April 20081 APR | 6 APR | 13 APR | 19 APR | 20 APR | 21 APR | 27 APR 1 APRIL 2008: NORTH POLE MARATHON, NEUTRAL POLAR OCEANThe race took place at 04:30 GMT in perfect 24-hour daylight and -29°C temperature. The men's race was close to start with before Sik-Ahn Byeung's persistent pressure on the frozen ice floes finally began to tell. He widened the gap over his opponents during the second half, well ahead of the Lithuanian Ignas Staskevicius, who had overhauled Charles Sanders of Great Britain for second place. Cathrine Due and Margit Andersen, the two Danes in the women's event, battled thoughout. Due proved stronger in the latter stages. Unfortunately, unusual logistical delays at the Pole this season caused a five-day delay and this led to two competitors having to withdraw before the race began. Furthermore, an effective cut-off time of seven-and-a-half hours was abruptly forced upon competitors by the logistics company in order for them to make a return flight to Norway. Nevertheless, all participants stood at 90 degrees North, the precise Geographic North Pole. In addition, the few remaining competitors who were agonisingly close to completing the 26.2-mile distance have been invited to attend for free next year, the centenary of Man reaching the Pole. To register for the race, which is now expected to occur in early April 2009, see www.npmarathon.com. MEN: 1 Sik-Anh BYEUNG KOR 4:02:37 2 Ignas STASKEVICIUS LIT 4:19:05 3 Charles SANDERS GBR 4:21:27 4 Jurgen HEILBOCK GER 4:50:01 5 Hans-Willem HANKE GER 5:21:07 6 Craig DAVIS AUS 5:47:50 7 Darius JURGAITIS LIT 5:54:18 8 Peter FERRIS IRL 6:12:05 9 Steve BICKNELL GBR 6:27:10 10 Christopher KLINGSPOR SWE 7:01:10 WOMEN: 1 Catherine DUE DEN 5:37:14 2 Margit ANDERSEN DEN 5:53:10 3 Kirsty DEVONPORT GBR 6:12:05 4 Allison GILL GBR 6:44:08 5 Marie-Hamren LARSSON SWE 7:04:32 6 APRIL 2008: 28TH VATTENFALL BERLIN HALF MARATHON, GERMANYDefending champion Patrick Makau bested Eshetu Wondimu by one second while Peninah Arusei ran the third fastest time in the world this year writes Jorg Wenig. In uncomfortably cold conditions the men's early pace was well off record target as a large group reached 5km in 14:07, but the official pacemaker was already well behind. After passing through 10km in 28:22 and 15km in 42:48 a lead group of four emerged, and it was Wondimu who surged ahead at 19km. Makau responded immediately and the pair passed through 20km in 57:00. Makau secured victory only in the last few metres. "We intended to run faster but it was simply too cold today" said Makau, adding. "I intend to come back to Berlin next year to break my course record (58:56 from last year)." He still clocked the seventh fastest time of the year and the seventh fastest ever in the race. The cold weather also affected the women's race although Peninah Arusei improved her personal best by 61 seconds. "In warmer weather I could have run faster. I think 67 minutes is possible for me" said the 29-year-old Kenyan. For much of the race it had looked as she would surpass Philes Ongori's world leading time (67:57 minutes in Marugame/JPN) as she passed 10km in 31:56 (only 14 seconds slower than her personal best at 10km) and 15km in 48:12, but she slowed towards the end. Arusei returns to Berlin in four weeks for the Berlin 25km race, which she won two years ago. A record 20,660 runners came from 86 countries, and it was the first time that a half marathon in Germany had over 20,000 entries. MEN: 1 Patrick MAKAU KEN 1:00:00 2 Eshetu WONDIMU ETH 1:00:01 3 Elijah KEITANY KEN 1:00:10 4 William TODOO KEN 1:00:12 5 Joseph MAREGU KEN 1:00:48 6 Wilson KIPSANG KEN 1:01:03 WOMEN: 1 Peninah ARUSEI KEN 1:08:22 2 Pauline WANGUI KEN 1:09:51 3 Isabellah ANDERSSON SWE 1:11:24 4 Dulce Maria RODRIGUEZ MEX 1:11:25 5 Milka JEROTICH KEN 1:12:18 6 Beatrice OMWANZA KEN 1:12:40 6 APRIL 2008: 32nd PARIS MARATHON, FRANCE20-year-old Ethiopian Tsegaye Kebede ran the second fastest time in the world this year while Kenyan Martha Komu smashed her personal best by seven minutes writes P-J Vazel. On a sunny, cold (5°C) and still morning 29,706 runners took part. Conditions favoured fast times and the top eight men and top seven women set personal bests. The top 12 men dipped under 2:10 and Kebede came within seven seconds of the 5-year old course record. A large men's pack cruised past halfway in 1:03:40 and positions remained largely unchanged until 30km when six Kenyans and two Ethiopians led the race. The second uphill stretch on the circuit caused the most damage as by 35km there were only three runners battling for the victory: Kebede, countryman Gudisa Shentema and Kenya's Kimeli Arusei. All were running much faster than their personal bests. Arusei was in his fifth marathon after a modest career on the track; the young Kebede debuted last October in Amsterdam with 2:08:16; Shentema, 27, in his tenth marathon had most recently