Posted: October 9, 2005

Athletics: Narrow Victory For Kastor At Chicago

From David Monti

© 2005 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved RaceResultsWeekly.com

CHICAGO (09-Oct) -- Deena Kastor of Mammoth Lakes, Calif., won her first marathon here today at the LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon, but only after surviving late-race fatigue which cost her a U.S. record and nearly the victory. Crossing the finish line in 2:21:24 (unofficial) she became the first U.S. woman to win here since Kristy Johnston in 1994.

Kastor, 32, faced only one serious challenger today, reigning World Marathon Championships bronze medalist and last weekend's World Half-Marathon gold medalist, Constantina Tomescu-Dita of Romania. Tomescu-Dita, 35, ran in the same big pack of men as Kastor throughout the race, passing through the half-way mark in 1:09:16. At the 18 mile mark the two were side-by-side running at about a 2:18 marathon pace, well under the American and Romanian national records which Kastor and Tomescu-Dita, respectively, possess.

But in the next mile, Kastor pressed just a bit, and Tomescu-Dita started to slip back. By the time Kastor went through 21 miles at 1:51:12, Tomescu-Dita was 22 seconds behind and Kastor seemed to have the race well in hand. Still accompanied by Clint Verran, which race director Carey Pinkowski called her "escort," Kastor looked smooth, her form still solid.

However, in the final two miles she slowed badly, covering both the 24th and 25th miles in 5:50. Turning left into the finish straight with less than 2/10ths of a mile to go, Kastor was clearly struggling and Tomescu-Dita was closing with all of her strength. Kastor held on to cross the line in first, eight seconds slower than her own U.S. record, with Tomescu-Dita just five seconds back in 2:21:29, a Romanian national record. Masako Chiba of Japan was third in 2:25:59, while Colleen De Reuck, 41, of Boulder, Colo., was fourth in 2:28:39, a U.S. masters record.

Limo Takes Men's Race

The men's race was primarily a Kenyan affair, with men from that African nation making up all but two of the lead pack at the half-way mark (1:03:21). Gilbert Okari handled the pacing through 25-K at steady 4:46 to 4:49 miles, after an unusually slow start. After Okari retired, the pace sagged slightly. But just before the 19 mile mark, Timothy Cherigat surged hard. Felix Limo, Ben Maiyo, Daniel Njenga, defending champion Evans Rutto, Patrick Ivuti (making his debut), William Kipsang, James Kwambai (debut), and Sammy Korir all responded and remained in contention.

Rutto, who won this race in his first-ever marathon two years ago, made a serious move early in the 21st mile. Kipsang, Kwambai, and Cherigat got dropped, whittling the pack to six. Rutto was using the full width of the roadway, swinging from side to side to shake off his rivals. Korir soon drifted off the back, and by mile 23 Ivuti had fallen back enough to be out of contention. The pack of four then settled in for the final three miles, waiting to see who would make the next move.

It was Limo. Waiting until after the 40-K mark --very late for a major marathon-- Limo finally made his first important move. Rutto was dropped, and Limo, Maiyo and Njenga continued to run together for another two minutes. Then Limo made one more push for victory. Two hours and five minute into the race, Limo's move put two steps on Maiyo and several meters on Njenga. He had a three-second gap making the left turn for home past the 26 mile mark, and the others could not catch him. Limo, 25, got the third marathon victory of his career in 2:07:04 to go with his Rotterdam and Berlin victories last year. Maiyo held on for second with a big personal best (2:07:11) but finished second for the second time this year in a major marathon. Njenga was third in 2:07:14, while Rutto was fourth (2:07:30) and Ivuti fifth (2:07:46).

American Alan Culpepper did not finish in the top 10 (John Gwako was tenth in 2:12:30) so he fell well short of his goal of setting a personal best (2:09:41). He was, however, the top-U.S. finisher.