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Lead Stories: Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Chicago Completes Elite Fields with Adere & Njenga

Posted October 2nd, 2008 at 5:43 PM by David Monti

Section: News & Results, Marathons

Race director Carey Pinkowski has completed his elite fields for the 2008 Bank of America Chicago Marathon scheduled for Sunday, Oct. 12, adding two of the most successful athletes in the race’s 31-year history.

Two-time defending women’s champion Berhane Adere of Ethiopia got her second victory at Chicago last year when she caught rising Romanian star, Adriana Pirtea, in the final few meters of the race. Running in unusually hot conditions, Adere made up a big deficit in the last kilometer to get her second Chicago victory. In much cooler conditions, Adere also won in 2006 in a personal best 2:20:42, a mark which remains the Ethiopian record.

No woman has every won Chicago three years in a row.
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Mikitenko Will Not Chase WMM Title in New York

Posted September 30th, 2008 at 8:00 AM by David Monti

Section: News & Results, Marathons

In a surprising development, newly crowned real,- Berlin Marathon champion Irina Mikitenko said she would not attempt to win the 2007/2008 World Marathon Majors series title and the attendant USD 500,000 award by competing in the ING New York City Marathon on Sunday, Nov. 2. The three-time Olympian is currently tied with Ethiopian Gete Wami for the series lead with 65 points, and Wami’s participation in New York has already been announced.

“Money isn’t everything,” said Mikitenko at a press conference in Berlin today. “I’ve already done very well, winning London and Berlin. If you’re in a sport at this level, you need goals and targets, and my goal is next year’s World Championships marathon here in Berlin. The most important thing is to win. If you win, money follows.”
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Mikitenko Hoping for Home Country Win in Berlin

Posted September 25th, 2008 at 5:47 PM by David Monti

Section: News & Results, Marathons

A German woman hasn’t crossed the finish line first at the real,- Berlin Marathon since Uta Pippig won in 1995, her third Berlin victory. But, with 2008 Flora London Marathon champion Irina Mikitenko in the race, organizers hope that will change on Sunday for the 35th edition of the race.

Mikitenko, 36, was the surprise winner in London with a 2:24:14 personal best, breaking away with a 5:13 24th mile to drop Gete Wami of Ethiopia and Svetlana Zakharova of Russia.

“I had so much energy left,” she said through a translator after her race in London. “I knew I could run much faster.”
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World Marathon Majors Fall Season Set Open in Berlin

Posted September 17th, 2008 at 9:02 AM by David Monti

Section: News & Results, Marathons

With the Olympic Games results now in the books, the World Marathon Majors is set to open the Fall season at the real,-BERLIN-MARATHON on Sunday, September 28. Six athletes are still in the running for a half share of the $1,000,000 annual prize.

On the men’s side, Kenyans Martin Lel and Robert Kipkoech Cheruiyot are the last two athletes in contention for the 2007/2008 title. Lel has 76 points to Cheruiyot’s 55. Lel has already scored in four events (the maximum number allowed in a two-year scoring period). Should he choose to race again, Lel could still improve his score by improving upon his 5th-place finish in the Olympic Games because an athlete may have his best four results count. For Cheruiyot to defend his championship he will first have to recover from the injury which forced him to withdraw from the Olympics. Then, only a victory –coupled with Lel failing to add to his lead– would give Cheruiyot the title.
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2008 World Marathon Majors Series Continues With Boston Marathon

Posted April 21st, 2008 at 1:31 PM by Adam Jacobs

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

The 2008 World Marathon Majors (WMM) series continued today with the crowning of the men’s and women’s champions at the 112th running of the Boston Marathon. The inaugural WMM men’s champion Robert Kipkoech Cheruiyot of Kenya moved into second place in the 2007-08 series championship in becoming the youngest four-time Boston Marathon champion. Ethiopia’s Dire Tune added her name to the series leaderboard in the closest women’s finish in the history of the race.

Martin Lel of Kenya and Irina Mikitenko of Germany both earned 25 points in winning last week’s Flora London Marathon, the first of six races in the series in 2008. The next points races in the 2007-08 series will be the Olympic Marathons this August in Beijing. At the conclusion of the two-year series this fall, the male and female point leaders will each be awarded $500,000.
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Can Anyone Dethrone Cheruiyot at Boston?

