Posted: January 20, 2005

Athletics: Chepkemei Focused On London Rematch With Radcliffe

From David Monti

(c) 2004 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved RaceResultsWeekly.com

By Bob Ramsak

Last November, Susan Chepkemei pushed world record Paula Radcliffe to the finish at the ING New York City Marathon, finishing just three seconds shy of scoring a major upset. Despite a narrow defeat in the closest race in the event’s history, the 29-year-old Kenyan believes she can do even better when the two meet again at the Flora London Marathon on April 17.

"After New York," Chepkemei said, "I really believe in myself."

Chepkemei politely dismissed assertions by some British journalists that Radcliffe, who has clocked the two fastest-ever marathon performances in London, is unbeatable on the London course. And, she believes, it may not necessarily take another world record to win there, despite a change in the course that makes it potentially even faster.

"I’m looking forward to running there again," she said, "and I don’t know about [running] the world record. I think the first thing is to focus, to train well, to feel well. And it’s good to race against Radcliffe and to make a good race there."

Last Saturday in Edinburgh, Chepkemei finished sixth in the View From Greater Edinburgh Cross Country in the Scottish capital, 23 seconds behind winner Tirunesh Dibaba. It was her first race since New York. The Kenyan, who does her best running on the roads, doesn't favor cross country racing.

"I’m happy for my result," she said. "Since New York I didn’t do any races and I didn’t do any speed work. And since I trained only four weeks, this is fantastic."

Chepkemei competed in both of Radcliffe’s world record races in London, finishing fifth in 2002 (2:23:19) and fourth in 2003 (2:23:12 PB). But this year, she expects things to be different.

"When we were running that race --when Radcliffe was running the world record-- you know, we ran against men who were pacing. I think when we run without pacemakers --I mean pacemakers who are men-- we can have a good race."

A three-time silver medalist at the IAAF World Half-Marathon Championships, Chepkemei said she was disappointed with her seventh place showing in the 10,000 meters at the Kenyan Olympic Trials, keeping her from the squad for Athens. But she bounced back with four straight road racing wins in difficult races in the United States in less than a month last summer: The Peactree Road Race on July 4, the Utica Boilermaker 15-K on July 12, the Quad-City Time Bix 7 on July 25, and the People’s Beach to Beacon 10-K on August 1. Doing well there, she said, "Helped me to forget about what happened in Kenyan trials."

She plans to compete in two cross country races in Kenya over the next month. "I’m going to run for my team," she said," but the World Cross Country Championships don’t seem to be a major focus for her. "I want to focus a lot for the London Marathon."

She said she’ll prepare for the mid-April race at altitude in Eldoret, but isn’t quite sure yet precisely how she’ll change her training from the regimen she used prior to New York.

"I have to sit down with my coach and compare the areas that I didn’t do well. Maybe I’ll add a little bit of mileage, or work on speed." Chepkemei changed coaches last year, splitting from her Dutch boyfriend who also coached her. Pausing briefly, she added with a wide smile, "I think I’m going to work on speed more."