Where Your Dreams Become Reality
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Where Your Dreams Become Reality |
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Deena Kastor to Run ING NYC Marathon By David Monti (c) 2006 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved June 19, 2006 Calling it "the epitome of marathoning," Deena Kastor announced today that she would run the ING New York City Marathon on Sunday, November 5, and try to become the first U.S. woman to win that storied race since Miki Gorman in 1977. "This is probably one of the most difficult decisions of my career," said Kastor on a conference call with reporters, explaining that the choice came down to either Chicago --where she is the reigning champion-- or New York. She said she tried to envision the best-case scenario at each race, and ultimately felt that winning New York would be the more satisfying outcome. "It's just the dream I have, crossing the finish line first and having the laurel wreath resting on my head," she said. Kastor, 33, who lives in the thin air of Mammoth Lakes, Calif., is already the U.S. record holder for the marathon and became one of only eight women to break the 2:20 barrier when she won the Flora London Marathon last April in 2:19:36. With an Olympic bronze medal and victories in two of the World Marathon Majors, a win at New York would seal Kastor's status as one of the sport's best marathoners, ever. ING New York City Marathon race director Mary Wittenberg certainly thinks so, saying that Kastor was "destined to go down as one of our sports all-time greats." By choosing New York, Kastor will face unique challenges not present at either Chicago or London. The New York course is difficult, with several challenging hills and bridges, many turns, and some stretches where the athletes must run on a poured concrete surface instead of asphalt. New York also uses an all-women's format where the elite women start about 40 minutes before the elite men and the rest of the recreational runners. In Chicago and London, Kastor had the company of men throughout the race. Moreover, the hype and media pressure in New York can be difficult to handle, even for a seasoned professional. Kastor has run New York twice. In 2001 she won the USA title when she finished seventh overall in 2:26:58, the fastest debut ever by an American woman. She started the race again in 2004, just 77 days after winning her Olympic medal, but was forced to drop out on the Queensborough Bridge, exhausted from a long year of racing. "When I got to the 16 mile mark, I couldn't even go anymore," she said adding that her appearance this year at New York this year was not designed to make up for 2004. "Even in 2004, as painful as it was to drop out of my first race... I wasn't soured by it at all," she said. The ING New York City Marathon is the world's largest marathon (last year's race had 36,856 finishers), and is traditionally one of the most competitive, especially for women. Running Times magazine ranked New York #2 in the world last year for competitiveness, behind London but ahead of the World Championships, and race director Wittenberg expects this year's race to be just as challenging. Kastor is the first professional female athlete to be announced for the race. "We really pride ourselves on a deep and competitive race," said Wittenberg. Kastor agreed: "When it comes down to it... the ING New York City Marathon never lacks in a challenging field. I'll definitely have my work cut out for me."
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Cross Country Spikes 10% off Injured?
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