Some Kenyan runners who should know say that although Wilson Kipsang now holds the world record in the marathon (2:03:23), Kenya’s top gun in the marathon is actually Geoffrey Mutai, a tough, confident, experienced and supremely talented runner … one who actually ran the fastest marathon ever, 2:03:02 (4:42 per mile!) in winning the 2011 Boston Marathon, although Boston has too much downhill for times recorded there to be eligible for world record consideration.
(One can see the headshaking of all those intrepid souls who have run Boston as they think, “Hey, gimme a break! Heartbreak Hill, all those downhill stretches pounding the dickens out of your legs – and this guy runs 2:03:02 on that! Who says that's not a record?")
The 5’7”, 119-pound Mutai, who’s 32, did nothing to diminish his stature at the New York City Half-Marathon, Sun., March 16, as he ran 1:00:05 to win by more than a minute when the anticipated showdown with Olympic and World Championships 5- and 10,000-meter winner Mo Farah fizzled after Farah took a bad fall five miles into the race.
Not that Mutai, winner of the 2011 New York City Marathon in 2:05:05 and winner again last year in 2:08:24, was unduly concerned about Farah and his obvious ability to start with – as he said two days before the New York City Marathon, in acknowledging Farah but being more concerned about his own performance, “For me, it’s my own 13-mile race, and I focus on it from the beginning.”
After a slow early start through the hills of Central Park, Mutai, running with single-minded confidence, began to push the pace. Farah fell, seemingly tripping over his own legs, while running in a small pack behind Mutai and fellow Kenyan Stephan Sambu. Mutai surged at that point – with only Sambu, who’s 25 and trains with Bernard Lagat, going with him.
When Mutai and Sambu turned south on the West Side Highway at eight miles, Mutai simply ran away from his countryman – and the only question then was whether he’d break one hour despite the slow early start.
As it turned out, he missed breaking the hour by a mere five seconds, but was very happy with his race nevertheless. Mutai, who has a personal best in the half-marathon of 58:55 (as well as a personal best of 27:19 for the 10,000 meters on the track!), said after winning in New York, “For me, as I was continuing alone, I tried to push it, and I know I was testing my body because this was my first race (of the season).”
He became the first man to win both the New York City Marathon and Half-Marathon, and pocketed the $20,000 first prize for his victory on Sunday.
Don’t discount Mo Farah just yet, however. He showed true grit – you know he has plenty of that – after his fall, in which he hit his right hip and ankle on the pavement. He made a remarkable recovery after he had cleared his head, and steadily made up ground on Sambu, catching him with less than a mile to go. Farah, who’s 30, would finish second in 1:01:07, with Sambu one second behind. Then the Olympic champion passed out at the finish line and was treated by paramedics before being wheeled away in a wheelchair.
He recovered quickly, however, and afterwards said he would resume training almost immediately for the London Marathon next month when he will face Mutai, Kenenisa Bekele and other marathon stars galore.
Unfortunately, he had to deal with stars of another kind in New York on Sunday. Talking about that jolting fall he suffered during the race, he said, “It did take quite a lot out of me. I was pretty much seeing stars (after I fell).”
The first American finisher in the race was Matt Tegenkamp, 32, who was seventh in 1:02:04. The much decorated veteran Meb Keflezighi, 38, was the second American across the line as he finished 10th in 1:02:53.
The women’s race in New York actually had more suspense and drama than the men’s race as five runners stayed together for more than half the distance. But then Sally Kipyego, a 28-year-old Kenyan who now lives in Eugene, Ore., pulled away from the lead group on the West Side Highway – the same stretch where Mutai had moved away in the men’s race. She finished almost half a minute ahead in 1:08:31, a record for the event in her debut at the half-marathon distance.
“The race turned out to be better than I expected, or at least what I thought it was going to be like,” she said afterwards. “I thought I was going to be in so much pain the last two miles or so. Yes, I was feeling pain, but (it was) not as extreme as I thought it would be.”
Buzunesh Deba, 26, an Ethiopian who lives in the Bronx, and U.S. Olympian Molly Huddle, 29, from Rhode Island, finished second and third, running 1:08:59 and 1:09:04 respectively. Huddle is the American recordholder in the 5000 meters on the track.
The New York City Half-Marathon obviously doesn’t have the same stature and reputation as the New York City Marathon, but it has steadily grown in size to the point where the field is now limited to 20,000 runners!
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