by Larry Eder
Press room during 2009 Boston race.
The women’s race was a tactical event. Hitting the mile in 6.28, then 10k in 37.25 and ten miles in 59.47, a pack of seventeen, lead by Elva Dryer were together. At the half marathon, hit in 1:18.12, Kara Goucher, Dire Tune, Salina Kosgei, Colleen de Reuck, Elva Dryer, Alina Ivanova, and Lydia Grigoreva are all there.
The pack slowly worked down to twelve as they hit 25k in 1:32.09 and 30k in 1:47.05, with a pack of Kara Goucher, Dire Tune, Salina Kosgei, Helena Kiprop are together. Colleen de Reuck lead several times. But the race became a real race as the women hit the hills.
Tune, Kosgei and Goucher ruled the race from this point on. Goucher stayed out of lead until after twenty miles in 1:58.56, with Kara taking the lead. There was a pack of five at twenty one miles and by twenty-three, it was down to three runners-Dire Tune in second, Salian Kosgei in third and Kara Goucher leading.
Headwinds were nasty, but the last three miles were spectacular! Goucher, Tune and Kosgei were together until just before twenty-five miles, where Kara Goucher began to falter, but somehow she stayed close. Just after twenty-five, Tune made a test surge and she put some room on Goucher, but as she tried, Tune and Kosgei took off, and fought with each other.
“I knew that I did not want a lot of people at the finish…with five miles to go, I started to press and felt good, but they had more..I will absolutely be back at New York and Boston..I am proud of how I did, but I wanted to be the won for everybody.” noted Kara Goucher.
Dire Tune and Salina Kosgei were fighting down the stretch and Kara Goucher was trying to fight back to the lead, but, alas, it was not there today, for Kara.
Last year, Dire Tune won by one second, this year, luck was not with her as Salina Kosgei, ( 1993 Kenya high school champ at 200 meters, 800 meters and heptathlon) went by her, to take the victory by one second!
Salina said, after the finish: ” I am happy with my win..I did not know that I would win, when there were three runners together, we were all thinking-who would win? I was a sprinter, I know how to sprint”.
Dire Tune collapsed at the finish line. She was in the medical tent afterwards, and was not available for the press conference.
In the end, an amazingly exciting marathon, with Kenya, Ethiopia and the US in the top three positions. It could not have been a closer finish!
Boston Women, top ten:
Salina Kosgei, Kenya, 2:32.16, Dire Tune, Ethiopia, 2:32.17, Kara Goucher, USA, 2:32;25, Bezunesh Bekele, Ethiopia, 2:33.08,Helena Kiprop, Kenya, 2:33.38, Lidyia Grigoreyva, Russia, 2;34.20, Atsede Habtamua, Ethiopia, 2:35.34, Colleen De Reuck, USA, 2:35.27, Alie Timbilili, Kenya, 2;36.25, Alina Ivanova, Russia, 2:36.50, Sheri Piers, USA, 2:37.04.
