PRAGUE MARATHON SIGNALS SPRING MARATHON SEASON IS ALMOST OVER
By David Monti
(c) 2009 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved
May 9, 2009
Tomorrow's Volkswagen Prague Marathon, the traditional end of the
spring marathon season, is no longer at the end of the line of the
world's significant, spring marathons given Los Angeles' move to
Memorial Day Monday, May 25. Nonetheless, it's the last important
marathon in Europe before the fall season (apologies to Copenhagen,
Radenci, Leiden and others).
Although not a huge race (last year's edition had 3699 finishers),
Prague organizers have consistently put forth solid elite fields.
Working to their advantage has been Prague's position as the "last
stop" for marathoners in the spring season, often the last marathon
opportunity for athletes who were injured earlier or couldn't get a
starting spot at Boston or London.
This year is no exception. Patrick Ivuti, whose marathon victories
include Chicago in 2007 and Honolulu in 2008, is the top entrant on the
men's side with a 2:07:46 personal best. He's the best candidate to
break Elijah Lagat's 1998 event record of 2:08:52. Kenyan compatriots
David Kemboi (2:08:34 PB), Leonard Mucheru (2:09:37), defending
champion Kenneth Mburu Mungara (2:10:37), and debutant Jonathan Maiyo
(60:10 half-marathon) should be Ivuti's biggest rivals.
On paper, the top women's entrant is Eyrusalem Kuma who ran a personal
best 2:26:51 at Dubai last January. But the Ethiopian athlete withdrew
from the Rome Marathon in March, then dropped out of the Paris Marathon
last month. Her compatriot Mulu Seboka (2:29:06) has a very good
chance to win, as do Russia's Olga Glok (2:30:40) and Poland's 40
year-old Malgorzata Sobanska (2:26:08).
The winning man will earn 16,000 euro, while the winning woman will
earn much less: 8500 euro. Time bonuses are available for both men and
women, including 10,000 euro for a men's event record.
The tiny Ethiopian Shitaye Gemechu has been added to the women's field at tomorrow's Volkswagen Prague
International Marathon, organizers said today. She will wear bib #1
despite the fact that she was fourth at the Tokyo Marathon just seven
weeks ago.
Gemechu, 28, has a personal best time of 2:26:10 set in Paris in 2008.
Her marathon victories include P.F. Chang's Rock 'N' Roll Phoenix
(twice, in 2005 and 2006), Treviso (2007) and Amsterdam (2001).