Posted April 19th, 2008 at 3:26 PM by David Monti

Section: News & Results, Marathons

Robert Kipkoech Cheruiyot, the willowy Kenyan who overcame a childhood of destitution to become a three-time Boston Marathon champion and the inaugural World Marathon Majors points leader, is poised to win yet another Boston title on Monday. Can anyone stop him?

“Many people are here to win,” said the smiling Cheruiyot as he chatted with reporters yesterday in a fancy ballroom at the Copley Plaza Hotel. “But I don’t know what place I will be.”

Cheruiyot, who won here in 2003, 2006 and 2007 and set the course record of 2:07:14 with his second victory, is a solid favorite to collect his fourth Boston title on Monday.
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Boston Marathon Boosts Prize Money for 2008

Posted April 15th, 2008 at 4:00 PM by David Monti

Section: News & Results, Marathons

Winning the Boston Marathon just got 50% sweeter.

At next Monday’s 112th running of America’s oldest marathon, the male and female winners will receive $150,000, a hefty boost over last year’s $100,000 payment. Thanks to the sponsorship of John Hancock Financial, the Boston champions will now receive the largest prize money check of the five commercial events of the World Marathon Majors.
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WCSN Offers First Ever Global Webcast of Boston Marathon

Posted April 2nd, 2008 at 10:21 AM by thefinalsprint.com

Section: News & Results, Marathons

World Championship Sports Network (WCSN), the premier destination for fans of Olympic and lifestyle sports, will be offering the first ever global webcast of the 112th running of the Boston Marathon via its broadband network.

Holding its traditional place on Patriots’ Day, Monday, April 21, beginning at 9:25 a.m. EST, race fans can go to www.wcsn.com for comprehensive start to finish coverage of the 26.2 mile event as more than 20,000 contenders set stride on the hilly New England terrain including the infamous one-half mile stretch known as Heartbreak Hill.

Deemed one of the world’s most prestigious and oldest annual road racing events, the Boston Marathon is the second stop on the World Marathon Majors, a marathon series offering a $1 million prize purse to be split between the leading male and female marathoners in the world.
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Defending Champions to Return to Boston Marathon

Posted January 23rd, 2008 at 12:06 PM by David Monti

Section: News & Results, Marathons

Organizers of the Boston Marathon announced today that Robert Kipkoech Cheruiyot and Lidiya Grigoryeva, their 2007 champions, planned to return to the race this year to defend their titles.

“We are very excited to have both of our defending champions returning for the 112th Boston Marathon,” said Guy Morse, executive director of the Boston Athletic Association through a media release sent by John Hancock Financial, the principal sponsor of the race. “Robert and Lidiya showed their strength by winning in difficult conditions in 2007. We look forward to seeing how they follow up on those victories in 2008.”

Cheruiyot, the 2006/2007 World Marathon Majors champion and Boston Marathon course record holder, got his third Boston victory in last year’s windy and rainy race, crossing the finish line in 2:14:13, the slowest winning time in 30 years. As in his previous Boston victories, Cheruiyot, 29, timed effort to perfection.
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Thrilling Finishes & Record- Breaking Performances Help World Marathon Majors Usher in Brand New Era

Posted December 12th, 2007 at 12:15 PM by Hariz Siddiqui

Section: News & Results, Marathons

World, national and course records, thrilling finishes, more than 300,000 participants, and a championship race that went down to the final day highlighted the inaugural 2006-2007 World Marathon Majors Series, and ushered in a brand new era of growth and excitement in the sport.

After a six month break, the excitement will continue at the 2008 Flora London Marathon on April 13, followed eight days later by the 112th Boston Marathon on April 21.

Here is a look back at some of the many highlights from the 2006-2007 World Marathon Majors Series:

Record Breakers:

* 2006: Robert K. Cheruiyot (KEN) sets a course record of 2:07:14 at the 110th Boston Marathon.
* Deena Kastor (USA) sets a new American record of 2:19:36 in winning the 2006 Flora London Marathon, becoming the eighth woman to break 2:20:00.
* Ethiopians Haile Gebrselassie (2:05:56) and Gete Wami (2:21:34) each set national records in victory at the 2006 real,-BERLIN-MARATHON.
* Gebrselassie sets a new world record of 2:04:26 at the 2007 real,-BERLIN-MARATHON.
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