ran 2:09:27 in Dubai on 18 January. But Shentema was the first to go, with 5km remaining, and eventually faded to 4th place. Kebede finally pulled away from Arusei after 40km. Former Kenyan Simon Munyutu took more than 2 minutes off his own personal mark to place 11th in 2:09:24 and looks set to be selected for the French team for Beijing. Sixteen minutes later his fiancée Martha Komu won the women's race. Five runners emerged as contenders in the early stages of the women's race. The two fastest in the field the Ethiopians Worknesh Tola (2:25:42) and Shitaye Gemeshu. Despite her impressive PB, Tola couldn't find a way to break away from the surprising Komu, who finally pulled away to win in the last 200m of the race. MEN: 1 Tsegaye KEBEDE ETH 2:06:40 2 Moses Kimeli ARUSEI KEN 2:06:50 3 Josea ROTICH KEN 2:07:24 4 Gudisa SHENTEMA ETH 2:07:34 5 David KEMBOI KEN 2:08:34 6 Abraham CHELANGA KEN 2:08:56 7 Samson BARMAO KEN 2:09:01 8 Paul KOSGEI KEN 2:09:15 9 Benson BARUS KEN 2:09:23 10 David KIYENG KEN 2:09:23 WOMEN: 1 Martha KOMU KEN 2:25:33 2 Worknesh TOLA ETH 2:25:37 3 Lenah CHERUIYOT KEN 2:26:00 4 Shitaye GEMESHU ETH 2:26:10 5 Alice TIMBILIL KEN 2:26:45 6 Tanya FILONYUL UKR 2:28:40 7 Aimaz MEGERSA ETH 2:29:53 8 Mindaye GISHU ETH 2:30:20 9 Gulnara VIGOVSKAYA RUS 2:30:33 10 Olga GLOK RUS 2:30:40 6 APRIL 2008: POZNAN HALF MARATHON, POLANDMEN: 1 Nathan SOIMO KEN 1:05:59 2 Marek JAROSZEWSKI POL 1:08:14 3 Yevgen SIROTIN UKR 1:08:25 4 Alexey GURKINA RUS 1:08:28 5 Maciej LUCYK POL 1:10:55 6 Vladimir KOTOV RSA 1:13:25 7 Tomasz WILCZYNSKI POL 1:13:41 8 Bence KHOOR HUN 1:13:49 9 Przemyslaw WALEWSKI POL 1:13:52 10 Aron PRZYBYL POL 1:15:44 WOMEN: 1 Karolina JARZYNSKA POL 1:12:33 2 Dorota USTIANOWSKA POL 1:12:42 3 Wioletta URYGA POL 1:16:30 4 Agnieszka JANASIAK POL 1:17:14 5 Renata ANTROPIK POL 1:21:22 6 Magdalena BARTOSZEWICZ POL 1:24:55 7 Monika STRANC-WALEWSKA POL 1:28:18 8 Marta MIKOLAJCZYK POL 1:31:46 9 Kata GYULAVANI HUN 1:33:36 10 Iwona BALCERZAK POL 1:33:53 6 APRIL 2008: MARATON INTERNACIONAL DE SANTIAGO, CHILEMEN: 1 Roberto Etcheverría CHI 2:15:37 2 Peter MWANGI KEN 2:18:59 3 Philip KIPKEMBOI KEN 2:19:48 4 Samuel KIPROTICH KEN 2:22:16 5 Miguel MELENDEZ CHI 2:24:48 WOMEN: 1 Natalia ROMERO CHI 2:45:42 2 Susana REBOLLEDO CHI 2:47:05 3 Julia RIVERA CHI 2:50:30 4 Natalia CASTILLO CHI 2:59:28 5 Virginia PENA CHI 3:00:32 13 APRIL 2008: TURIN MARATHON, ITALYPhoto: Lorenzo Sampaolo Stephen Kibiwott won the Turin Marathon for a second time with a personal best of 2:10:12 in a close battle over the final kilometres writes Diego Sampaolo. Vincenza Sicari dipped under 2:30 in the women's race for an Olympic qualifying time. The men's race was tactical from the beginning as the first half passed in 1:05:30 with pacemakers Hillary Bett and Wilson Busienei leading a group which eventually comprised six Kenyans, two Ukrainians and one Russian. They passed 30km in 1:30:20 but nobody took the initiative until after 35km. Kibiwott and Lomala began to push hard at 37km Sitkovsky fought hard and in the final two kilometres it was Kibiwott and Sitkovsky who had the neck to neck battle with Lomala slightly adrift. With a final kilometre of 2:50 Kibiwott took the win by five seconds while Lomala smashed his previous personal best by four minutes in third place, holding off debutant John Komen by four seconds. The women's race focused on Vincenza Sicari's attempt to run under the 2:30 qualifying time set by the Italian Athletics Federation for the Beijing Olympics. Sicari's previous attempt to qualify one month ago failed when she dropped out of the Rome Marathon. In Turin she ran the first 16km with Kenyan Catherine Kurui and Oksana Slyarenko from Ukraine. Breaking away, she built up an 8-second gap by halfway and continued at a consistent pace. In the final 500m she suffered from a stitch but managed to accomplish her target by finishing in 2:29:50. MEN: 1 Stephen KIBIWOTT KEN 2:10:12 2 Oleksander SITKOWSKY UKR 2:10:17 3 Joseph LOMALA KEN 2:10:21 4 John KOMEN KEN 2:10:25 5 Vasyl MATVICHUK UKR 2:10:36 6 Andreev GRIGORIY RUS 2:11:00 7 Joseph NGENY KEN 2:11:39 8 Philemon TARBEI KEN 2:11:50 9 Daniel LIMO KEN 2:12:33 10 Teshome GELANA ETH 2:13:31 WOMEN: 1 Vincenza SICARI ITA 2:29:50 2 Catherine KURUI KEN 2:35:11 3 Oksana SLYARENKO UKR 2:36:13 4 Elisa DESCO ITA 2:36:53 5 Petra TEVELI HUN 2:37:27 6 Letay NEGASH ETH 2:42:19 7 Shebire FISSEHA ETH 2:50:44 8 Sara FERROGLIA ITA 2:54:26 9 Loretta GIARDA ITA 2:55:59 10 Frederica VIANO ITA 3:00:33 13 APRIL 2008: CANBERRA MARATHON, AUSTRALIAMark Tucker and Jackie Fairweather won the men's and women's marathons but did not stop there. For the past 15 years Canberra has incorporated a 50km option, and any marathon finisher is able to continue on and officially complete the ultra. This year, for the first time, both marathon winners opted to continue, and both of them not only did the marathon/50km double but also