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Lead Stories: Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Lel, Ndereba lead Kenyan Olympic Marathon Squad

Posted April 23rd, 2008 at 1:40 PM by Bob Ramsak

Section: News & Results, Marathons, Olympics

Three-time Flora London Marathon champion Martin Lel (Pictured) and reigning world marathon champion Catherine Ndereba will head a strong Kenyan Olympic squad announced by Athletics Kenya today.

Lel, who took down the London course record with his career best 2:05:15 10 days ago, will be joined by Robert Cheruiyot and Sammy Wanjiru.

Cheruiyot, 33, cruised to his fourth Boston Marathon victory on Monday while Wanjiru, 21, the world record holder for the half-marathon at 58:33, finished second behind Lel in London last week in 2:05:24, also a career best.
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Exciting Sprint Finishes Highlight RAK Half

Posted February 8th, 2008 at 11:00 AM by David Monti

Section: News & Results, Marathons

No half-marathon in the world pays more prize money than the Ras Al Khaimah in the United Arab Emirates, and it looks like race organizers got their money’s worth with today’s edition.

The road race, in only its second year, wrapped up this morning with thrilling sprint finishes on both the men’s and women’s sides. When all the dust had settled, Kenyans Patrick Makau and Salina Kosgei were declared the winners, and will take home USD 25,000 (tax free!).

Makau, a lanky and boyish athlete at age 22, continued to be impressive over his signature distance of 21,097 meters, dipping under the one-hour mark for the fifth time in his still-budding career.
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It’s Official: Paula Radcliffe to Return to London Marathon

Posted January 15th, 2008 at 11:04 AM by David Monti

Section: News & Results, Marathons

Any doubts that Paula Radcliffe might skip the spring marathon season were laid to rest today when Flora London Marathon race director, Dave Bedford, announced that the world record holder would try for her third London title on Sunday, April 13.

“We are delighted to have Paula back in London and pleased that she has decided to race here again against such a strong field,” Bedford said through a media release.

Radcliffe, who turned 34 last month, previously won London in 2002, 2003 and 2005. Should she prevail again this year she would tie Norway’s Ingrid Kristiansen with four titles, the most by any man or woman at London. Radcliffe set the absolute world record in a mixed-gender race in 2003 when she ran a jaw-dropping 2:15:25 with the aid of male pacers. She also set the world record for an all-women’s race in London in 2002 in her marathon debut, clocking a solo 2:18:56. Radcliffe is coming off of a thrilling victory at the ING New York City Marathon last November where she won a pitched battle with Ethiopia’s Gete Wami.
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Edith Masai To Highlight Singapore Marathon

Posted December 1st, 2007 at 10:48 PM by Jeanie Rebb

Section: News & Results, Marathons

Running royalty comes to the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon this Sunday (December 2), in the person of Edith Masai of Kenya. A former 800 metres runner, Masai was a late developer in distance racing, winning her three world cross country titles and a world champs bronze on the track in the early years of the new century, when well into her thirties.

She only made her marathon debut two years ago, with victory in Hamburg in 2.27.06, and finished a highly creditable eighth in the recent World Championships in Osaka in August. At age 40!
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Noguchi Wins Tokyo International Ladies Marathon

Posted November 18th, 2007 at 10:17 AM by David Monti

Section: News & Results, Marathons

Reigning Olympic Marathon champion Mizuki Noguchi won today’s 29th edition of the Tokyo International Ladies Marathon and, almost with certainty, has secured a position on the Japanese team for the Beijing Olympics next August.

Noguchi, 29, dominated the race to win in a new course record of 2:21:37. Her chief rival, Yoko Shibui, stayed within striking distance through 30 km, but faded badly in the final stages of the race to finish seventh in 2:34:19.

Kenyan Salina Kosgei, who ran Tokyo because her USA visa did not come through in time to compete at the ING New York City Marathon on Nov. 4, gave the Olympic champion her biggest challenge, staying with Noguchi through 35 km (1:57:28). But Noguchi ran 16:56 from 35-K to 40-K to Kosgei’s 18:02. Kosgei finished second in 2:23:31, just slightly shy of her personal best time.
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Sunday’s Weather Forecast for New York City Marathon

Posted November 3rd, 2007 at 6:28 PM by Jimmie R. Markham

Section: News & Results, Marathons

Conditions: Mostly Sunny
High: 59°F
Precipitation: 0%
Wind: WNW 15 mph
Max. Humidity: 54%
UV Index: 3 Moderate
Sunrise: 6:29 AM ET
Avg. High: 58°F
Record High: 78°F (1975)

While these aren’t ideal conditions for a marathon (which would be 47-49°F, overcast, no wind, slight drizzle) they are certainly more than adequate for a good race tomorrow.

