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Lead Stories: Saturday, November 22, 2008

Wanjiru Sets Olympic Marathon Record in Victory

Posted August 23rd, 2008 at 10:01 PM by Jared Markowitz

Section: News & Results, Marathons, Olympics

Kenya’s Samuel Wanjiru used a blistering early pace and a late race surge to shatter the Olympic Record in winning the final distance event of these Games. Wanjiru’s time of 2:06:32 broke the old record by an astounding 2:49 and is even more remarkable considering the sweltering conditions in which he performed. Wanjiru was joined on the podium by silver medalist Jaouad Gharib of Morocco (2:07:16) and Tsegay Kebede of Ethiopia (2:10:00). Despite his country’s dominance on the world marathon circuit, Wanjiru’s triumph was the first Olympic gold medal for Kenya.

The storylines prior to this race were focused mainly on the Kenyan contingent and their goal of ending their gold medal drought. Despite the withdrawal of four-time Boston Marathon champ Robert Cheruiyot, the Kenyan squad of Wanjiru, multiple-time New York and London champ Martin Lel, and reigning World Champion Luke Kibet would prove formidable. The Kenyans were expected to face stiff competition from the Moroccan and Ethiopian teams as well as notable individual challengers such as American Ryan Hall. Perhaps the biggest challenge for every runner in the field would be the conditions, as a flat course would be offset by the heat and humidity typical of summer in Beijing.
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Wanjiru Wins Olympic Marathon; Gharib and Kebede Claim Silver and Bronze

Posted August 23rd, 2008 at 9:43 PM by Jared Markowitz

Section: News & Results, Marathons, Olympics

Kenyan Samuel Wanjiru has won the Olympic Marathon, the first Olympic Marathon gold medal for the storied Kenyan distance team. Wanjiru’s time of 2:06:32 broke the old Olympic record by almost 3:00 (2:09:21 was the old record) and was a remarkable achievement given the steamy conditions. Morocco’s Jaouad Gharib took silver in while Ethiopia’s Tsegay Kebede took bronze, passing teammate Deriba Merga on the track.

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Wanjiru, Merga, Gharib only men left at 20 miles

Posted August 23rd, 2008 at 8:57 PM by Jared Markowitz

Section: News & Results, Marathons, Olympics

The lead pack of the Olympic Marathon has been whittled to three- Samuel Wanjiru of Kenya, Deriba Merga of Ethiopia, and Jaouad Gharib of Morocco. Their 20 mile split was 1:35:52, still right around 2:05:40 pace. Wanjiru and Merga look very strong while Gharib has drifted off the pace numerous times but has been able to claw back to the front each time. Martin Lel and Yonas Kifle are now off the leaders, but running together as the closest pursuers. Americans Dathan Ritzenhein and Ryan Hall are in 10th and 13th, about 2:30 and 3:30 back respectively. Brian Sell is another 1:30 back from Hall in 18th place. Thus far the leaders have been able to deal with the heat admirably, but this last 10k promises to challenge every man in the race. Stay tuned….

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Ryan Hall Takes Fifth at 2008 Flora London Marathon

Posted April 14th, 2008 at 5:46 AM by Martin Kennedy

Section: News & Results, Marathons

U.S. marathon phenom Ryan Hall (Big Bear Lake, Calif.) on Sunday ran 2:06:17 to finish fifth at the Flora London Marathon, the opening race of the 2008 World Marathon Majors series. Martin Lel (KEN) successfully defended his title running a new course record of 2:05:15, American Khalid Khannouchi’s mark by 23 seconds.

Hall’s time makes him the second fastest American all-time for the marathon behind Khannouchi.
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2008 London Marathoners Assault Alltime List

Posted April 13th, 2008 at 7:36 AM by Jimmie R. Markham

Section: News & Results, Marathons

The 2008 Flora London Marathon produced 5 of the 22 fastest marathon times of all time, including the 5th, 6th and 7th fastest of all time (Martin Lel’s 2:05:15, Samuel Wanjiru’s 2:05:24 and Abderrahim Goumri’s 2:05:30). Not too far back were Emmanuel Mutai and Ryan Hall with the 17th and 23rd fastest times of all time, Mutai running a 2:06:15 and Hall just two seconds back in 2:06:17. Hall’s performance makes him the 2nd fastest American of all time, only 38 seconds behind Khalid Khannouchi’s 2:05:38 and the fastest American born marathoner of all time. Hall also became the 3rd fastest non-African marathoner of all time, behind only Brazil’s Ronaldo da Costa (2:06:05) and Japan’s Toshinari Takaoka’s (2:06:16). Hall also becomes the 17th fastest marathoner of all time. Here are the top marathers off all time:

01. 2:04:26 Haile Gebrselassie (ETH) Berlin, 09/30/2007
02. 2:04:53 Haile Gebrselassie (ETH) Dubai, 01/18/2008
03. 2:04:55 Paul Tergat (KEN) Berlin, 09/28/2003
04. 2:04:56 Sammy Korir (KEN) Berlin, 09/28/2003
05. 2:05:15 Martin Lel (KEN) London, 04/13/2008
06. 2:05:24 Samuel Wanjiru (KEN) London, 04/13/2008
07. 2:05:30 Abderrahim Goumri (MAR) London, 04/13/2008
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Martin Lel Earns Third London Marathon Title; Ryan Hall Sets PR & Finishes 5th

Posted April 13th, 2008 at 7:00 AM by Adam Jacobs

Section: News & Results, Marathons, Special Features, Live Race Coverage

Martin Lel has earned his third Flora London Marathon championship; finishing in 2:05:15. Lel was followed by fellow Kenyan Sammy Wanjiru (2:05:25) and Abderrahim Goumri (2:05:31); marking the first time in history that three runners finished under 2:06.

Lel’s time set a new London Marathon course record; breaking the previous record set by American Khalid Khannouchi.

Although the elite men had been on pace for a new world record, they began to fall off their blistering pace just pass the half-way mark. This early, and almost a historical pace, caused a large divide between the top six finishers and the next large pack of leaders that included Kenya’s Felix Limo.

Ryan Hall, who 2004 Olympic Marathon gold medalist Stefano Baldini dubbed the future of the sport, set another PR with a time of 2:06:17 and finished in fifth place. Hall came in just one second behind fourth place finisher Emmanuel Mutai of Kenya.
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London Marathon 2008: Elite Men’s Race Preview

Posted April 11th, 2008 at 2:00 PM by Jared Markowitz

Section: News & Results, Marathons

Even with the upcoming Beijing Olympics, the Flora London Marathon stands out as the most competitive distance race of the year. The 2008 edition features a mixture of accomplished marathon veterans and talented newcomers, all vying for spots on the prestigious London podium.

Leading the way will be defending London and New York champ Martin Lel. Lel won both of his titles last year in sprint finishes over Abderrahim Goumri, who will also be back for more. Lel’s London buildup has gone well, as he moved his camp to Namibia to train with 2007 Boston champ Robert Cheruiyot and avoid the recent violence in Kenya. He should once again be the favorite, although Goumri’s track pedigree (12:50 for 5k) will give him a chance if it again comes down to the last quarter mile.
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WMM Champ Cheruiyot Joins RAK Half-Marathon Field

Posted January 30th, 2008 at 3:31 PM by David Monti

Section: News & Results, Marathons

Robert Kipkoech Cheruiyot, the Kenyan whose bank account was fattened by the $500,000 he won as the inaugural World Marathon Majors champion last year, has joined the field for the Ras Al Khaimah Half-Marathon set for Friday, Feb. 8.

The “RAK Half” as it has come to be known, which was only held for the first time one year ago, has quickly established itself as the world’s top winter half-marathon. At last year’s competition, Samuel Wanjiru blazed the flat course in 58:53, then a world record. Wanjiru led two other men, Patrick Makau and Deriba Merga, under the one hour mark. Eight men broke 61 minutes.
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Great Ethiopian Run Set for Sunday in Addis Ababa

Posted November 20th, 2007 at 10:44 AM by David Monti

Section: News & Results

The seventh edition of the Great Ethiopian Run International 10-K is set for Sunday in Addis Ababa. Organizers reported last week that more than 30,000 runners have registered for the event which was originally scheduled to take place on Sep. 9, to coincide with Ethiopia’s Millennium celebrations, but was postponed because of security fears.

For this event, Haile Gebrselassie assumes the role of race director, and he’s invited a number of international guests, including Britain’s former 5000m world record holder David Moorcroft and ING New York City Marathon race director, Mary Wittenberg, who will be making her first trip to Ethiopia.
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Tadesse Successfully Defends World Road Running Title in Udine

Posted October 14th, 2007 at 12:30 PM by Bob Ramsak

Section: News & Results

Kicking from a tight four man pack in the 57th minute, Zersenay Tadesse of Eritrea successfully defended his title at the 2nd IAAF World Road Running Championships in Udine, Italy, today.

Tadesse, also the reigning World Cross Country champion, covered the half marathon distance in 58:59, a championships record, comfortably holding off Kenyan Patrick Makau Musyoki’s (59:02) homestretch rally by three seconds. Evans Cheruiyot was third (59:05) and Ethiopian Deriba Merga, who along with Tadesse controlled much of the race’s tempo, was fourth (59:16).

Taking advantage of the near ideal conditions and fast course, the race was fast from the outset, with the quartet passing the first 10 kilometers in 27:35 and 15km in 41:34, just six seconds of world record pace in the latter.
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