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By Jeff Watson, Running USA wire
NEW YORK - (May 17, 2008) - Flying down a particularly steep section of the course two and a half miles into the fourth edition of the Healthy Kidney 10K in New York City, Patrick Makau heard only the sound of his own footsteps and the awed gasps of Central Park's Saturday morning joggers as he whizzed by with no competitor in sight.
Less than four miles later, it was the metrical ticking of the race clock that tormented the 23-year-old Kenyan's ears as he kicked to the finish line in 28 minutes, 19 seconds. A time that was good enough to make him a commanding victor over a talented field, but also left him 11 seconds short of Dathan Ritzenhein's 2007 course record and the $20,000 bonus that would have come with breaking it.
2006 ING New York City Marathon champion Marilson Gomes dos Santos won the race for second place, crossing the finish line 12 seconds later in 28:31 and former Iona College standout Richard Kiplagat of Kenya rounded out the top three as he finished in 29:08. Jason Hartmann, Ritzenhein's training partner in Eugene, Ore., was the top U.S. finisher in 10th place with a 29:38.
Making his first trip to the United States, Makau wasted little time asserting himself by opening the race with successive 4:22 and 4:25 miles that separated him from his competitors and the rest of the race record 6,200 strong field and were indicative of the fitness that has led him to four straight half-marathon victories in 2008 including a 59:35 clocking at the Ras al Khaimah Half-Marathon in the United Arab Emirates city of Abu Dhabi.
"In the first kilometer or second kilometer of the race, I usually see how my colleagues are fighting," Makau said. "If they are slow, I will control the pace, if they are strong, I will usually stay behind them. I saw that they were going slow today so I pushed the pace."
While he sought to control the race, Makau did not expect to find himself alone so early on.
"My target was not to go," he explained. "My target was to push the pace, so I was expecting them to close the gap and to come and work with me. When they didn't come, I decided to go."
As Makau reach the race's midway point thirteen seconds ahead of the course record pace in 13:51, it seemed that it was no longer a question of if Makau was going to break the record, but rather by how much.
Less than a mile later, however, Makau's form began to break ever so slightly and as he worked his way through a lackluster 4:52 fourth mile it became apparent that while his strong opening miles dispatched the rest of the field they also, most likely, scuttled his attempt to break the course record he had called, "not so hard" in the pre-race press conference.
As Makau began to struggle up front, Gomes went to work trying to cut down the 17-second gap that existed between himself and Makau at the 5K mark while maintaining his advantage over Kiplagat and a quartet of Ethiopians running for the Westchester Track Club trailing 24 seconds and 34 seconds behind Makau respectively at the same point in the race.
Displaying similar strength to what he showed in his NYC Marathon victory over the same hills, Gomes methodically cut Makau's lead in half over the next two miles, but the Brazilian star got no closer than that. Makau recovered in the races final mile and maintained just enough energy to push up the race's final rise with a 12-second margin of victory.
Speaking through an interpreter, Gomes said that racing a competitor like Makau over a shorter 10K distance was more difficult for him than it would have been in a marathon, which is his specialty. Gomes also thought that Makau's leg speed allowed him to exploit the course's downhills and gain back any ground Gomes would make up on the uphill sections.
Nevertheless, Gomes said he was satisfied with his runner-up performance and hoped that the tough hills in Central Park would ultimately help prepare him for his goal at this summer's Olympic Games in Beijing and succeeding on the course that awaits competitors there.
Third place finisher Richard Kiplagat was also happy with his effort and on improving upon his fifth place showing from last year, even though his time the previous year had been 27 seconds faster.
"I think this year was a little tougher than last year," Kiplagat said. "This time we started a little faster...and it was very hard after that."
With the $7500 check for his victory in hand, Makau will be heading back to Kenya for that country's Olympic training camp where he hopes to be one of three Kenyan athletes selected for the 10,000 meter track event at the Beijing Games. Makau will also use the trip back to Kenya as an opportunity to be with his wife who is expecting their first child in the coming weeks.
4th Healthy Kidney 10K - New York, NY, Saturday, May 17, 2008
MEN
1) Patrick Makau (KEN), 28:19, $7500
2) Marilson Gomes dos Santos (BRA), 28:31, $5000
3) Richard Kiplagat (KEN), 29:08, $3000
4) Wegayehu Girma Tefera (ETH), 29:20, $2000
5) Worku Beui (ETH), 29:22, $1000
6) Dagne Alemu (ETH), 29:23, $750
7) Demesse Tefera (ETH), 29:25, $500
8) Andrew Lemoncello (GBR), 29:28, $250
9) Linus Maiyo (KEN), 29:33
10) Jason Hartmann (USA / OR), 29:38
WOMEN
1) Aziza Aliyu (ETH), 33:32
2) Atalelech Ketema (ETH), 34:37
3) Meskerem Legesse (ETH), 35:19
Complete results at: NYRR.org.
Ryan Lamppa, Running USA Media Director
(805) 696-6232; Fax = (805) 659-0016
Ryan@RunningUSA.org
www.RunningUSA.org.
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