Posted: October 15, 2007

Athletics (RWire): Itati, Asiba Win Under Armour Baltimore Marathon

By Steve Nearman, Running USA wire BALTIMORE - (October 13, 2007) - John Itati and Gladys Asiba have much in common, besides the fact that they both were winners Saturday at the seventh Under Armour Baltimore Marathon. Both are Kenyans who divide their training time between Kenya and Norristown, Pa. Both are coached by Mostafa El-Nechchadi and both are represented by agent Lisa Buster. Both until recently also had been dogged by a persistent injury, sore knees for Itati and plantar fascia irritation for Asiba. They even shared a similar race strategy, hanging back over the first 13 miles past the Inner Harbor before leaving the field of 2,538 finishers in their dust over the last seven miles of the hilly tour through Charm City. Itati, the 2004 race champion and course record-holder, coasted home in 2 hours, 16 minutes, 24 seconds, a ways off his event record 2:14:51 set in 2004. His strong move in the 20th mile as he rounded beautiful Lake Montebello sealed his second Baltimore title and an $18,000 first prize. "After I broke away, I knew anything can happen and I wasn't sure who was behind so I kept looking back," said Itati, a former world class miler who said his focus now is on the marathon. "At 20 miles, I knew I was going to win." The closest competitor behind 33-year-old Itati was 31-year-old Kenyan Josphat Ndeti, over 3 minutes back. If the name sounds familiar, it could be that one of his brothers is three-time (1993-1995) Boston Marathon champion Cosmas Ndeti. But it was another brother who was most on Ndeti's mind during the past week and certainly throughout the marathon. He said his brother Nicholas died Tuesday of malaria and was to be buried today. Ndeti, who trains in Sante Fe, opted to race Baltimore rather than go back to Kenya for the funeral because he said his brother would have wanted him to run. Like Itati, the 30-year-old Asiba had not been racing well recently as she worked herself back into shape. But she had no problems with the plantar as she hung back through a first half 1:18, then broke up a pack of Europeans and ran an even second half to finish in 2:36:27. "It was hilly, but it was not tough for me because back in Kenya I train in the hills," said 4-foot 11, 103-pound Asiba, who placed 10th overall behind nine men although she was a minute shy of her personal best set at New York City in 2003. Anastasiya Padalinskaya of Belarus was the last runner Asiba shed, at 21 miles, ending in 2:37:21 and earning $8000. Defending champion 43-year-old Rima Dubovik of the Ukraine was third in 2:38:43, good for $4000. Ethiopians Girma Tola (1:04:27) and Belainesh Zemedkun (1:14:45) won their respective races in the accompanying half-marathon. 7th Under Armour Baltimore Marathon - Baltimore, MD, Saturday, October 13, 2007 MEN 1) John Itati (KEN), 2:16:24, $18,000 2) Josphat Ndeti (KEN), 2:20:01, $8000 3) Mesfin Hailu (ETH), 2:22:13, $4000 4) Zintu Meaza (ETH), 2:26:29, $2500 5) Youssef Ennaciri (MAR), 2:32:14, $2000 6) Zacharia Nyambaso (KEN), 2:32:39, $1500 7) Felipe Garcia (USA / NY), 2:33:56, $1250 8) John Piggott (USA / VA), 2:33:59, $1000 9) Kurt Russell (USA / SC), 2:36:02, $800 10) David Atkiss (USA / VA), 2:39:58, $750 WOMEN 1) Gladys Asiba (KEN), 2:36:27, $18,000 2) Anastasiya Padalinskaya (BLR), 2:37:21, $8000 3) Rima Dubovik, 43, (UKR), 2:38:43, $4750 4) Katerina Stetsenko (UKR), 2:39:04, $2500 5) Maria Portilla (PER), 2:39:55, $2000 6) Svetlana Pretot (FRA), 2:40:19, $1500 7) Tatiana Titova, 42, (RUS), 2:47:22, $1750 8) Feng Sun (USA / MD), 3:00:37, $1000 9) Sarah Plaxton (USA / MI), 3:03:49, $800 10) Denise Knickman (USA / MD), 3:04:03, $750 Full race results at: TheBaltimoreMarathon.com 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