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Lead Stories: Monday, December 1, 2008

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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Wanjiru Surges to Olympic Marathon Title

Posted August 24th, 2008 at 9:05 AM by David Monti

Section: News & Results, Marathons, Olympics

Like Usain Bolt in the 100 and 200 meters,
marathoner Sammy Wanjiru blew away the field and the Olympic record here today, surging away from a stacked field to win Kenya’s first ever Olympic Marathon gold medal. Just 21 years-old, Wanjiru won his
second marathon in three starts, getting under Carlos Lopes’s 1984 Games record by nearly three minutes. Unfazed by a blazing sun, he recorded a finish time which would win nearly any cool weather marathon in the spring or fall: 2:06:30.

“The best guy won today,” said 2004 ING New York City Marathon champion Hendrick Ramaala of South Africa. “He runs without fear.”

Wanjiru beat up on the field right from the opening gun. There would be no dawdling pace at the start of this marathon, not like so many other major championships in the past. Wanjiru and teammates Martin Lel and Luke Kibet got some unexpected assistance from the Eritreans Yared Asmerom and Yonas Kifle, and the pace was hot in the opening kilometers. The first 5 km went down in 14:52, a 2:05:28 marathon finish pace, dramatically faster than anyone had expected.
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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, 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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Lead Pack of 7 intact through 10 miles of Olympic Marathon

Posted August 23rd, 2008 at 8:20 PM by Jared Markowitz

Section: News & Results, Marathons, Olympics

A lead pack of 7 men have passed the 10 mile mark of the Olympic Marathon in a sizzling 47:46. This pack includes all three Kenyan entrants (Martin Lel, Samuel Wanjiru, and Luke Kibet) as well as Moroccans Abderrahim Goumri and Jaouad Gharib and Eritreans Yared Asmeron and Yonas Kifle. The Kenyans and Eritreans have been trading the lead, with Samuel Wanjiru periodically leading surges to pull the leaders further from the rest of the field. They are currently under 2:05 pace, quite ambitious considering the rising temperatures on this summer morning. The temperatures have risen nine degrees (into the mid-80s) since the start and will likely continue to rise in the next two hours.

Back in the pack, the Americans are running more conservatively and perhaps more intelligently. Dathan Ritzenhein is about 50 seconds back, Ryan Hall is about 70 seconds back, and Brian Sell is about 2:33 off the leaders. Look for these men to pick off competitors throughout the second half of the race as the pace takes its toll. Hall is perhaps drawing his inspiration from Deena Kastor’s bronze medal effort in 2004, where the American moved up throughout the race as her more ambitious competition faltered in the heat. Nonetheless, the Americans have a lot of ground to make up…

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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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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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