U.S. Marathoner Has Impressive Showing in London
LONDON — Ryan Hall was flying through the London streets Sunday, alongside six of the world’s fastest marathoners.
It was not enough for him to realize that he belonged with the sport’s elite in the 28th London Marathon; he wanted to go faster.
Hall, a 25-year-old from Southern California, moved to the front of the pack in the 16th mile and asked the two pacesetters from Kenya to go a little faster than 4 minutes 58 seconds a mile.
Martin Lel of Kenya, the defending champion in the London and New York City marathons, said he thought Hall looked too strong and relaxed. He recalled wondering: “Am I not running, or what? I had to ask myself many questions. I think, Now it’s a race.”
The pacesetters promptly sped to a 4:39 pace and left Hall behind. Angry at himself for his overconfidence, Hall briefly stormed back to the pack in the 21st mile. Then the cold rains and wind slowed the pace.
But Lel, a 29-year-old veteran, shrugged off the field’s every move and outkicked 21-year-old Sammy Wanjiru of Kenya in the final 385 yards to finish in front of Buckingham Palace in a course-record 2:05:15. Wanjiru finished nine seconds back.
Abderrahim Goumri, the runner-up to Lel in London and New York last year, finished third in 2:05:30, making this the first time three men finished under 2:06 in a marathon.
Hall finished fifth in 2:06:17, becoming the second-fastest American marathoner. This was only the third career marathon for Hall.
“It’s pretty exciting to run just three marathons to join that kind of company,” said Hall, whose most recent marathon was his victory in November at the United States Olympic Trials in Central Park, where he finished in 2:09:02. He ran 2:08:24 in placing seventh last year in London.
“I thought: ‘This is a classic move. I tell the pacemakers to go faster and they drop me,’ ” Hall added, laughing at his impertinent request.
Still, the race was critical for Hall in his preparation for the Beijing Olympics in August. “I think it was important for me to establish that I could run a fast time,” he said. “I’m definitely within striking distance.”
Khalid Khannouchi, who was born in Morocco and became a United States citizen in 2000, holds the American record of 2:05:38, set here in 2002. That time was the London record until Sunday.
Lel shattered the London record by 23 seconds and lowered his personal best by 1:26.
As a result of a 62:12 first half, which was well below the pace of the world record (2:04:26), six men ran faster than 2:07 — also a marathon first.
Emmanuel Mutai of Kenya finished fourth in 2:06:15 and Deriba Merga of Ethiopia finished 21 seconds behind Hall.
In the women’s race, Irina Mikitenko of Germany, 35, crossed the finish line in 2:24:14 in a downpour. Svetlana Zakharova of Russia finished second in 2:24:39.
The prerace favorite, Gete Wami of Ethiopia, finished third in 2:25:37 despite falling over another runner at the water stop 18.6 miles into the race. She crashed facefirst to the asphalt and banged her right knee.
“This is the first time I’ve ever fallen in a race,” Wami said. “I was happy I was able to come back.”
Lel was also pleased, if not surprised, with his dominance, considering the disruptions in his training since winning the New York City Marathon and watching his country plunge into tribal violence after elections in December. Lel, who lives near Eldoret in the Rift Valley, left his house to train in Namibia.
“It was a great day for me to be a champion,” Lel said.
After Hall and then Mutai dropped from the lead pack in the 23rd mile, Lel, Wanjiru, Goumri and Merga ran four abreast for two miles. Merga was the next to trail off, then Goumri, leaving only Wanjiru and Lel as the first to pass under the banner that said “385 yards to go.”
That is where Lel is best. “In my mind I am going to fight,” he said.
Hall is trying to put himself in position to do that in Beijing, and he has shown remarkable progress while racing in London. In July 2006, he ran the 5,000 meters at a track meet in the Crystal Palace. Slogging in last place, he looked up at the stadium monitor to see Bernard Lagat already winning.
Soon after, Hall and his coach, Terrence Mahon, decided that he would be better suited for distance running.
“I feel like I belong,” Hall said. “Last year it was like, ‘These guys are my heroes and now I’m running with them.’ This time I was more trying to figure out how to win the race. It was fun to mix it up with those guys.”
Another articleAn inspirational video featuring Ryan Hall as he prepped for the Olympic Marathon Trials. The guys is so fluid doing a 5:00 mile.
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