by Larry Eder
Sammy Wanjiru, 2009 London winner, photo by PhotoRun.net
Sammy Wanjiru told us on Friday that he wants to win and set the new world record. To get the record, Sammy will have to run 4:43.5 per mile for 26.2 miles! He does not, in my mind, respect the distance, yet. If he goes out too fast, like he did in London, he will not get the record.
On the women’s side, Deena Kastor, Irina Mikitenko and Lidiya Grigoryeva will be duking it out on the women side. On both sides, there should be some great races!
The race is off, and the key for the elite athletes, like the citizen runners, is to get themselves on pace as early as possible and try to relax. The three male pacesetters, with Patrick Ivuti as one of them (the 2007 Chicago winner), are to take Sammy Wanjiru through 1:01:50, so it should be quite fast from the start.
Pretty good headwind, at the moment, as one walks south. They will feel the wind bit. The men’s pack hit the first mile in 4:39. The women’s lead pack, with Kastor, Grigoryeva and Mikitenko, are running together, with some fast men running around them. The women hit 5:52 for the first mile.
Men’s splits: 4:38 for one mile, 9:19 for two miles, 14:01 for three miles, 18:40 for four miles, 23: 22 for five miles. Five kilometers hit in 14:34. 10k hit in 29:10.
Women’s splits: 5:52 for first mile, 11:53 for two miles, 17:35 for three miles, four miles 23:22 (5:45 for four miles). Five kilometers hit in 18:16 by Tera Moody. Elite women were fourteen seconds back. Moody runs a 5:50 for 34:56 for six miles, about 36:00 for 10k.
For more on the race, please click on http://www.chicagomarathon.com
For more on the sport, please click on http://www.runningnetwork.com
