Where Your Dreams Become Reality


Main Front Page

What's Let's Run.com?

SAVE ON SHOES

Training Advice

World Famous:
Message Board

Turn Back The Clock!
Today's Top Runners Talk About Their High School Careers

Opinions
Miler Scott Anderson's Journal

Wejo Speaks

Rojo Speaks

JK Speaks

LetsRun.com Privacy Policy

Contact Us

Advertise on LetsRun.com 
Click Here for More Info

 

The Week That Was Feb. 25 - March 2, 2008
March 5, 2008
*Last week's week in review can be found here
By LetsRun.com

The week was full of action around the globe, including the richest race ever in terms of prize money.  In America, the college indoor conference action dominated (If you haven't run in college, you don't get how important conference is - it so wiped us out that this weekly recap is a day late).

The Richest Race In The World - The Zayed Half Marathon
The Arabs have bought up horse racing. They've bought up many of the top Kenyan runners. Now it appears they are buying up road racing.  Last month, they put the richest marathon in the world in terms of first-place prize money at the Dubai Marathon. Last week, it was the world's richest road race - the $2 million Zayed International Half Marathon which featured a $300,000 first prize. The race seemingly was put on with little advance notice but the big payday did pick up a few big names.  On the men's side, the man who we think is the greatest road runner on the planet, Sammy Wanjiru, got the $300,000 win in 1:00:33.

In the women's race, Lornah Kiplagat got her 2nd win in 5 days after jetting in from Puerto Rico after winning the World's Best 10k in Puerto Rico.

Suggestion for next year, if the race spent $100,000 on an elite race coordinator, we think they could attract an unreal field. Meanwhile, we found it interesting that the IAAF was trumpeting the prize money offered at its upcoming world indoor championships - $2.45 million total. Should we just let the Arabs pay for the world indoors?

MEN - 
 1. Samuel Wanjiru, KEN        1:00:33  USD 300,000
 2. Fabiano Joseph, TAN        1:00:43      100,000
 3. Eshetu Wondimu, ETH        1:01:16       50,000
 4. Tsegaye Kebede, ETH        1:01:45       20,000
 5. Dieudonne Disi, RWA        1:02:24       10,000

WOMEN - 
 1. Lornah Kiplagat, NED       1:08:52  USD 300,000
 2. Berhane Adere, ETH         1:11:23      100,000
 3. Gete Wami, ETH             1:11:30       50,000
 4. Hilda Kibet, NED           1:11:37       20,000
 5. Rita Jeptoo, KEN           1:12:24       10,000

*Sammy Wanjiru and Lornah Kiplagat Win $300,000 and Zayed International Half Marathon (the World's Richest Road Race)
Wanjiru pulled away from Fabiano Joseph of Tanzania. Kiplagat absolutely crushed the field (Gete Wami included). We can't believe more top pros weren't there. Next year we'll have the race pay us $100,000 and we'll do their publicity, get their elite field, and clean up afterwards.

*
Message board thread
*
Wanjiru to Buy His Mom a Tractor With His Winnings
*World Indoor Champs Will Feature $2.45 Million in Prize Money

Lake Biwa Marathon
Mubarak Hassan Sham  pulled away from Eritrea's Yared Asmeros over the final 6km to win the 2008 Lake Biwa Marathon. Shami is someone that people definitely should look out for at the Beijing Olympics as he's a very good marathoner.  He has now won six of his last seven marathons, with his lone non-win being a 2nd place showing at the 2007 World Championships in Osaka.

The race for first may have been over, but the race for Japan's final Olympic bid was still very much going on as Lake Biwa was the final Olympic selection race for the Japanese men.  Japan had 4 Olympic selection races and in order for someone to make the team here it was thought he'd need to run faster than the 2:08:40 that Arata Fujiwara ran in the Tokyo Marathon 3 weeks ago.  Japan's Satoshi Osaki did exactly that as he ran 2:08:36 to finish 3rd.  

Osaki certainly is a deserving Olympian as he was 6th in the world championships marathon last summer in Osaka. That being said, it's a bit of a bummer to see Fujimari left off the squad as he was the ultimate LetsRun.com posterboy. Talk about "Where your dreams become reality." The guy ran a 30 minute pr to apparently make the Olympic team - only to see someone edge him by 4 seconds. Such a cruel sport at times!!!

But a big thumbs up to Osaki who knew exactly what he needed to do and did it.  He said, "At the end I was thinking about the Beijing (Olympics) and kept on pushing. I was not going to give up,” said Osaki. Very well done.

