by Larry Eder
Edna Kiplagat, 2010 Bay to Breakers, photo by PhotoRun.net.
In a truly tactical and exciting race, the women’s race kept fans of the ING NYCM Marathon on their toes! Edna Kiplagat took the win, with a daring and gutty run over the last thirteen minutes, with Shalane Flanagan in second and Mary Keitany, both in their debut! Here is how the race unfolded:
In a very conservative first half, a pack of 24 women started, hitting
the first three miles in 18:03, and six miles in 34:47. The ten
kilometer mark at 36:00 found Kim Smith from New Zealand, Mara Yamauchi of Great Britain, debut marathoners Shalane Flanagan and Mary Keitany in the front pack.
The
women’s elite pack, down to 21 at 15k, hit that mark in 53:54, with
Mara Yamauchi trying to drop the pretenders. Kim Smith was there as was Christelle Daunay,
the French record holder, and Shalane Flanagan running very relaxed.
Derartu Tulu, the 2009 ING NYCM champ, was right there as well.
Mara
Yamauchi, a Brit who lives in Japan and had a rough time getting to
Virgin London last year, was looking for redemption. Yamauchi, who is
coached by her husband, hit ten miles in 57:47. While the pace had
dropped from six minute pace to 5:45, and the pack was down to fourteen,
Yamauchi was not getting her desired effect.
Looking very good was 2010 BAA champ Teyba Erkesso, who runs with this long, elegant stride and very little wasted effort. Erkesso, Kim Smith, Shalane Flanagan, Katie McGregor,
all looked well as the pack of 14 hit the 20k in 1:11:52. Erkesso was
leading, as they passed 20k and Yamauchi began her rough day, finally
finishing 13th.
Erkesso, Petrova, Buzunesh Deba, Pushkareva,
Flanagan were all there, as the pack, now at 11, hit the half-way point
in a pedestrian 1:15:47. This meant one thing-a fast finish!
The
pack was large, and that was exemplified just before 25k (1:29:58), as
Caroline Rotich, who missed her bottle at an aid station, ran back to
get it. Thanks to the roominess of the aid area, no one fell down, but
it was close!
Right after 25k, it was quite apparent that this
was proving to be a very interesting race. Teyba Erkesso, Kim Smith,
Mary Keitany and Shalane Flanagan were running up front. Debut
marathoners Shalane Flanagan and Mary Keitany looked great. Derartu
Tulu, last year’s winner began to fall off the back, finished in
fourteenth, right behind Mara Yamauchi.
Flanagan, the current AR
at 10,000 meters, former AR at 5,000 meters (holds 5,000m indoor AR),
looked fantastic. Confident in her training, Shalane had completed a
twelve week training program, starting on August 6, and finishing this
past week. ” My first six weeks, at Mammoth Lakes, California,
were about building up my mileage, running 110-120 miles a week. I
focused on volume, which was a lot of miles for me. The last six weeks
started with the Philly half, which was a glorified training run with
great competition. We did sixteen to eighteen mile tempo runs, and those
were my longest runs over the last six weeks. I had run about 22 miles
while I was up in Mammoth.”
So, it was obvious this women was
prepared. But, again, the marathon can be a personal journey into
Dante’s nine levels of hell for some, so who knew? Shalane quoted her
coach,
Jerry Schumacher, who she has worked with for 18 months, ” if
I could keep my shit together, I could be on the podium.” Jerry had
prepared her to run a 2:25 effort on the course, and they both felt that
would be a podium placer. How astute Mr. Schumacher proved to be…
The
pack, now down to eight, consisted of Kiplagat, Flanagan, Keitany,
Abitova, Smith, Daunay, Petrova and Rotich. Hitting 30k in 1:47:13, and
2:04:39, the marathon finally got down to Edna Kiplagat, Mary Keitany and the smooth striding Shalane Flanagan.
Mary Keitany is the hottest women on the roads, non-marathon distance, in 2010. Edna Kiplagat won the Honda LA marathon and Shalane Flanagan had ARs or former ARS at 5,000m and 10,000 meters. So, who would win?
The
challenge with the marathon is to get your legs to do what your heart
commands. There is a time, for all marathoners, where fatigue is both
physical and mental. Overcoming those two challenges are faced by all
marathoners, fast and slow.
With thirteen minutes to go, the
complexion of this race, which had become a very gradual decent into
pain, changed. Edna Kiplagat and Mary Keitany pressed, and Shalane had a
bad patch, and lost thirteen seconds. This was just after 24 miles.
Edna
Kiplagat started to press, her long, furious stride giving her a bit
more real estate between herself the the road goddess Mary Keitany.
Kiplagat had the presence of mind to realize that she was not letting
either Mary or Shalane be within kicking distance with 400 meters to .
Kiplagat succeeded in building a twenty second lead by the finish!
But
who, dear reader, would be second! Ahhhh, that is another story. So, as
Shalane fought back, at 40k, we had Edna Kiplagat at 2:21:03, Mary
Keitany at 2:21:06 and Shalane Flanagan was one second back.
” I
am always a fighter, ” noted Flanagan later, ” and I will fight to the
end, yeah, there was a moment there (when I thought I was third). I just
thought if I could really compose myself…I just knew I had to keep
close to her..”
Just before 25 miles, Shalane Flanagan moved into second and put twenty-one seconds on Mary Keitany.
Today
was Edna Kiplagat’s day! Running a fine 2:28:20, Edna become the 2010
ING NYCM marathon champion. In finishing second in 2:28:40, Shalane
Flanagan matched the best performance by a U.S. women since Kim Jones in
1990! Mary Keitany put a second marathon deb in the first three,
running 2:29:01. In fourth place, Inga Abitova
of Russia, a fierce competitor, ran 2:29:17. Kiwi Kim Smith finished in
fifth in 2:29:28, holding off Christelle Daunay of France by one
second, in 2:29:29.
In seventh, Russia’s Ludmila Petrova ran
2:29:41, with Caroline Rotich of Kenya five seconds back, in 2:29: 46.
Mexico’s Madai Perez, running hard til the very end, finished ninth in
2:29:53 and Buzunesh Deba of Ethiopia was tenth in 2:29:55.
Edna
Kiplagat had this observation after the race, ” This year has gone very
well with me, starting in Los Angeles. I am happy that I have closed the
year with New York success. ” (This was Edna’s fourth road victory for
2010.)
We will finish with some comments from the very happy second placer, Shalane Flanagan:
”
I just felt so prepared to seize the opportunity. I just stayed calm
and collected. I tried to stay with the women as long as I could. It
came down who had heart and legs at end. My heart was there, my legs
were a bit behind, but as soon as I finished second, I started figuring
out what I needed to do to finish first…to be able to call myself a
marathoner, it is a little too much for me.
I am going to Hawaii, and then a burger and a beer. “
While
45,660 runners started the race today, one the women’s side, it came
down to three women running furiously over the last thirteen minutes, to
determine the winner. For 2010, Edna Kiplagat will have her name on the
all the official results as the winner of the ING NYCM marathon. For
Shalane Flanagan, she has, in her first marathon, shown that she will be
a contender for London 2012. And for Mary Keitany, know that Mary will
be racing against the two in front of her over the next few years with a
score to settle. ” I will go home and train a bit, with more effort.”
That should translate to some scintillating marathon finishes in the
future…
