Event record 11,493 finishers at 5th edition; women's winner sets event record
By Jim Gerweck, Running USA wire
NEW YORK - (March 21, 2010) - It was perhaps fitting on an opening weekend of an NCAA basketball tournament filled with upsets, that a relatively unheralded entrant in the 5th NYC Half-Marathon should steal the limelight from the more famous and favored competitors in the race.
Kenyan Peter Kamais ran his own race, pushing a punishing pace on the opening 8-mile loop of Manhattan's Central Park that dropped a two-time ING New York City Marathon champ, several U.S. Olympians and the defending World Cross Country champion. By the time he exited the park onto Seventh Avenue, the tall, long-striding Kamais had only one challenger left - a figure who, while far shorter in stature, far overshadowed the Kenyan in honors won. That would be Haile Gebrselassie, the two-time Olympic 10,000 meter champion from Ethiopia, setter of 25 world records, who was returning to New York for the first time since he won this race in 2007 in a course record 59 minutes, 24 seconds.
Gebrselassie was the marquee entrant in the field, and smart money would have bet that he was merely using Kamais as a stalking horse, letting him do the pacesetting work through the tougher part of the course before pulling away on the drag strip West Side Highway for the win. But then, most people had picked Kansas in the NCAA brackets, and we all saw how that worked out against Northern Iowa.
In a move that was as sudden as it was stunning, Gebrselassie stepped off the course between 52nd and 53rd Streets, stopping to gather himself before resuming, at a much slower pace, before finally withdrawing at the medical station at 9 miles. Suffering from flu-like symptoms in the days leading up to the race, Gebrselassie said afterward the dust and pollen in the park, partially the result of spring-like weather that had blanketed the area the previous week, triggered an asthma attack that caused his breathing to grow almost instantly constricted, and he was not able to get it under control.
"What can you do?" he shrugged afterward, realizing that sometimes nature can't be beaten.
Of course, Kamais was happy to enjoy a solo time trial the last 4 miles, no matter how he achieved it.
"I never thought I would win - Haile is too strong," said the 33-year-old who pocketed $20,000.
Kamais' victory shouldn't be viewed lightly even if it was achieved by default; his 59:53 winning time, 45 seconds ahead of countryman Moses Kigen Kipkosgei, was the second-fastest in the race's history.
Kipkosgei outsprinted the top American, Mohamed Trafeh, who had run much of the race in third place after the large early lead pack disintegrated on the park's tough north hills.
"I had a little too much confidence in my finish," said Trafeh, who just last week won his first national championship at the Gate River 15K. "Now, I'd like to capitalize on my fitness on the track and run some really fast 5000 and 10,000 meter times."
The women's race witnessed no upsets like the men, but was no less thrilling. Deena Kastor, 37, tuning up for the Virgin London Marathon next month, took off at course record pace, hitting the first mile in 5:05.
"I wanted to run aggressively, and test my fitness," she said, admitting that she too was beset by a head cold. "My nose was running like a faucet."
The early pace left her main challenger, Britain's Mara Yamauchi, in the slipstream. "I thought, 'Well, that's too fast, I guess I'll just try to run strong through the hills and see what it gets me,'" said the Briton.
Yamauchi, 36, soon found herself in a battle with Mexico's Madai Perez, returning to a major road race since the birth of her daughter last May.
"We were pushing each other, and as we came out of the park, I could see Deena ahead, so I motioned Madai that we should work together to try and catch her," continued Yamauchi.
Perez eventually dropped off, but Yamauchi caught Kastor around 11 miles and pulled away for an 18-second victory, breaking Catherine Ndereba's 2006 course record by the same margin. Kastor, who equaled the mark, said she was heartened by her run.
"Of course, it would have been nicer to win, but this gives me a lot of confidence going into London," said 2004 Olympic bronze medalist. "Last year (when she finished seventh in 1:13:48) I was testing my confidence that I had recovered from my foot injury and could run hard. Today I was testing my ability to race."
When asked about her goals for London, where she'll have a rematch with Yamauchi, Kastor said aggressive running will once again be her métier. "First things first," she said. "My first goal is to win - if it results in a PR, even better."
This was the race's first running in the spring, after four different dates in late summer that often resulted in runners facing bigger challenges from the elements than other racers. In contrast, today brought almost perfect conditions: 53 degrees and dry, resulting in PRs for many of the 11,493 finishers, the most in the event's history.
5th NYC Half-Marathon
New York, NY, Sunday, March 21, 2010
MEN
1) Peter Kamais (KEN), 59:53, $20,000
2) Moses Kigen Kipkosgei (KEN) 1:00:38, $10,000
3) Mohamed Trafeh (USA / CA), 1:00:39, $6000
4) Bekana Daba (ETH), 1:01:23, $3500
5) Shadrack Kiptoo Biwott (KEN), 1:01:52, $2500
6) Josh Rohatinsky (USA / OR), 1:01:55, $1500
7) Alistair Cragg (IRL), 1:01:58, $1000
8) Samuel Ndereba (KEN), 1:02:55, $750
9) Marilson Gomes Dos Santos (BRA), 1:02:57, $500
10) Tesfaye Girma (ETH), 1:03:12, $400
11) Anthony Famiglietti (USA / NY), 1:03:18, $300
12) Abderrahime Bouramdane (MAR), 1:03:29, $250
WOMEN
1) Mara Yamauchi (GBR), 1:09:25*, $20,000
2) Deena Kastor (USA / CA), 1:09:43, $10,000
3) Madai Perez (MEX), 1:09:45, $6000
4) Irene Limika (KEN), 1:10:55, $3500
5) Kiyoko Shimahara (JPN), 1:12:41, $2500
6) Bruna Genovese (ITA), 1:12:55, $1500
7) Heidi Westover (USA / MA), 1:13:25, $1000
8) Aziza Aliyu (ETH), 1:13:34, $750
9) Sally Meyerhoff (USA / OR), 1:13:58, $500
10) Catherine Mullen (USA / NY), 1:14:48, $400
11) Hirut Mandefro (ETH), 1:15:30, $300
12) Salome Kosgei (KEN), 1:15:40, $250
*course record (previous, 1:09:43, Catherine Ndereba (KEN), 2006)
Event results, photos, video and more at: www.NYRR.org
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