broke the Australian 50km records. Jackie Fairweather (nee Gallagher), the 1996 World Triathlon champion and 2002 Commonwealth Games marathon bronze medallist, in addition to the double win and national record, also lowered the World Masters record for 50km, although this is pending ratification by the International Association of Ultrarunners. Mark Tucker, better known as a 1500m runner, announced just two weeks ago that he was retiring from the sport because he had missed selection for the Beijing Olympic Games. However he did add that he was going to make his marathon debut before hanging up his shoes. His debut was so successful in Canberra with the marathon/ultra double, that he is now re-considering his options. Particularly as his prize from Canberra is an Asics travel award to run another marathon in Japan. The marathon continues to be a significant tourism event for Australia's national capital with over 80 per cent of the 1153 entrants being visitors. The Asics Marathon Eve 5km and 10km Fun Runs and the award winning Kids Marathon had record numbers with the event attracting over 2500 participants across race weekend. MEN: 1 Mark TUCKER AUS 2:24:13 2 David CRINITI AUS 2:27:34 3 Andrew TUCKEY AUS 2:29:19 4 Jeremy HORNE AUS 2:32:35 5 Anthony FARRUGIA AUS 2:34:09 6 Bruce GRAHAM AUS 2:36:40 7 Tim COCHRANE AUS 2:38:50 8 Damien JACKEL AUS 2:39:02 9 Ian BRADE AUS 2:40:56 10 Matthew RICHES AUS 2:41:31 WOMEN: 1 Jackie FAIRWEATHER AUS 2:46:01 2 Tina MAJOR AUS 2:47:58 3 Jenny WICKHAM AUS 2:48:46 4 Glenda BANAGHAN AUS 2:52:41 5 Verity TOLHURST AUS 2:55:10 6 Natalie WOOD AUS 2:59:29 7 Bridget WETHERALL AUS 3:00:18 8 Johanna PARSONS AUS 3:01:38 9 Lynda MCRAE AUS 3:03:58 10 Suzanne KELLY AUS 3:07:08 50km MEN: 1 Mark TUCKER AUS 2:53:47 2 David CRINITI AUS 2:58:21 3 Tim COCHRANE AUS 3:13:16 WOMEN: 1 Jackie FAIRWEATHER AUS 3:19:12 2 Kerrie BREMNER AUS 4:01:16 3 Lisa-Anne CAREY AUS 4:02:36 13 APRIL 2008: FORTIS MARATHON ROTTERDAM, NETHERLANDSPhoto: John de Pater William Kipsang set a new course record in winning the 28th Fortis Rotterdam Marathon, while Lyubov Morgunova came from behind in the second half of the race to win the women's event writes Wim Van Hemert. Kipsang bettered Felix Limo's 2004 time by 25 seconds. Many of the top finishers in both races set personal bests, which included a new Finnish record of 2:10:46 for Janne Holmen in ninth place. After the extreme heat of last year conditions were ideal with a light wind and a temperature of 12°C. Before 15km a group of seven had formed, containing Kipsang, Daniel Rono, Charles Kamathi, Richard Limo, Paul Kirui, Benjamin Maiyo and Daniel Yego and this group stayed together until 25km (1:14:31). The group broke up after 30km (1:29:41) and by 35km Kipsang was seven seconds clear. Behind him Kamathi, Rono and Limo formed the chasing pack. At 40km he was 40 seconds ahead and Rono was alone in second place. "In the Kralingse wood, Kipsang was awfully strong, running one kilometre in 2:49", Rono said afterwards. The 37-year-old Russian Lyubov Morgunova was 19 seconds behind Ethiopian Zekiros Adanech at 25km but 5km later they were level, and in the following 5km the experienced Russian pulled ahead, gaining a lead of over two minutes by 40km and setting a new personal best. "Although I was behind at half way, in the final phase of the race I felt very strong." she said. MEN: 1 William KIPSANG KEN 2:05:49 2 Daniel RONO KEN 2:06:58 3 Charles KAMATHI KEN 2:07:33 4 Richard LIMO KEN 2:08:43 5 Paul KIRUI KEN 2:09:46 6 Tom Van HOOSTE BEL 2:10:38 7 Daniel YEGO KEN 2:10:41 8 Benjamin MAIYO KEN 2:10:44 9 Janne HOLMEN FIN 2:10:46 10 Driss El HIMER NED 2:12:08 WOMEN: 1 Lyubov MORGUNOVA RUS 2:25:12 2 Zekiros ADENACH ETH 2:27:32 3 Alessandra AGUILAR ESP 2:29:03 4 Alice CHELAGAT KEN 2:30:18 5 Ines MONTEIRO POR 2:30:36 6 Yesenia CENTENO ESP 2:33:01 7 Viktoriya TRUSHENKO NED 2:33:50 8 Shiru DERIBA ETH 2:37:11 9 Pauline CURLEY NED 2:39:05 10 Bertha SANCHEZ COL 2:39:12 13 APRIL 2008: SAO PAULO HALF MARATHON CORPORE, BRAZILThe 9th edition of the race attracted more than 11,000 participants. A nice day and a festival atmosphere contributed to the continuing growth and development of the event within the City's sporting calendar. At 05:30, before the first rays of the sun, the University precinct was alive with movement. The elite women were set off at 07.15, with the mass field following 15 minutes later. There was a large peloton until 6km, when the Kenyan Kiprono Mutai Chemwolo began to build a lead over Paulo Almeida, who also finished second last year, which extended to 98 seconds by the end of the race. Edielza Alves dos Santos finished third behind the Kenyans Anne Bererwe and Eunice Jepkirui and said "the contest with the Kenyans was good, but when they opened up a gap I had a fight to keep third place". Anne Bererwe, who stormed away to win by over a minute and break the course record, commented