To see the complete forecast for tomorrow’s race: [The Weather Channel]

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ING New York City Marathon: Women’s Preview

Posted November 1st, 2007 at 1:00 PM by Jared Markowitz

Section: News & Results, Marathons

The women’s race at the 2007 ING New York Marathon can best be described as a clash of the titans. Arguably the strongest women’s field ever assembled for this race, this contest should not be short on drama, especially with the inaugural World Marathon Majors Championship still in doubt.

The battle for the first World Marathon Majors title has been narrowed to two runners, Latvia’s Jelena Prokopcuka and Ethiopia’s Gete Wami. Prokopcuka is looking to win her third straight New York Marathon, but only boasts a 2:22.56 PB (Osaka WC, 2003). Wami, on the other hand, has a PB of 2:21:34 and has won the Berlin Marathon twice. Wami has defied conventional marathon wisdom by even attempting this race; her most recent victory at Berlin came only five weeks before New York. Can she maintain her peak to become the World Marathon Majors champion or will Jelena Prokopcuka’s Big Apple dominance be too much to overcome?

Complicating matters for Prokopcuka and Wami will be the world’s two fastest women’s marathoners- Britain’s Paula Radcliffe and Kenya’s Catherine Ndereba.
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Inaugural World Marathon Majors Series to Conclude at ING New York City Marathon

Posted October 29th, 2007 at 11:00 AM by Jamal Walker

Section: News & Results, Marathons

Nearly two years have passed since organizers of the Boston, London, Berlin, Chicago and New York City marathons announced the formation of the World Marathon Majors (WMM), and 10 events, including the IAAF World Championships, have been run since the WMM Series was launched at the 2006 Boston Marathon. Just one race – the 2007 ING New York City Marathon – remains before the inaugural WMM Series champions will be presented with their share of the $1 million jackpot at a special luncheon on November 5.

Remarkably, after 10 events – and 262 miles of racing – the women’s WMM Series champion has yet to be decided. Of the 32 women who have earned WMM points, just two remain in contention for the title: Gete Wami (ETH) and Jelena Prokopcuka (LAT). With $500,000 at stake, in addition to the ING New York City Marathon prize purse, the two women will race head-to-head through the streets of New York. A win for either would clinch the title, but anything less than victory opens up an intriguing number of potential results.
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In Points Chase, Wami Will do Both Berlin & New York

Posted September 18th, 2007 at 12:44 PM by David Monti

Section: News & Results, Marathons

Gete Wami already has three Olympic medals, but the 32 year-old Ethiopian is facing a unique challenge this fall which rivals winning an Olympic title: winning the first World Marathon Majors (WMM) series and the $500,000 prize which goes with it.

Wami will be lining up at the start of the real,- Berlin Marathon on Sept. 30 the heavy favorite for victory. Should she defend her title from last year when she ran a national record 2:21:34, she would be awarded 25 points in the both the 2006/2007 and 2007/2008 WMM series championships. That would put her in sole possession of first place in the 2006/2007 series with 65 points, ten more than current leader Jelena Prokopcuka of Latvia.

Then, 35 days later, Wami plans to start the ING New York City Marathon where she will face Prokopcuka, the two-time defending New York Champion. If Prokopcuka wins the race, scoring 25 points, she will be named series champion no matter what place Wami comes in even in the scenario where she they both have 80 points (ties are broken based on head-to-head meetings). However, if Wami defeats Prokopcuka she will win the $500,000 winner-take-all jackpot.
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Zhou and Lel prevail in balmy 2007 London Marathon

Posted April 23rd, 2007 at 9:07 AM by David Monti

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

As they mounted the top step of the podium near the finish line of the 26th Flora London Marathon, Zhou Chunxiu and Martin Lel basked in the warm sunshine which conspired with them to defeat two of the best marathon fields ever assembled.

With the mercury hitting 20°C (68°F) by the time the Zhou finished in a world leading 2:20:38, the warm temperatures combined with a cloudless sky had already taken its toll on some of the sport’s top stars.

Haile Gebrselassie, Stefano Baldini, Khalid Khannouchi, Meb Keflezighi, Galina Bogomolova, Ludmila Petrova, Kyoko Shimahara, Kathy Butler, Blake Russell, and Juan Carlos De La Ossa were just some of the athletes who couldn’t finish, while others were forced to jog the final miles to the finish.
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