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London Marathon Lines Up Superb Men’s Field
Posted November 25th, 2008 at 9:28 AM by David Monti
Section: News & Results, Marathons
Race director Dave Bedford completed his holiday shopping early, opening his checkbook wide to purchase a superb men’s field for next April’s Flora London Marathon.
Not only has he brought back the top four finishers from his own event, but five of the top six finishers from the Beijing Olympic Marathon, including all of the medalists. Eight men in the field have broken the 2:07 barrier, and previous champions from the marathons in Chicago, London, New York, Paris, Rotterdam and Tokyo are all in the field.
“With 11 men who have run faster than 2:08 this is probably the highest quality field we’ve ever assembled for the men’s race,” Bedford said through a media release.
At the top of the heap are Kenya’s two best marathoners, 2007/2008 World Marathon Majors champion Martin Lel, and Olympic gold medalist Samuel Wanjiru.
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Evans Cheruiyot Shatters PR, Makes Statement with Chicago Marathon Victory
Posted October 12th, 2008 at 11:00 AM by Adam Jacobs
Section: News & Results, Marathons
1 Cheruiyot, Evans 2:06:25 (KEN)
2 Mandago, David 2:07:37 (KEN)
3 Cherigat, Timothy 2:11:39 (KEN)
4 Korir, Wesley K. 2:13:53
5 Lauret, Martin 2:15:10 (NED)
6 Mutai, Emmanuel 2:15:36 (KEN)
7 Reneau, Mike 2:16:20 (USA)
8 Kipsang, William 2:16:41 (KEN)
9 Njenga, Daniel 2:17:33 (KEN)
10 Limo, Richard 2:18:48 (KEN)
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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2008 Previews & Predictions: Men’s Marathon
Posted January 24th, 2008 at 1:38 PM by Jared Markowitz
Section: News & Results, Marathons, Olympics
The marathon promises to be one of the most exciting events in the track and field world this coming year. From marquee matchups to record attempts, the Olympic Games to another Marathon Major Contest, 2008 should be another fantastic year for this historic distance. In the following paragraphs I will outline the cast of characters who will seek to etch their names in the history books in 2008. I will also offer one journalist’s thoughts on what could happen in the big races. It has been said that marathons are tremendously difficult to forecast, but rest assured that this former mediocre DIII runner has all the answers.
The first major (at least in the financial sense) marathon of 2008 was the Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon, held this past Sunday. The big news from this race was the world record attempt by Ethiopian legend Haile Gebrselassie. Fresh off his 2:04:26 world record in Berlin this past fall, “The Emperor” struck back with a 2:04:52, the second fastest time ever. Gebrselassie’s only fault was a blistering first half that left him a bit overextended and unable to hang on for the record. His time did serve notice, in case anyone wasn’t already convinced, that Geb will be a force to be reckoned with in this Olympic year as long as he can overcome the interaction of Beijing pollution and his severe allergies.
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Lel Leads Stacked Elite Field for 2008 London Marathon
Posted December 12th, 2007 at 10:15 AM by David Monti
Section: News & Results, Marathons
Martin Lel, the only man to ever win the Flora London and ING New York City Marathons in the same year, headlines London’s field for next April, race director Dave Bedford announced today.
The 29 year-old Lel, who won both the London and New York races in sprint finishes over Moroccan Abderrahim Goumri, also won London in 2005. He has a personal best time of 2:06:41.
“I am very pleased to be able to defend my title.,” Lel commented through a media release. “I am training hard to make sure I am in top shape for my bid to win a third time. I know it will be tough, but I love running in London and am confident I can win again.”
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Amsterdam Marathon Ranked Number One For Speed
Posted November 7th, 2007 at 6:17 PM by Martin Kennedy
Section: News & Results, Marathons
Despite World Record holder Paula Radcliffe’s best efforts to tear up the tarmac in New York, the Amsterdam Marathon remains at the top of the World rankings of fastest marathon cities of 2007.
Frankfurt was fast enough to challenge the all-time fastest city Berlin, but Amsterdam has shaken off it’s laid back image to hold on to it’s dominant 1.83 minute lead at the top of the rankings.
The course that saw Kenyan winner Emmanuel Mutai smash his personal best from 2:13.06 to 2:06.29, also brought national success for Kamiel Maase, who bettered his own Dutch record by 10 seconds as the first European home in ninth place at 2:08.21.
2007 Rankings:
(Average times for the World rankings of fastest Marathon cities are calculated by the average of the 10 fastest finishers.)
1. Amsterdam 2.07.52
2. Frankfurt 2.09.35
3. Berlin 2.09.38
4. Hamburg 2.09.41
5. London 2.09.55
6. Paris 2.10.34
7. Eindhoven 2.11.51
8. New York 2.12.25
9. Rotterdam 2.12.28
10. Lake Biwa/Otsu 2.13.02
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Who was America's most-valuable male runner in 2008?
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