NYC Marathon 2008

3 Nov

So this is my first race report, the first of many. I watched the first two hours or so of the women's race, but I had to leave for church before the conclusion. By the time I managed to tear myself away from the live feed at universalsports.com, Paula Radcliffe had all but secured the victory. It was an incredible display of athletic dominance. The contenders, including everybody's favorite, Kara Goucher, hung with Paula until at least mile 17. I was so pumped for Kara. The day before, I had watched a video on runnersworld.com where Kara talked about doing a 20 mile tempo run at 5:30 pace. Alberto Salazar, her coach, had allegedly said that she could crack 2:20, or 5:20 pace. Could America's golden girl take down a world class field in her debut? Through the midway point she looked so strong; I really thought it might be possible. I kept waiting for her to make a move and put the pressure on Radcliffe, Gete Wami, and the others. With the way she's been training and competing, why not?
Unfortunately, around mile 17 Kara inexplicably dropped to the back of the five-woman pack. When I saw this, I knew she had lost any chance of victory. It was a valiant pursuit, but Radcliffe was just too strong. She broke the wind for everybody through the first half, and still she dropped her rivals "like rocks," as one NBC commentator put it. Once she started running sub 5:20 miles, nobody stood a chance. Keep in mind that this is a woman who has run 2:15, or about 5:10 pace. Radcliffe started the pounding and didn't let up. With about five miles to go she dropped a 5:12, which put away the last challenger, 40 year old Ludmila Petrova. I had never before heard of Petrova, but I'm sure she's now the inspiration for thousands of middle-aged female marathoners. Surprisingly, the Africans couldn't keep up with their occidental sisters. Catherine Ndereba, arguably the greatest female marathoner of all time, faded early. A trio of others (Wami, Rita Jeptee, and Dire Tune) were in the lead pack for most of the race, but were ultimately gapped by Radcliffe, Petrova, and Kara. I wasn't a huge fan of Radcliffe's before watching this race, but her mastery of the race has made me a convert. She chose exactly the right time to drop the hammer, and everybody cracked. Absolute domination. I'm reminded of something Prefontaine allegedly said about running being an art form. Radcliffe examplified that on Sunday. There's no disputing her strength. She's just had the misfortune of being injured during the previous two Olympic Games. In London, she'll be 38 and will have her last shot at gold, and in front of her home crowd. Hicham El Guerrouj failed twice before securing his elusive gold. There's no reason to think Paula couldn't do the same, especially since this year's Olympic gold medalist, Constantina Tomescu-Dita of Romania, is 38.
But enough about Radcliffe. Call me a jingoist, but the real story here is Kara. She finished third in 2:25.53, the fastest American debut and the American record for the NYC course. Despite only five weeks of accelerated training (up to 120 miles a week), Kara outlasted the more experienced Africans. In four years, she could be the best marathoner in the world. It's almost certainly her best event. If she wants an Olympic medal, it will have to be in the marathon. She doesn't have the speed to challenge the Ethiopians on the track (who does?). With a proper 8-10 week buildup next year, she could go sub 2:20 on an easier course. Look for Kara to do the marathon at the London Games in 2012. Let's just hope she and Salazar are right about her supposed physiological aptitude for the marathon. Tirunesh Dibaba and Meseret Defar will be marathoners someday, and based on their mind-bending track times (sub 14:25 5000 meters), it's hard to see how Kara could beat them. Maybe, just maybe, Kara has an innate advantage over them at the longer distance. Fortunately, Dibaba and Defar are younger (25 and 23) so they may not try the marathon for some time. Kara's main competition in the next few years will come from Radcliffe. A duel between Kara and Radcliffe in London would be a race for the ages. I can just see the headlines now: 'Goucher outlasts Radcliffe in greatest Olympic marathon of all time.' I plan on being in London in 2012 to watch the Games, and being witness to a clash like that would be, well, incredible.
I'm not going to talk about the men's race. I didn't see the conclusion, so I've got nothing to report.