Results
1. Mubarak Shami  (QAT) 2:08:23
2. Yared Asmeron  (ERI) 2:08:34  PB
3. Satoshi Osaki  2:08:36  PB
4. Yuzo Onishi  2:08:54  PB
5. Tomoya Shimizu 2:09:23  PB
6. Jose Rios 2:09:38
7. Tomoyuki Sato 2:09:59
8. Kazuki Ikenaga 2:10:44  Debut
9. Masakazu Fujiwara 2:12:07
10. Toshiya Katayama 2:12:30
11. Toyoshi Ishige 2:12:45
12. Hironori Arai 2:13:04  Debut
13. Peter Kariuki  (KEN) 2:13:38
…
17) Dmytro Baranovsky (UKR) 2:16:17

World Champ Silver Medalist Mubarak Hassan Shami Wins in Lake Biwa Shami is the guy who celebrated too soon and gave away the 2005 World Half Marathon champs.
Final Men's Japanese Olympic Selection Race Preview: Lake Biwa

Drugs, Drugs, Drugs
A week in the running world wouldn't be complete unless there was a major competitor banned for drugs. This week certainly didn't disappoint as former Berlin Marathon winner and two time runnerup in New York, Susan Chepkemei, received a one year ban.  As is usual, Chepkemei had an excuse for the illegal drugs being in her system but a ban is a ban in our books. However, a one year ban for a woman who is currently pregnant doesn't seem like much of a ban. Seems very convenient in our minds.

*Susan Chepkemei Gets Drug Ban
*
Susan Chepkemei's Camp Claiming Her Suspension Was Because She Took a Prescription for Pneumonia
*Discuss this in this
message board thread.
*
Chepkemei Won't Appeal 1 Year Ban - Athletics Kenya says she's lucky to have only gotten a year. Considering she's pregnant, the ban barely costs her anything.
*
Jos Hermens Speaks on Chepkemei's Doping Ban

In other drugs news, admitted EPO cheat, Cathal Lombard, shocked all of Ireland including himself by winning the Irish cross country nationals. Alistair Cragg was 2nd.  Irish XC is man's cross country as the courses are often complete mud baths so maybe it's possible Cragg had trouble with the course but we find it sickening to see Lombard back in the sport. The guy purposely admitted he took EPO. It doesn't get any worse than that. We do give him credit for admitting once caught but to us a major drug offense like that warrants a longer ban than two years. They should make it at least four years and a lifetime ban would be fine in our book.

Cragg's post-race comments were right on the money. After being asked if Lombard was clean he said, "I am not sitting in his bedroom every day. I have got no harsh feelings for him. He beat me fair and square today. If he tests positive again, then I'll have something to say about it."

*EPO Cheat Cathal Lambard Pulls Huge Upset Win over Alistair Cragg at Irish Cross Country Nationals
On the boards: Drug Cheat Lombard Crushes Cragg
*Photos of Race

Big News In Kenya - Both in Competition And Out

The Kenyan cross country championships are always a very big deal for running aficionados as short of the world cross country, the race is probably the best xc race in the world. However, this year, the race wasn't close to being the biggest news coming out of Kenya this week.  There was much bigger and more important news on the political front. Thankfully, a power sharing agreemtent has been reached in Kenya. Time will only tell if this means the bloodshed comes to a stop.

Meanwhile, at the Kenyan xc championships, Gideon Ngatunyi (4th at world's last year) sprinted to victory on the men's side as 19-year old Grace Momanyi got the women's title.  


*Senior Men's Video To Left
*
Junior, Women's Videos Here
* Gideon Ngatunyi and 19 Year Old Grace Momanyi Win Kenyan XC Titles

*Paul Tergat Individual Men's Title at World Cross Would Help Kenya Heal
*Kenyans XC Camp To Start Wednesday With 33 Athletes Fr 27 Spots

 

Senior MEN (12 km):
 1. Gideon Ngatunyi        38:27.6
 2. Mark Kiptoo            38:29.1
 3. Hosea Macharnyang      38:36.5
 4. Joseph Ebuya           38:38.0
 5. Bernard Kiprop Kipyego 38:39.0
 6. John Thuo              38:39.4
 7. Leonard Komon          38:40.0
 8. Moses Masai            38:49.0
 9. Barnabas Kosgei        39:00.3
10. Isaac Songok           39:05.0

Senior WOMEN (8 km):
 1. Grace Momanyi       29:02.8
 2. Linet Masai         29:07.6
 3. Doris Changeywo     29:15.4
 4. Linet Chepkirui     29:22.4
 5. Pauline Korkwiang   29:22.6
 6. Margaret Wangare    29:23.0
 7. Eunice Jepkorir     29:33.4
 8. Vivian Cheruiyot    29:36.3
 9. Beatrice Chepchumba 29:36.3
10. Jane Chepkosgei     29:41.5
Junior MEN (8 km):
 1. Levi Matebo         25:36.6
 2. Mathew Kisorio      25:42.0
 3. Charles Chebet      25:43.7
 4. Lukas Rotich        25:52.1
 5. Titus Masai         25:54.1
 6. Paul Tanui          25:57.3
 7. Samuel Ndungu       25:58.3
 8. Peter Kimeli        26:00.6
 9. Theophilus Musyoki  26:04.6
10. Kirui Chesang       26:04.8
Junior WOMEN (6 km):
 1. Christine Kambua Muyanga 21:56.4
 2. Chebet Cheptai           21:56.6
 3. Delvin Merngor           22:02.3
 4. Winny Cheptoo            22:12.8
 5. Susan Wairimu            22:16.0
 6. Dorcas Chepchirchir      22:19.4
 7. Vaati Ndolo              22:21.4
 8. Jackline Chebii          22:23.2
 9. Pauline Mutwa            22:26.4
10. Naomi Limamiroi          22:39.3

