training camp in St. Moritz also a deciding factor?
Irina: Yes, they were. New York is three weeks after Chicago, so theoretically there would have been time. But altitude training in St. Moritz in October would not have been possible because of the weather. I was happy I was able to use my usual training base right through till the end of September. It was already getting very cold in the morning but on the whole the weather was okay. I’ve never been there as late in the year. The skiing season was almost upon us!
How did you decide to run Chicago following the passing of your father and your subsequent decision to withdraw from the World Championship Marathon?
Irina: I only really started training properly again shortly before the World Championships and, without putting pressure on myself, took stock of how my form was coming along. Then I went to altitude in St. Moritz on August 30. Things were going better from week to week, hence my decision to run a big race this year after all. I wanted to get back into the swim of things. It’s easy to lose the desire to compete; it’s tough getting started again after a break. And the longer you wait, the harder it is. After my father’s death and the break from training it wasn’t psychologically easy to start again. We thought a long time about whether I should run Chicago or not, because it’s a very demanding race. It’s a big marathon with a very strong field and times are bound to be fast.
What’s your form like now? Can you compare training sessions with those before you ran the 2008 Berlin Marathon when you set a German record of 2:19:19 hours?
Irina: Training went well in St. Moritz and I feel fine about my form. Even if I’ve had a little less time to prepare compared with my previous marathons, I hope it will be good enough. It’s not really possible to make comparisons because the pattern of my training was very different since the preparation time was shorter.
What was your longest run in comparison with previous build-ups and what was your maximum weekly training total?
Irina: My longest run was 32 kilometers, in preparing for previous marathons I went up to 35K sometimes. For a short time I was averaging 200K a week, as I’ve done in the past. But in contrast to previous build-ups I emphasized quality sessions more in the final phase. So I ran faster but not so many kilometers as before. In that case I only ran 180K a week.
What’s your target in Chicago?
Irina: It’s difficult to make predictions. But when I’m on the start line of a big race, I always want to win and give everything I’ve got. There are going to be some very strong women alongside me. But I can’t just be watching the others; I have to concentrate on what I’m doing.
Whom do you rate as your strongest rival?
Irina: I think the Russian runners are going to be very strong and this applies especially to Liliya Shobukhova who ran London in April and finished third on her debut. She certainly has a lot more ability, which will come out following this first marathon. I also have to take into account Teyba Erkesso because you always have to respect the Ethiopian runners. Then there’s the American record holder Deena Kastor whose best time is only a fraction slower than mine. And she’ll be on home ground, as it were.
Whatever the outcome, you’re more or less certain of winning the WMM Series 2008-2009.
Irina: There are still two races left this year. Chicago is top of my agenda and anything else is secondary. I’ll look at the points table afterwards.
Do you have any more major goals?
Irina: The Olympic Marathon 2012 in London remains a big target for me. To run the classic distance at an Olympic games is something unique.
