Liliya Shobukhova Will Look To Become 1st Ever To Win 3-Straight At 2011 BOA Chicago Marathon
By David Monti
(c) 2011 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved
(18-Aug) -- Liliya Shobukhova has a lot riding on the Bank of America Chicago Marathon.
Shobukhova, 33, the reigning World Marathon Majors series champion, has a
chance to become the first athlete --male or female-- to win the
Chicago race three years in a row. She is currently one of six women
who have successfully defended their Chicago titles once, and she told
reporters today on a conference call that to win a third consecutive
time would be very difficult.
"Even though I've run Chicago twice before, this time it's a new
competition," Shobukhova said with the help of a translator. Speaking
from her home in Beloretsk, Russia, she continued, "Because of that, I
don't know what's going to happen. Every year (executive race director)
Carey Pinkowski invites the best of the best elites from the entire
world, so the competition is very stiff. Therefore I think the results
will be very stiff."
But defending her Chicago title --which would earn her $100,000 in prize
money, potential time bonuses, and guarantee the full payment of her
undisclosed appearance fee-- is only one of four major goals for
Shobukhova during the race on October 9. A victory in Chicago would add
another 25 points to her 2010/2011 World Marathon Majors point
rankings, giving her a nearly insurmountable total of 90 points. That
would mean another $500,000 check for being the series champion, money
which she said she plans to share with her extended family.
"I already have a large house," she said, explaining that she had not
yet begun construction on a hotel she had planned to build near her
home. "But, I have two sisters who would like to have a home. There
are needs in my family."
Shobukhova also needs to run a fast time to assure selection for the
2012 Russian Olympic team. According to her agent, Andrey Baranov, the
first two women chosen for the Russian team will be selected based on
the two fastest times achieved between September 1, and December 31 of
this year. The third woman will be chosen next April by the national
coach.
"It is based on the time, only," Baranov explained in a brief telephone
interview with Race Results Weekly. "Her result from London (when she
ran a national record 2:20:15) doesn't count with the Russian
federation."
Shobukhova was careful not to presume selection. "At this point, I'm
still a candidate for the team, but the decision will be made next year,
so I can't say or not. A lot depends on how I run the Chicago
Marathon. After that, they will be able to tell me for sure."
Improving with every race, Shobukhova has run each of her five marathons
faster than the previous one, and she hopes to run faster still in
Chicago. She made her debut in London in 2009 in 2:24:24, good for
third place, then won Chicago in 2009 (2:25:56), London in 2010
(2:22:00), and Chicago in 2010 (2:20:35). At London last April, she
finished second to Kenya's Mary Keitany and came very close to joining
the exclusive sub-2:20 club with her 2:20:15 national record. Clocking a
sub-2:20 is definitely on her mind for Chicago.
"Since I've already run 2:20 twice, I'd like to make a higher goal for myself and run under 2:20," she said.
Shobukhova's key to winning races has been her ability to run fast in
the second half, while her opponents fade. When she won Chicago for the
first time in 2009, she zipped through the second half in 1:10:51 off
of a dawdling first-half pace. At London last April, she ran the second
half in 1:09:38, a time which would win most half-marathons. She said
that in her training she focuses on accelerating in the second half, on
both hard and easy days.
"There is no secret in my training," she concluded. "In my training I
always try to run the second half faster than the first half. Even if
it is very hard to run, I try to run the second half two to three
seconds (per kilometer) faster than the first."
# # # # # #
The World Marathon Majors series restarts at the IAAF World
Championships in Daegu, Korea, later this month. The women's marathon
is scheduled for Saturday, August 27, and the men's will be held on the
final day of the Championships on Sunday, September 4. The series then
moves to Berlin on September 25, Chicago on October 9, then concludes at
the ING New York City Marathon on November 6. Shobukhova leads the
women's series with 65 points, and Kenyan Emmanuel Mutai leads the men's
series with 55.
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