Posted: April 2, 2006

Athletics: Masai Defeats Kastor At Fast Berlin Half

From David Monti

© 2006 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved RaceResultsWeekly.com

Kenyan Edith Masai defeated American Deena Kastor as both women ran fast times at today's Vattenfall Berliner Halbmarathon.

Masai, who turns 39 years-old on Tuesday, won the race in a personal best 1:07:16, which easily surpassed Joyce Chepchumba's 1:08:22 course record set in 2000. Kastor was only 18 seconds behind in 1:07:34, breaking her own U.S. record of 1:07:53 set in Philadelphia last September.

"My goal here is to run fast," Kastor said in an interview with race officials yesterday. "I'm hoping to run 1:07."

Kastor was slightly ahead of Masai at the 10 km point, according to the split time provided by SCC Running, the event organizer. Kastor passed through 10 km in 31:58 with Masai only one second behind. SCC Running was also providing en route times for Kastor at 10 miles and 20 km with the hope of setting American records at both distances. Those splits were not immediately available, but it is very likely that she broke the U.S. 20-K record of 1:05:52 set by Marla Runyan in New Haven in 2003. Assuming level splits, she would have passed 20 km in about 1:04:04, well under the record. The course layout leaves the 20-K mark very close to the starting line (less than 10% of the race distance) with no elevation loss, so USATF would be likely to accept that intermediate time as a U.S. record provided the 20-K distance had been certified and there had been at least two official times on Kastor.

This was a mixed-gender race, and Kastor was joined by her male training partner, Mike McKeeman, who finished in an official time of 1:07:40, just six seconds behind Kastor. He recorded the same 10 km split as Kastor. McKeeman ran with Kastor in Philadelphia last year when she set her previous U.S. record.

The men's race was won by Kenyan Paul Kosgei in a sensational 59:07, the fastest ever half-marathon run on a certified loop course without the possible aid of wind or elevation loss. His compatriots Evans Cheruiyot and Wilfred Taragon finished second and third in 59:29 and 1:00:46, respectively.

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