Posted: April 12, 2007

Athletics (RWire): Kastor Poised to End U.S. Drought at Boston Marathon

2004 Olympic Marathon bronze medalist faces top field including last year's race champion and runner-up By Ryan Lamppa, Running USA wire The reality is stark and harsh: no U.S. runner has won the storied Boston Marathon since 1985 when Lisa Weidenbach wore the laurel wreath. On Monday, April 16 at the 111th Boston edition, Deena Kastor of Mammoth Lakes, California is the American hope to end the decades old drought. Kastor, 34, is no stranger to breaking U.S. droughts in the sport. At the 2004 Olympic Marathon in Athens, under harsh conditions and in an emotional finish, she earned the bronze medal to take home the first U.S. hardware in the event since Joan Benoit won the inaugural women's Olympic Marathon in 1984 at Los Angeles. In 2005, the Team Running USA athlete also became the first American since 1994 to win a major city marathon when she took the LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon title in 2:21:25 as she held off Romania's Constantina Tomescu-Dita. Under the guidance of renowned coach Joe Vigil and current coach Terrence Mahon, the two-time Olympian has developed into one of the world's best and most complete distance runners and is poised for something special at Boston. In a recent teleconference, she called Boston her "sole focus" and commented on her vigorous training program which included twice weekly speed sessions and hill work as well as strength training in the weight room. With her Olympic medal, two major marathon wins (Chicago and London), two World Cross Country silver medals, one world road record, 16 national records and 20 national titles, her running resume rivals the U.S. women's distance running pantheon of Joan Benoit Samuelson and Lynn Jennings, and a Boston win would add to Kastor's stature and as important, it would also be "huge" for the sport and would reach mainstream America. At Boston, the Arkansas grad will face a formidable field that includes defending champion Rita Jeptoo of Kenya and last year's Boston runner-up and two-time ING New York City Marathon champion Jelena Prokopcuka from Latvia. Kastor, who set the U.S. marathon record of 2 hours, 19 minutes, 36 seconds with her sterling Flora London Marathon victory last April, prepped for Boston with a 31:09 10K leg at the Yokohama Ekiden road relay and by winning two more U.S. titles with dominant performances - 8K cross country (her 7th) and 15K roads (her 5th). For the first time, Boston also hosts the USA Women's Marathon Championship and Kastor, who incidentally was born at a local hospital in Waltham, is the heavy favorite to pick up her second national marathon title (also New York City in 2001) and the accompanying $25,000 national champion check. The Boston Marathon champion wins $100,000. The second largest race field ever - 23,500 entrants - is expected to traverse the point-to-point 26.2 mile course from Hopkinton to downtown Boston. The recent weather report for Monday's race includes heavy rain and strong wind conditions. Wouldn't it be ironic if Kastor ended the U.S. victory drought at Boston under rainy conditions? Below is the 111th BAA Boston Marathon's main field with respective personal record. WOMEN Deena Kastor, USA / CA, 2:19:36 (London, 2006) NR* Jelena Prokopcuka, Latvia, 2:22:56 (Osaka, 2005) NR, WMM leader* Madai Perez, Mexico, 2:22:59 (Chicago, 2006) NR Rita Jeptoo, Kenya, 2:23:38 (Boston, 2006), defending champion Roba Tola Guta, Ethiopia, 2:24:35 (Hamburg, 2006) CR* Lidiya Grigoryeva, Russia, 2:25:10 (Los Angeles, 2006) CR Lyubov Denisova, Russia, 2:25:18 (New York, 2004) Alice Chelangat, Kenya, 2:26:36 (Milan, 2001) Giovanna Volpato, Italy, 2:28:59 (Treviso, 2006) MEN Robert Cheboror, Kenya, 2:06:23 (Amsterdam, 2004) Benjamin Maiyo, Kenya, 2:07:09 (Chicago, 2005) Robert Kipkoech Cheruiyot, Kenya, 2:07:14 (Boston, 2006) CR, defending champion, WMM leader Philip Manyim, Kenya, 2:07:41 (Berlin, 2005) Teferi Wodajo, Ethiopia, 2:08:11 (Seoul, 2004) Hailu Negussie, Ethiopia, 2:08:16 (Hofu, 2002) CR Stephen Kiogora, Kenya, 2:09:21 (Chicago, 2004) Ruggero Pertile, Italy, 2:10:12 (Rome, 2004) Stanley Leleito, Kenya, 2:10:17 (Zurich, 2005) Hosea Kiprop Rotich, Kenya, 2:10:18 (Nairobi, 2006) CR James Kwambai, Kenya, 2:10:20 (Brescia, 2006) Stephen Biwott, Kenya, 2:11:16 (Carpi, 2005) Tekeste Kebede, Ethiopia, 2:11:48 (San Diego, 2004) Peter Gilmore, USA / CA, 2:12:45 (Boston, 2006) James Koskei, Kenya, 2:14:02 (Dubai, 2007) Samuel Ndereba, Kenya, debut * WMM = World Marathon Majors; NR = national record; CR = course record For more race information and updates, visit: BostonMarathon.org. Ryan Lamppa, Running USA Media Director (805) 696-6232; Fax = (805) 659-0016 Ryan@RunningUSA.org www.RunningUSA.org. Subscribe to the Runner's Web Weekly Digest