that the course was good and fast. MEN: 1 Kiprono Mutai CHEMWOLO KEN 1:04:06 2 Paulo Roberto ALMEIDA PAULA BRA 1:05:44 3 Francisco Barbosa DOS SANTOS BRA 1:06:06 4 William Salgado GOMES BRA 1:06:15 5 Alex JANUARIO BRA 1:06:50 6 Ivanildo Pereira DOS SANTOS BRA 1:07:12 7 Gilson Rodrigues DE MIRANDA BRA 1:07:32 8 Domingos Nonato DA SILVA BRA 1:07:42 9 Bernardo Alves DA SILVA BRA 1:07:49 10 Marildo Jose BARDUCO BRA 1:07:59 WOMEN: 1 Anne Cheptanui BERERWE KEN 1:13:51 2 Eunice JEPKIRUI KEN 1:15:00 3 Edielza ALVES BRA 1:15:46 4 Luiza DE SOUZA BRA 1:17:11 5 Marizete MOREIRA BRA 1:17:24 6 Edna MUKHWANS BRA 1:19:07 7 Adriana APARECIDA BRA 1:20:00 8 Flaviana FERREIRA BRA 1:21:55 9 Rosangela Figueredo SILVA BRA 1:23:46 10 Ana Patricia do NASCIMENTO BRA 1:33:10 19 APRIL 2008: 21st BANCA INTESA BELGRADE MARATHON, SERBIAWilliam Kipchumba became the ninth Kenyan winner and nine of the top 10 men were Kenyan writes Pat Butcher. With the temperatures escalating from a perfect 12°C to the mid-20s by the end, the pace dropped and despite finishing two minutes ahead Kipchumba was well adrift of the course record. Natalija Chatkina of Belarus also slowed in the rising heat but ran a personal best by five minutes. Nilaj Essen of Turkey in second place became Balkan champion. The men went through the first 10km at 2:09 pace, but by halfway (1:05:45) Elijah Bitok was alone with the pacemakers, with a group of six 30seconds beghind. As Bitok disintegrated in the second half, Kipchumba struck out by himself at 35km, breaking up the group but Mark Kipsaina and Victor Robert ensured their podium places by following him. Local hero Olivera Jevtic prepared for the Olympic marathon in Beijing by winning the half-marathon in a course record of 1:11:41. The men's race was also a course record, Willy Mwangi of Kenya winning in probably the best performance of the day, 62:51. Guest of honour, 800m world record holder and three-time world champion, Wilson Kipketer said: "Seeing everyone here makes me want to run. But the marathon is too far, maybe I'll start with the 5000m (fun-run) here next year". Last time Ron Hill was in Belgrade was in 1962, when he dropped out of the European Games (as it was then called) marathon. He was back this year in the 5km fun run. MEN: 1 William KIPCHUMBA KEN 2:14:03 2 Jonathan KIPSAINA KEN 2:16:14 3 Victor ROBERT KEN 2:16:47 4 Benjamin TABUT KEN 2:18:47 5 Veres GERRABZIABHER ETH 2:19:18 6 Pius MUTUKU KEN 2:22:22 WOMEN: 1 Natalija CHATKINA BEL 2:46:24 2 Nilaj ESSEN TUR 2:55:47 3 Mercy TOO KEN 2:57:24 4 Jane KOSGEI KEN 2:57:46 19 APRIL 2008: PARDUBICE WINE HALF MARATHON, CZECH REPUBLICMEN: 1 Robert STEFKO CZE 1:06:39 2 Martin FREI CZE 1:07:00 3 Petr PECHEK CZE 1:07:37 4 Pavrl BRYDL CZE 1:08:04 5 Daniel ORALEK CZE 1:08:07 6 Kamil KRUNKA CZE 1:08:46 7 Jan HAVLICEK CZE 1:09:15 8 Tomas BLAHA CZE 1:09:20 9 Dusan PODROUZEK CZE 1:10:02 10 Tomas ONDRACEK CZE 1:10:11 WOMEN: 1 Ivana SEKYROVA CZE 1:17:28 2 Marta VLCOVSKA CZE 1:20:00 3 Lenka SIBRAVOVA CZE 1:20:36 4 Irena PETRIKOVA CZE 1:22:29 5 Milada BARESOVA CZE 1:25:21 6 Denisa KOZAKOVA CZE 1:26:41 7 Jana LELUT CZE 1:26:56 8 Marie DOSTALOVA CZE 1:27:12 9 Veronika FAKTOROVA CZE 1:29:25 10 Vanda BREZINOVA CZE 1:31:16 20 APRIL 2008: 6th ZURICH MARATHON, SWITZERLANDWeather and conditions were perfect and although the course records remained unbeaten many runners achieved personal bests and shouted with joy as they finished. Of 4780 who started, 4588 finished (3777 men and 811 women) within the 5.30 hours limit. Oleg Kulkov (RUS) and Tadelech Birra (ETH) won the open races in personal best times, with Tarcis Ancay (14th, 2:22:32) and Maya Neuenschwander (7th) taking the Swiss titles. While Kulkov scored his first big race victory and cut his best time by four minutes, Birra (33) was only 24 seconds short of her five-year old personal best set when winning in Hannover. Mirja Jenni, who was trying for Beijing qualification, abandoned at 27km but Marcel Tschopp, second Swiss, managed Olympic qualification through his dual Swiss-Liechtenstein citizenship. His 2:24:10 back in 16th place was 15 seconds under the Liechtenstein qualifying time. MEN: 1 Oleg KULKOV RUS 2:11.16 2 Edwin KIBOWEN KEN 2:11.50 3 Stanley LELEITO KEN 2:13.41 4 Anderson CHIRCHIR KEN 2:14.02 5 Kimutai H KIPTANUI KEN 2:14.22 6 Assefa W MEZGEBU ETH 2:14.52 7 Tesfaye ETICHA ETH 2:16.26 8 Wilson PKORKOR KEN 2:17.55 9 Joseph K KIPKOECH KEN 2:18.22 10 David K KIPLAGAT KEN 2:18.48 WOMEN: 1 Tadelech T BIRRA ETH 2:32.09 2 Karolina JARZYNSKA POL 2:33.16 3 Prisca KIPRONO KEN 2:34.14 4 Nina PODNEBESNOVA RUS 2:35.36 5 Etafereh G TAREKEGN ETH 2:37.05 6 Holly RUSH GBR 2:37.35 7 Maja NEUENSCHWANDER SUI 2:40.42 8 Patricia MORCELI SUI 2:46.03 9 Daniela VASSALLI ITA 2:48.33 10 Nelly F GLAUSER SUI 2:48.57 20 APRIL 2008: NICE INTERNATIONAL HALF MARATHON, FRANCEMEN: 1 Dennis NDISO 1:00:54 2 Robert KIPCHUMBA KEN 1:00:57 3 Joseph MAREGU 