2011 Hervis Prague Half-Marathon: Records Fall! by Pat Butcher, note by Larry Eder

Lydia Cheromei, 2011 Hervis Prague Half-Marathon, photo by PhotoRun.net

COURSE
RECORDS SHATTERED IN PRAGUE ‘HALF

The
holy grail for half-marathon race directors is to have a sub-60 minutes race.
And one of the latest recruits to world class athletics, Philemon Limo of Kenya
obliged in the Hervis Prague Half-Marathon on Saturday lunchtime.

Limo,
25, has only been running seriously for two years, and racing at world class for
12 months. But he ran away from three men who have already gone sub-60. He beat
Azmeraw Bekele of Ethiopia and his own compatriot, Titus Masai by over a minute,
clocking a superlative 59.30, and taking 37 seconds off the two year old course
record, to become the third fastest man of the year at the
distance.

His
colleague Lydia Cheromei who, in contrast was winning world titles at the age of
13, more than emulated Limo. Her 67.33 took exactly a minute and half from the
former record, and is the second fastest time of the year.

Following
his own sub-60 – a 59.39 clocking in Holland three weeks ago, Azmeraw was a
marginal race favourite, and he set out to justify that claim. The Ethiopian was
in the van behind pacemaker Edward Muge in the early stages of the race, along
with Masai and another Kenyan, Jairus Chanchima. But Limo was lurking in the
background, and stayed with the favourites when a group of five broke away after
just five kilometres.

Shortly
after halfway, and well on course for that magic mark, the group was down to
three, Azmeraw, Masai and Limo. The surprise came less than two kilometers
later.  Limo shot away from the more
famous pair, and quickly built up a lead, which just grew and grew. The danger
was that he had run too fast, and would crack up. But despite temperatures in
the low 20s centigrade, and one or two tough gradients coming out of the road
tunnels which border the Vltava River, Limo barely missed a step, and came home
an easy winner.

The
previous record holder, Nicholas Koech, who ran 60.07 two years ago, had to
withdraw from the race earlier in the week, with an ankle injury. That may have
saved him from a fate worse than losing his record, because Limo looked
unbeatable today.

Limo’s
background in cross country running – he was seventh in the recent IAAF World
Championships – served him well. And so did his ambition. His only previous
half-marathon (on his first trip outside Kenya) was exactly a year ago, 61.25 in
Milan. “But I knew I could run under 60 minutes because my training has been
wonderful,” he said immediately afterwards. “But I think I can do even better
than that”.

It
is just over 20 years since Cheromei shocked the athletics world by taking the
world junior cross country title a month or so short of her 14^th
birthday.  Such brilliance so young
often ends in eclipse, and Cheromei did fade away in the following years, even
suffering a drugs ban.

But
following the birth of daughter Faith, now five, she has returned as a marathon
runner, with a best of 2.23.01 in Dubai in January. She now has an equally good
‘half’ to her name after running away from Belainesh Zemedkun of Ethiopia, and
colleague Rose Kosgei, whose course record from 2009 she erased. Zemedkun
clocked 69.16 for second, and Kosgei was third in 69.31.

Enlisted
for the Marathon here in Prague in five weeks time, Cheromei said she hoped to
do as well. The organizers are already rubbing their
hands.

RESULTS

MEN
POS/BIB     NAME                
COUNTRY /TIME

1  
5  Philemon LIMO              KEN   
      
59.30
2   4  Azmeraw BEKELE       
ETH           
60.35
3   3  Titus MASAI                
KEN          
60.40
4   17 Henry CHIRCHIR                 
KEN          
61.25
5   31 Edward MUGE            
KEN          
61.39
6   12 Hosea MACHARINYANG/KEN     62.31
6  
6  Boniface KIRUI             
KEN          
62.57
8   2  Jairus CHANCHIMA     KEN          
63.10
9   11Gunter WEIDLINGER   AUT          
63.47
10   7 Sammy KURUI            
KEN          
64.59

WOMEN
1  
F2 Lydia CHEROMEI   
  KEN            
67.33
2   F6 Belainesh ZEMEDKUN/ETH          
69.16
3   F1 Rose KOSGEI          
  KEN            
69.31
4   F5 Joyce CHEPKIRUI       KEN          
71.22
5   F3 Christelle DAUNAY     FRA           
71.22
6   F4 Emily CHEBET           
KEN          
72.00
7   F9 Korahubsh ITAA         
ETH           
73.08

8  
F7 Alena SAMOCHVALOVA/RUS     76.08 

9   F8 Petra KAMÍNKOVÁ    CZE           
76.57
10 F11Ivana SEKYROVÁ     CZE           
77.09

ends