YET ANOTHER VICTORY FOR GEBREMARIAM; AYALEW UPSETS CHEPKURUI
By Chris Lotsbom
(c) 2010 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved.
August 15, 2010
*Results Here (Top 10 Results Appear At End of Article) *Article on Meb's Withdrawal Here
FALMOUTH, Mass. (15-Aug) -- In the closest CIGNA Falmouth Road Race
since 1995, Gebre Gebremariam won a thrilling finish down the final
homestretch adjacent to the Atlantic Ocean here on Cape Cod.
As the field of nearly 10,000 left Woods Hole, American Ed Moran took
the pacing duties, towing the field along through a pedestrian first
mile of 4:39. As the chase pack of about twenty rounded the Nobska
Point Lighthouse behind Moran, Team USA Minnesota member Antonio Vega
began to close the five meter gap, encouraging the field to pick up the
pace. But no one would listen.
Maintaining the lead through the third mile, Moran, who ran 4:02.03 and
placed fourth in yesterday's CIGNA Falmouth Mile, was aiming to make it a
honest race, doing his part in front.
"Getting around the crowds, you start getting excited again, and that
re-energized me, getting that momentum back," said Moran, who hadn't run
races on consecutive days since competing for the College at William
& Mary in the NCAA ranks.
A half-mile later, though, Moran relinquished his lead to 2009 IAAF
World Cross Country champion Gebre Gebremariam, this summer's hottest
road racer, who threw in a quick surge to slightly string out the pack.
Alongside the lone Ethiopian were a slew of Kenyans, including two-time
ING New York City and Virgin London Marathon champion Martin Lel,
Falmouth debutant Stephen Kibet, and last week's runner-up and third
place finishers at the TD Bank Beach to Beacon 10-K Allan Kiprono and
Wilson Chebet.
As soon as he took to the front, Gebremariam began turning his head from
side-to-side, looking as if he wanted to say "where are you guys?" to
his competitors.
"The Kenyans have sixteen [competitors] and we [Ethiopia] have two,"
said Gebremariam, running in his first Falmouth Road Race. "So they run
around me. I had to push, and I had to push to see what they had."
One by one, Gebremariam would drop the Kenyans that surrounded him.
First it was Kiprono, then Kibet, and finally Lel. But one competitor
wouldn't budge: Wilson Chebet. Looking calm, Chebet and Gebremariam
would pass through the 6-mile mark of the 7-mile race adjacent to
Falmouth Harbor in 27:44, knowing that one mile and one big hill
remained.
Making the final, 90-degree turn with less than 800m to go, the pair
were dead even. It would remain that way until the final meters of the
race. Down the steep decline they came, calling on every last bit of
energy. In the end, it was Gebremariam for the second week in a row
winning a sprint at the tape, crossing the line in 32:20 to Chebet's
32:21.
Unlike last week, though, Gebremariam said he was not 100% confident he
would win from the start. He knew he had to work harder due to the
hills here along the coastline.
"I'm good on the hill," said the 25 year-old Gebremariam who recorded
his fourth consecutive USA road racing win this year. "He pushed, then I
pushed at the end."
Moran, who seemed to be out of gas as he was surpassed by Gebremariam,
came back to be the first American finisher in 32:40 (fifth overall).
Lel finished third in 32:37, and Vega came in eighth (second American)
in 32:53.
Olympic silver medallist Meb Keflezighi, the 2009 ING New York City
Champion, was a late scratch from the event. Due to a cold suffered
earlier in the week, and a tweak in his hamstring, Keflezighi felt it
would be best to play it safe and sit out.
"I'm not race-ready," said a disappointed Keflezighi. "I thought the
race would be much faster than it was, and I didn't want to take that chance."
WOMEN'S RACE: AYALEW UPSETS CHEPKURUI
A similar Kenyan-Ethiopian dual played out on the women's side, as Lineth Chepkurui and Wude Ayalew battled all race long for the $10,000
first prize. Chepkurui played true to her usual racing style,
front-running the whole way along the 7 mile point-to-point course.
Going through three miles in 15:03, Chepkurui, who has won six road
races in America this year, maintained only a slight lead on Ayalew, who
was biding her time, waiting for the right moment to strike. That
moment came in the final stretch, as Ayalew battled her way ahead of
Chepkurui on the downhill towards the finish. Breaking the tape in
35:46, Ayalew finished four seconds ahead of Chepkurui (35:50).
"It was my tactic to follow behind her," said Ayalew, through Gebremariam acting as an interpreter.
Chepkurui told Race Results Weekly that she had been battling a head
cold earlier in the week, which may have hampered her chance at taking
the win.
Los Angeles Marathon champion Edna Kiplagat finished third in 36:31.
The top American was 46 year-old Colleen De Reuck of Boulder, Colo., in
fifth place.
This is the first time in Falmouth's 38-year history that Ethiopia has
swept the top positions in both the men's and women's races.
ENDS
Top 10 Men's and Women's Results Appear Below. More Results Here.
8 | Gebre Gebremariam | 25 | M | Ethiopia | 00:32:20 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
20 | Wilson Kwambai Chebet | 25 | M | Kenya | 00:32:21 | 2 | 2 | 2 | |
10 | Martin Lel | 31 | M | Kenya | 00:32:37 | 3 | 1 | 3 | |
15 | Ed Moran | 29 | M | Boston | MA | 00:32:40 | 5 | 1 | 5 |
9 | Edward Muge | 27 | M | Kenya | 00:32:40 | 4 | 3 | 4 | |
34 | Stephen Kosgei Kibet | 23 | M | Kenya | 00:32:50 | 6 | 4 | 6 | |
4 | Peter Kirui | 22 | M | Kenya | 00:32:50 | 7 | 5 | 7 | |
17 | Antonio Vega | 26 | M | St. Paul | MN | 00:32:53 | 8 | 6 | 8 |
49 | Sean Quigley | 25 | M | Philadelphia | PA | 00:32:58 | 9 | 7 | 9 |
18 | Allan Kiprono | 20 | M | Kenya | 00:33:05 | 10 | 8 | 10 |
F17 | Wude Ayalew Yimer | 23 | F | Ethiopia | 00:35:46 | 1 | 1 | 24 | |
F4 | Lineth Chepkurui | 22 | F | Kenya | 00:35:50 | 2 | 2 | 26 | |
F3 | Edna Kiplagat | 30 | F | Kenya | 00:36:31 | 3 | 3 | 31 | |
F2 | Catherine Ndereba | 38 | F | Kenya | 00:38:06 | 4 | 1 | 41 | |
F101 | Colleen De Reuck | 46 | F | Boulder | CO | 00:38:10 | 5 | 1 | 43 |
F22 | Fiona Docherty | 34 | F | New Zealand | 00:38:26 | 6 | 4 | 47 | |
F11 | Amy Hastings | 26 | F | Mammoth Lakes | CA | 00:38:33 | 7 | 1 | 50 |
F12 | Irene Limika | 30 | F | Kenya | 00:38:59 | 8 | 5 | 52 | |
F15 | Jeannette Seckinger | 28 | F | Somerville | MA | 00:39:01 | 9 | 6 | 53 |
F9 | Kathy Newberry | 31 | F | Williamsburg | VA | 00:39:10 | 10 | 7 | 56 |
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