LA Marathon
Considering the low opinion we have of Devine Racing,  the company that puts on this race, we hesitate to mention the race but figure we have to.  In case you aren't familiar with Devine, they are famous in running circles for not paying their elites on time in the past. The LA Marathon is interesting as it offers a $100,000 "Equalizer" bonus to the winner of the overall race, with the women getting a 19:04 head start. The gimmick has created some great drama in the past. This year, however, Devine's poor reputation apparently greatly reduced the quality of racers that showed up as they likely weren't sure if they'd get paid.  As a result, Tatiana Aryasova ended up with a huge payday for her relatively modest 2:29 clocking.

Instead of complaining that a 2:29 marathoner can pick up a $100,000 pay day, we'll do the opposite and say, "It's about time." Do you realize that a single minor league golf tournament in the US has a prize purse of $631,000?

Meanwhile, the race may be remembered as the one where the race director in an article on how tough women marathoners are nowadays said, "You can't get them back in the kitchen." No, we're not making that up.

*Tatiana Aryasova, Laban Moiben Win Aryasova got $100,000 for a 2:29 which is crazy.
*LA Marathon Director: "ou can't get them back in the kitchen
"

MEN (gun times) -
1. Laban Moiben, 24, Marietta, GA (KEN) 2:13:50 CR* $20,000 + Car#
2. Christopher Kiprotich, 26, KEN 2:14:19 12,000
3. Khalid Kamal Yaseen^, 25, BRN 2:15:24 7,500
4. Augustus Kavutu, 31, KEN 2:16:01 5,000
5. Franklin Tenorio, 38, ECU 2:16:29 2,500
6. Odilon Cuahutle, 37, MEX 2:16:42 1,500
7. Benson Mbithi, 29, KEN 2:17:01 1,000
8. Lamech Mokono, 28, KEN 2:18:41 500
9. Edward Kiptum, 29, KEN 2:19:21
10. Dmitry Safronov, 27, RUS 2:19:41
11. Mark Batres, 23, UsA 2:20:18
12. Christian Villavicencio, 31, NIC 2:27:56
40+ Fermin Sequen, 40, ??? 2:34:34
*Course record; previous 2:17:14, Fred Mokaka (KEN), 2007
^Was Peter Ndegwa of Kenya
#Honda Accord EX-L V6 (value = $28,000)

WOMEN/All Women's Race (gun times) -
1. Tatiana Aryasova, 28, RUS 2:29:09 DB/CR* $20,000 + Car# + 100,000^^
2. Yulia Gromova, 33, RUS 2:34:12 12,000
3. Jacqueline Nytipei, 24, KEN 2:37:47 7,500
4. Mary Ptikany, 30, KEN 2:40:12 5,000
5. Claudia Camargo, 26, Danbury, CT (ARG) 2:45:17 2,500
6. Jennifer Derego, 29, San Luis Obispo, CA 2:46:24 1,500
7. Tatiana Titova, 42, RUS 2:51:32 1,000
(No other finishers reported)
#Honda Accord EX-L V6 (value = $28,000)
^^Banco Popular Challenge bonus for first athlete to cross finish line (19:38 handicap)

Continued: Page 2 of the Week That Was: We praise some of the heroes from the collegiate American action including  LSU's John Kosgei, Wisco's Brandon Bethke, Minnesota's Heather Dorniden, Georgetown's Joanna Rogers, Cornell's Jeomi Maduka, Curtis Vollmar and the Eastern Michigan men as well as D3 stars Erin Kelly and Peter Kosgei.
Got an opinion, news, info, or results? How about a name for our column? "The Week That Was" is not too catchy. Email us at
letsrun@letsrun.com
*Last week's week in review can be found here

Tell a friend about this article
(Dont worry we won't email your friend(s) again. We send them a 1 time email)
Enter their email address(es), separated by a comma.
Enter your name:

Don't Worry: We
Back to Main Front Page
Questions, comments or suggestions?Please email the LetsRun.com staff at suggestions@LetsRun.com.



Runner's World &
Running Times


Combined Only $22

a Year
Save $87



Running & Track and Field Posters


Search the Web
or LetsRun.com
Google

Web

LRC


Running Shoe Savings: Nike Lunar Glide 20% Off
Super popular shoe from Nike featuring Flywire and Lunar Foam


Advertise on LetsRun.com

Contact Us

Privacy Policy