1:01:21 4 Samuel KWAANGUO 1:02:08 5 Justus KIPRONO KEN 1:02:10 6 Isaac KIPLAGAT KEN 1:03:01 7 Lukas KANDA 1:03:05 8 Samson CHEROP KEN 1:03:36 9 David KISANG 1:03:38 10 Antony NZOMO 1:04:22 WOMEN: 1 Astede ABTAMU ETH 1:10:49 2 Lydia CHEROMEI KEN 1:10:59 3 Muriel LORY 1:12:52 4 Lydia NJERI 1:13:15 5 Ingrid LOPERGOLO 1:18:08 6 Loubna IRIZI 1:22:46 7 Christel ROBIN 1:23:16 8 Monika RIECK 1:23:19 9 Nathalie GUICHOUX 1:23:49 10 Ignazia CAMMALLERI 1:24:56 20 APRIL 2008: NAGANO OLYMPIC COMMEMORATIVE MARATHON, JAPANAmong a record field of 7444 (1240 women) the defending champions, Nephat Kinyanjui of Kenya and Alevtina Ivanova, of Russia won the 10th edition writes Ken Nakamura. Kinyanjui won, like on the other two occasions, with a mad dash to the line - although this year was the slowest ever winning time. Ivanova broke away from Kate Smyth, her final challenger, at 31km and won by two minutes in the third fastest winning time recorded in the event and the fastest yet on the current flatter course that starts in Nagano Park and finish in Nagano Olympic stadium. The men's was reduced to 10 runners by half way (1:05:56). The pace slowed and from 25-30km took 16:32. Tomohiro Seto made the first move at 31km, gaining a few seconds, but Kinyanjui led the chasing pack back into contact. With seven runners biding their time, the pace stayed slow. Only Gemechu Woyecha was dropped before 40km. Arkadiusz Sowa and then Yoshiyuki Suetsugu lost contact before the final scramble over the last 200m. Kinyanjui, took the lead with 100m to go but won with the narrowest margin. Both Kinyanjui and Seto were credited with the same finishing time, 2:14:17. In the women's race, only seven runners were left at 5km (17:39, 2:29 marathon pace). Six of them stayed together through half way (1:14:40) and 25km (1:28:04), but in the 26th kilometre four runners were dropped and only Ivanova and Australia's Kate Smyth were left. They ran together for the next 5km, but at 31km Ivanova surged and by 35km she was 27 seconds ahead. Ivanova ran the next 5km even faster(16:48) and by 40km, she was clear by 1:44. She won comfortably in a personal best by more than a minute (her previous marathon best was 2:27:48 when she won Nagano last year). In second, Smyth improved by nearly five minutes. Former world record holder Tegla Loroupe finished 12th in 2:49:15. MEN: 1 Nephat KINYANJUI KEN 2:14:17 2 Tomohiro SETO JPN 2:14:17 3 Fayisa TUSSE ETH 2:14:19 4 Gidey AMAHA ETH 2:14:19 5 Yoshiyuki SUETSUGU JPN 2:14:31 6 Arkadiusz SOWA POL 2:14:39 7 Tekeste KEBEDE ETH 2:15:21 8 Gemechu WOYECHE ETH 2:15:27 9 Halefom ABEBE ETH 2:16:01 10 Gemechu DESSALEGE ETH 2:17:20 WOMEN: 1 Alevtina IVANOVA RUS 2:26:39 2 Kate SMYTH AUS 2:28:51 3 Dorota GRUCA POL 2:31:54 4 Miyuki ANDO JPN 2:34:25 5 Asnakech MENGISTU ETH 2:37:02 6 Mai TAGAMI JPN 2:38:43 7 Sunmani ABETZ ETH 2:39:11 8 Chihiro TANAKA JPN 2:39:45 9 Kidist TEKA ETH 2:40:56 10 Ruth WANJIRU KEN 2:44:19 20 APRIL 2008: VANCOUVER SUN RUN 10km, CANADAKenya's Festus Langat kept the Kenyan winning streak going but local favourite Ryan Hayden almost got himself into second place. He was also third last year, but "I was the guy who faded at the end," he said. "This year, I was really coming on at the end." Langat and second-placed Phillip Koech train together and ran shoulder-to-shoulder down Georgia Street, along Lagoon Drive in Stanley Park and then onto Beach Avenue. Langat made his move mid-race on the Burrard Bridge and was only ever challenged by the very cold conditions. In all 59,179 runners participated - a new record. It was the slowest women's race since 1991. Genet Gebregiorgis, coming back after four years off with a heel injury, retained the title for Ethiopia. Her time was nearly three minutes slower than Isabella Ochichi's 2006 course record of 30:55. Sun Run regular Lisa Harvey (38), competing in the race for the sixth time, finished 100m behind Gebregiorgis. Harvey, who was third last year, came through in the later stages to pass Cheryl Murphy and Kirsty Smith, and was closing on the winner in the last couple of kilometres. Gebregiorgis photo: Teresa Nightingale MEN: 1 Festus LANGAT KEN 29:26 2 Phillip KOECH KEN 29:36 3 Ryan HAYDEN CAN 29.38 4 Steve MACINTYRE CAN 30:09 5 Mark BOMBA CAN 30:10 6 Derek NAKLUSKI CAN 30:12 7 Jeremy DEERE CAN 30:16 8 Jim FINLAYSON CAN 30:19 9 Ryan DAY CAN 30:38 10 Nathan KENDRICK CAN 30:39 WOMEN: 1 Genet GEBREGIORGIS ETH 33:36 2 Lisa HARVEY CAN 33:58 3 Kirsty SMITH CAN 34:12 4 Cheryl MURPHY CAN 34:14 5 Edyta SIEMINSKA CAN 35:11 6 Marilyn ARSENAULT CAN 35:14 7 Suzanne EVANS CAN 35:25 8 Paula WILTSE CAN 35:29 9 Natalie THOMPSON CAN 35:56 10 Rachel RUUS CAN 36:23 20 APRIL 2008: INT'L MARATHON ALEXANDER THE GREAT, GREECEMEN: 1 Chebet B KIPRUTO KEN 2:13:08 2 Leonard K KIPYEGO KEN 2:13:17 3 Benson CHERUIYOT KEN 2:14:04 4 Iaroslav MUSINSCHI MDV 2:14:57 5 Yared M TEMESGEN ETH 2:16:46 6 Chepkwony D KIPTANUI