Reigning Boston, New York and London Marathon Champs to Square Off in 2 Weeks in Castelbuono
By David Monti
July 7, 2011
(c) 2011 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved
The organizers of the 86th Giro Podistico di Castelbuono announced today that they had recruited the male champions of the Boston, London and
New York City Marathons to compete head-to-head in their race on
Tuesday, July 26. In a coup for race director Mario Fesi, his event in a
small Sicilian city will be the first ever where Kenyans Geoffrey Mutai
(Boston winner) and Emmanuel Mutai (London), and Ethiopian Gebre
Gebremariam (New York) compete in the same race.
By any measure, Mutai, Mutai and Gebremariam are amongst the best
distance runners in the world. According to the independent Association
of Road Racing Statisticians, Geoffrey Mutai is presently the #5-ranked
distance runner in the world, and #1 amongst athletes who are primarily
marathoners. Gebremariam is ranked #2 amongst marathoners and Emmanuel
Mutai is #8. Moreover, based on 2011 marathon times, Geoffrey Mutai
holds the #1 rank (2:03:02), Emmanuel Mutai #3 (2:04:40) and Gebremariam
#4 (2:04:53). For each man, those times represent their career bests,
and Geoffrey Mutai's mark is the fastest ever achieved on a certified
marathon course (but not a world record because the Boston course is
point-to-point and downhill).
Known as "La Corsa Piu' Antica" (the Ancient Race) because it was first
held in 1912, the traditional distance for the Giro Podistico di
Castelbuono has been 11.3 kilometers. The athletes would run ten laps
of an 1130-meter loop over the ancient streets tiled with volcanic
stone, starting and finishing in the Piazza Margherita. This year,
however, the race will be a certified 10-K held on the same course, and
the athletes will run just under nine laps, instead.
All three marathon champions are also accomplished 10-K runners. At the
B.A.A. 10-K less than two-weeks ago, Geoffrey Mutai ran a personal best
27:19, the fastest-ever 10-K in the United States on a certified, loop
course. He also ran 27:27.59 for 10,000m at high altitude in Nairobi in
2010. Gebremariam has a 10,000m time of 26:52.33 (Hengelo, 2007), and
has run 27:41 on the road (Cape Elizabeth, 2010). Emmanuel Mutai has
run 27:51 on the road (Marseille, 2006).
Organizers also said that USA half-marathon record holder Ryan Hall
would be competing in Castelbuono for the first time. Hall was supposed
to run the race last year, but was forced to withdraw to attend to an
undisclosed family problem. Hall has a marathon personal best of
2:04:58 (Boston, 2011), and has run 28:22 for 10-K on the road
(Northport, 2006).
The Giro Podistico di Castelbuono has been the traditional summer race
for top marathon runners, most of whom do not compete on the European
track circuit. The event's past winners include Kenyans Paul Tergat
(1994 and 2003), Robert Kipkoech Cheruiyot (2006), and Martin Lel
(2004); Italian Gelindo Bordin (1987, 1988); Moroccan (now American)
Khalid Khannouchi (1998), and South African Hendrick Ramaala (1999).
Last year's champion was world half-marathon and 20-K record holder
Zersenay Tadese of Eritrea.
For Castelbuono, located in central Sicily in the middle of an 8000 acre
national park called Parco delle Madonie, the race is an important
fixture on the annual social calendar. Nearly all of the residents of
the city turn out to watch the early evening race (photo).
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