KEN 2:16:59 7 Jacob K MENGICH KEN 2:17:10 8 Simon K TONUI KEN 2:19:53 9 Ahmed J JABER QAT 2:24:34 10 Aknello RUTTO KEN 2:25:37 WOMEN: 1 Elizabeth CHEMWENO KEN 2:35:04 2 Hirut A LEGESSE ETH 2:45:42 3 Girma W TAFA ETH 2:50:06 4 Samirawit B OBSA ETH 2:51:14 5 Alevtina NAUMOVA RUS 2:52:15 6 Vinera SARMOSOVA RUS 3:03:02 7 Abeba B HAILEMARIAM ETH 3:05:36 8 Sofia A ROBA RUS 3:07:57 9 Maria KALENTZI GRE 3:23:03 10 Niki MPOUKOUVALA GRE 3:28:11 20 APRIL 2008: DALIAN INTERNATIONAL MARATHON, CHINA[no results yet obtained] 21 APRIL 2008: 112th BAA BOSTON MARATHON, USAAfter a sedate start the men's race picked up quickly, passing 10km in 30:19, and by 15km the lead group was on to course record pace. At 20km the pack was down to nine, and soon afterwards reduced to six, thanks to aggressive running by defending champion Robert Cheruiyot. He continued to push and into the hills forced open a gap on the others. Passing 30km in 1:29:11 he was now on sub-2:06 pace, with Abderrahime Bouramdane in second and James Kwambai in third. On Heartbreak Hill Cheruiyot began to slow but was 30 seconds ahead of Bouramdane as Adillo moved ahead of Kwambai into third place. The pace continued to slow as Cheruiyot passed 40km in 2:00:43 now again outside course record schedule, but still leading by 52 seconds. He soldiered on to join Clarence DeMar, Gerard Cote, Bill Rodgers and Catherine Ndereba as four-time winners of Boston. Inaugural Olympic women's marathon champion Joan Samuelson set the elite women's field off 25 minutes before the men and the mass race. With the US women's trials held on a different course in Boston the day before, there was no home interest among the select field. Defending champion Jelena Prokopcuka led through 5km in 17:09. Others took up the running, at first at 2:24 pace but then slowing to 2:27 pace at 10km (34:50). They reached halfway in 1:14:45, only just inside 2:30 schedule. Prokopcuka made a move after 25km but soon fell back to leave a group of four, as Alevtina Biktimirova led Ethiopians Dire Tune and Askale Magarsa, along with 2006 winner Rita Jeptoo. Margarsa dropped back at around 30km, passed in 1:45:24, and Jeptoo also fell back shortly afterwards. At the front, Biktimirova was making all the running but Tune tracked her doggedly through 40km. It came down to a sprint and Dire Tune edged ahead in the final 300m to win by a couple of seconds. MEN: 1 Robert CHERUIYOT KEN 2:07:46 2 Abderrahime BOURAMDANE MAR 2:09:04 3 Khalid EL BOUMILI MAR 2:10:35 4 Gashaw ASFAW ETH 2:10:47 5 Kasime ADILLO ETH 2:12:24 6 Timothy CHERIGAT KEN 2:14:13 7 Christopher CHEBOIBOCH KEN 2:14:47 8 James KWAMBAI KEN 2:15:52 9 James KOSKEI KEN 2:16:07 10 Nicholas ARCINIAGA USA 2:16:13 WOMEN 1 Dire TUNE ETH 2:25:25 2 Alevtina BIKTIMIROVA RUS 2:25:27 3 Rita JEPTOO KEN 2:26:34 4 Jelena PROKOPCUKA LAT 2:28:12 5 Askale MAGARSA ETH 2:29:48 6 Bruna GENOVESE ITA 2:30:52 7 Nuta OLARU ROM 2:33:37 8 Robe Tola GUTA ETH 2:34:37 9 Lidiya GRIGORYEVA RUS 2:35:37 10 Stephanie HOOD CAN 2:44:44 27 APRIL 2008: CONERGY MARATHON HAMBURG, GERMANYPhoto: Bongarts David Mandago and Wilfred Kigen pushed each other to 2:07 times, while Irina Timofeyeva broke the course record by 21 seconds in the women's race writes Jorg Wenig. Despite the course record the men's event produced the best results of the day. Almost 20 runners reached the half way mark in 1:03:17, among them the four-time Hamburg champion Julio Rey. But Rey lost lost contact at 25km and only finished a lowly 16th in 2:13:20. Mandago decisively broke away after the 35 km mark but later said "I did not expect to win, and did not think it would become such a fast race." Kigen again narrowly missed victory. The three-time winner of the Frankfurt Marathon again finished second. Germany's Falk Cierpinski did well although he missed the qualifying time for the Beijing Olympics. The son of the double Olympic marathon champion Waldemar Cierpinski improved his personal best by more than three minutes, to 2:15:48 in 22nd place. Cierpinski had run the first half in 1:06:03 aiming for the 2:13 the German demands for selection. Although he missed this time he has now established himself as Germany's number one marathon runner. And there is room for further improvement. Irina Timofeyeva broke both the course record and her personal best. The 38-year-old passed half way in 1:11:47 but was more than four minutes ahead of Pamela Chepchumba at the end. Disaster struck Ulrike Maisch in the fight for Olympic selection. The surprise winner of the European Championships in 2006 gave up after only 16km, blaming "heavy legs". In all, 23,230 runners had registered for Germany's second biggest marathon behind only Berlin. MEN: 1 David MANDAGO KEN 2:07:23 2 Wilfred KIGEN KEN 2:07:48 3 Tariku JUFAR ETH 2:08:10 4 Tessema ABSHIOR ETH 2:08:26 5 Sammy KURGAT KEN 2:08:55 6 Laban KIPKEMBOI KEN 2:09:46 7 Mesfin ADIMASU ETH 2:10:23 8 Kiprotich KENEI KEN 2:10:33 9 Ahmed BADAY MAR 2:10:59 10 Ketema AMENSISA ETH 2:12:02 WOMEN: 1 Irina TIMOFEYEVA RUS 2:24:14 2 Pamela CHEPCHUMBA KEN 2:28:36 3 Asha GIGI ETH 2:29:28 4 Yesenia CENENO ESP 2:31:16 5 Mulu Seyfu SEBOKA ETH 2:31:45 6 Rasa DRAZDAUSKAITE LIT 2:31:59 7 Nebiat HABTEMARIAM ERI 2:32:04 8 Olga ROSSEYEVA RUS 2:32:10 9 Leonor CARNEIRO POR 2:33:15 10 Ayelech WORKU ETH 2:33:19 27 APRIL 2008: VIENNA CITY MARATHON, AUSTRIAPhoto: Victah Sailer / photorun.net Kenya's Abel Kirui won the 25th edition with a new course record. The 25 year-old Kenyan broke 2:08 for the first time in Vienna and three others finished inside 2:09. Defending women's champion Luminita Talpos retained her title with the third fastest time ever run on the course. In all 30,072 runners from more than 100 nations entered made the Vienna City Marathon and its associated events the biggest running festival ever seen in Austria. Passing through 63:44 at halfway and 1:30:26 at 30km four runners from Kenya were still contesting: Abel Kirui, debutant Duncan Kibet, Paul Biwott and William Rotich. It was Kirui and Kibet, the training partner of marathon greats Martin Lel and Robert Cheruiyot, who increased the pace and broke away. Kirui opened the decisive gap at 35km (1:45:04) and at first looked on course for sub-2:07, but later explained: "running alone was hard. I got tired and it got very warm." He improved the 2:08:20 mark run by Lahoucine Mrikik (MAR) in 2006. Tomo Morimoto was women's race favourite after her 2:24:33 win in 2006: "But it felt hard right from the beginning and I got problems at around 17km," she said. Defending champion Luminita Talpos then took the lead and constantly increased it. She improved her five-year old personal best by 49 seconds and expects to gain selection for Beijing. MEN: 1 Abel KIRUI KEN 2:07:38 2 Duncan KIBET KEN 2:08:33 3 Paul BIWOTT KEN 2:08:53 4 Willliam ROTICH KEN 2:12:18 5 Andrew LIMO KEN 2:12:27 6 Samson LOYWAPET KEN 2:13:23 WOMEN: 1 Luminita TALPOS ROM 2:26:43 2 Tomo MORIMOTO JPN 2:29:01 3 Beatrice OMWANZA KEN 2:37:36 4 Oksana KUZMICHEVA RUS 2:39:54 27 APRIL 2008: MARATHON POPULAR DE MADRID, SPAINPhoto: Mareas José Manuel Martínez won the 31st Madrid Marathon convincingly, for his victory win in 10 marathon appearances writes Emeterio Valiente. Known as "Chema" Martínez, the former European 10,000m champion clocked 2:12:42 to build a one-minute margin over Kenya's Frederick Cherono. Due to its 650m altitude Madrid is not the place to run fast times at distance events but the leading group went through 10km section in a quick 30:45 with five Kenyans accompanied only by Martínez. The half marathon split of 1:04:19 still promised an assault on the Madrid all-comers best, Olympic champion Stefano Baldini's 2:09:59, but the rising temperature and the hilly closing section defeated that purpose. By halfway the Madrid-native Martínez and the Kenyan trio of Cherono, Abraham Keter and Robert Cheruiyot were away. Martinez made his move at 30km, reached in 1:32.39. Firstly Cheruiyot and then Keter simply could not live with the pace. The local hero also managed to leave Cherono with the clock reading 1:44 (34th km) and then romped home unopposed, just outside the Olympic qualifying standard of 2:12:30. His clocking of 2:10:12 in 2007 will give him qualification. "It's great to succeed in front of your home crowd," said the ecstatic victor, who also confessed that his knowledge of the circuit had benefited him. The women's race witnessed a battle between the unheralded Kenyan Rael Kiyara Kguriatukei and Ethiopia's twice Olympic 10,000m champion Derartu Tulu. The former had a 200m margin over Tulu by halfway and the illustrious Ethiopian's come-from behind tactic in the second half was not enough to catch the Kenyan, who finished 17 seconds ahead of Tulu. It was Tulu's first outing - at any event – since the Helsinki 2005 World Championships where she finished fourth in the marathon. MEN: 1 Chema MARTINEZ ESP 2:12:42 2 Frederick CHERONO KEN 2:13:42 3 Abraham KETER KEN 2:14:48 4 Robert CHERUIYOT KEN 2:15:32 5 Larbi ESRADI FRA 2:16:48 6 Yusuf SONGOKA 2:16:55 7 Jonatahan KIPKOSGEI KEN 2:17:07 8 Joseph KAHUGU 2:17:31 9 Raymond KIPKOECH KEN 2:18:29 10 John EWOI 2:20:19 WOMEN: 1 Rael Kiyara KGURIATUKEI KEN 2:36:15 2 Derartu TULU ETH 2:36:32 3 Kenza DAHMANI ALG 2:39:38 4 Pauline CHEPKORIR KEN 2:40:35 5 Eunice Jepkoech KORIR KEN 2:40:37 6 Monica A DIAZ 3:07:52 7 Noelia M ARRIBAS 3:10:40 8 Rebeca A SEOANE 3:18:23 9 Lydia O MEDINA 3:18:51 10 Isabel R MARTINEZ 3:19:42 27 APRIL 2008: iWELT MARATHON WUERZBURG, GERMANYMEN: 1 Kidus GEBREMESKEL ETH 2:27:10 2 Oliver NEUMANN GER 2:40:16 3 Uwe REINKE GER 2:42:57 4 Gerald DR LEHRIEDER GER 2:47:52 5 Michael NEHER GER 2:54:16 6 Walter VOGG GER 2:54:25 7 Michael PLAUM GER 2:55:48 8 Elmer ZOELLER GER 2:55:50 9 Thomas KARLE GER 2:56:11 10 Stephen SCHUPPEL GER 2:56:26 WOMEN: 1 Carolin MEYER GER 3:01:10 2 Elke BRENNER GER 3:01:19 3 Carola ROSENWIRTH GER 3:06:28 4 Sabine PULLNS GER 3:09:16 5 Astrid STAUBACH GER 3:14:29 6 Sandra DURR GER 3:22:44 7 Raileen BOURGUIGNON GER 3:23:05 8 Katja FRIEDLANDER GER 3:26:11 9 Mareile HERTEL GER 3:27:31 10 Ingrid SCHWENZER-MULLER GER 3:27:37 27 APRIL 2008: BIG SUR INT'L MARATHON, USAMEN: 1 Andy MARTIN USA 2:29:50 2 Jesus CAMPOS USA 2:30:21 3 Robert ROSASCO USA 2:38:38 4 Jeff GARDINA USA 2:41:07 5 Eric BOWLES USA 2:42:08 6 Van MCCARTY USA 2:45:11 7 Oswaldo LOPEZ USA 2:45:42 8 Michael NEWMAN USA 2:45:56 9 David DE STEIGER USA 2:46:24 10 Christopher RATLIFF USA 2:47:33 WOMEN: 1 Kris LAWSON USA 3:00:53 2 Annie FISHER USA 3:18:47 3 Christina WILK USA 3:20:16 4 Sarah LAVENDER SMITH USA 3:21:30 5 Jennifer FLINT USA 3:21:31 6 Rachael WOODS USA 3:22:20 7 Amy MARR USA 3:23:36 8 Aracelly CLOUSE USA 3:24:02 9 Rochelle VERONNEAU USA 3:24:57 10 Laurel JOHNSTON USA 3:24:57 27 APRIL 2008: MARATONA SANT ANTONIO, ITALYFrancis Kirwa, now representing Finland, won easily from Alberico Di Cecco on a warm day, but there was a home win in the women's race writes Diego Sampaolo. A group of 12 men ran sub-2:10 pace for the first 10km (30:44) and at halfway (1:04:45) the 2003 course record (2:10:38) was still under threat with five men still together. The last pacemaker, Henry Rutto, took them through 25km in 1:16:50. First Haron Toroitich at 28 km and then Phillip Biwott at 30km (1:32:17) tried to break away but the trio formed by Toroitich, Kirwa and Di Cecco held together. Biwott got away just before 35km (1:47:46) but Kirwa soon got back on level terms as Di Cecco fell back behind Toroitich. By 38km Kirwa was 23 seconds clear. Although Di Cecco suffered from cramps in the final stages he came through for second place as Biwott struggled and then dropped out at 38km, as the temperature rose to 25°C. Kirwa moved to Finland in 2001 and obtained citizenship in 1 January 2003. "I chose to represent Finland because I realized that I had more chances to compete in international major events." In the women's race 2:28 runner Alina Gherasim set the early pace, passing halfway in 1:14:55 to lead by 46 seconds from Spain's Teresa Pulido and Italy's Marcella Mancini. Gherasim suddenly began to struggle and dropped out at 25km. Mancini then took the lead with a gap of 14 seconds over Pulido, which she stretched to 52 seconds at 30km (1:48:27) and 1:53 at 35km. She went on to take her third victory in the event. MEN: 1 Francis KIRWA FIN 2:11:00 2 Alberico DI CECCO ITA 2:13:09 3 Haron TOROITICH KEN 2:13:24 4 Amos MASAI UGA 2:16:09 5 Scott WESTCOTT AUS 2:16:28 6 Hamed NASEF MOR 2:17:14 WOMEN: 1 Marcella MANCINI ITA 2:35:24 2 Dolores PULIDO ESP 2:39:24 3 Josephine Wangoi NJOKI KEN 2:48:19 27 APRIL 2008: ENSCHEDE MARATHON, NETHERLANDSMEN: 1 Silas TOEK KEN 2:10:40 2 Sammy KIBET KEN 2:11:49 3 Tekeste NEKATIBEBE ETH 2:12:00 4 Dereje TESFAYE ETH 2:12:00 5 Nicholas CHELIMO KEN 2:12:29 6 Deriba DEME ETH 2:13:03 7 Abdellah FALIL 2:13:37 8 Joseph MUTISO KEN 2:13:47 9 Josphat YEGO KEN 2:16:54 10 Youssef EL KALAI 2:17:21 WOMEN: 1 Polly NKAMBI 3:12:41 2 Klara DAVINA NED 3:17:31 3 Gabriela G SANABRIA NED 3:22:09 4 Brigitte LANGKAMP 3:29:19 5 Gerry VISSER NED 3:33:09 6 Elly BUIJVOETS NED 2:39:43 7 Judith DE BRUIN NED 2:39:58 8 Ellen WOPEREIS NED 2:44:53 9 Natalie FAIST 2:45:10 10 Wiggers MECHTHILD NED 2:46:23 HALF MARATHON MEN: 1 Christophe CLYNCKE NED 1:09:40 2 Christoph HAKENES 1:10:17 3 David STEVENS NED 1:11:29 WOMEN: 1 Jacqueline RUSTIDGE NED 1:22:22 2 Kristel GEEROMS NED 1:29:35 3 Katharina HAUERTMANN 1:31:46 27 APRIL 2008: RIJEKA HALF MARATHON, CROATIAMEN: 1 Isaac TANUI KEN 1:03:57 2 Moses ALIWA UGA 1:04:01 3 Roman KEZJAR SLO 1:06:29 4 Duro KODZO BIH 1:06:35 5 Drazen DINJAR CRO 1:08:35 6 Drago PARIPOVIC CRO 1:10:49 7 Bela HORVATH HUN 1:11:42 8 Istvan ORI HUN 1:11:56 9 Sadet CAUSEVIC SLO 1:12:24 10 Goran MURIC CRO 1:14:45 WOMEN: 1 Helena JAVORNIK SLO 1:12:12 2 Ida SURBEK SLO 1:18:52 3 Marija VRAJIC CRO 1:23:45 4 Antonija ORLIC CRO 1:27:25 5 Sanja BEGOVIC CRO 1:29:30 6 Marijana COTA CRO 1:30:58 7 Jasminka VONAR CRO 1:39:49 8 Ana BALOBAN CRO 1:40:20 9 Ivanka SIRCA SLO 1:43:30 10 Suzi PERUC CRO 1:45:11 27 APRIL 2008: SOCIETY OF TORUN MARATHON, POLANDMEN: 1 Adam DOBRZYNSKI POL 2:23:19 2 Tomasz DRAG POL 2:26:07 3 Robert CELINSKI POL 2:26:57 4 Artur PELO POL 2:28:40 5 Adam THIEL POL 2:29:16 6 Marek WOJTAS POL 2:30:28 7 Krzysztof SZCZEPANSKI POL 2:30:34 8 Jerzy CHMARZYNSKI POL 2:32:14 9 Ireneusz WIELIGDA POL 2:36:21 10 Marek DZIEGIELEWSKI POL 2:36:40 WOMEN: 1 Svetlana STANKO UKR 2:43:52 2 Arleta MELOCH POL 2:44:43 3 Volha YUDZIANKOVA BLR 2:47:16 4 Renata ANTROPIK POL 2:53:46 5 Dominika STAWCZYK POL 3:03:22 6 Agnieszka MALINOWSKA POL 3:09:11 7 Dorota PRZYBYSZ POL 3:09:35 8 Marta LEANDOWSKA POL 3:24:21 9 Ewa KOWALSKA POL 3:28:21 10 Elzbieta BUNIEWSKA POL 3:33:33 April 2008 |
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