For me, the Boston Maraton in 2017, with the heat, humidity and wind, was still one of the finest races in the stories history. Americans had two women and six men in the top ten in each elite race. 30,000 runners battled heat, humidity and wind on April 17, 2017.
Edna KIplagat and Geoffrey Kirui showed that running for the first time on the course does not dampen your chance of running well through the towns around Boston.
Here's five things I learnt on observing the 2017 Boston Marathon.
Edna Kiplagat, photo by PhotoRun.net
Here's the lessons that we learnt from the 2017 Boston Marathon
1. Edna Kiplagat is formidable, at the age of 38. When will we learn? Carlos Lopes won the 1984 Olympic marathon at the age of 36. Jack Foster took the 1974 Commonwealth Games silver medal in the marathon at the age of 41. Age is in our minds. Edna Kiplagat trained well, and she sensed the time to break the field, charging uphill between miles 19 and 20, and running 5:22, an astounding mile uphill. Edna Kiplagat has won the 2013 World Championships, in hot Moscow. The warm weather in Boston did not hurt Edna Kiplagat.
2. Jordan Hasay is a true marathon talent. A high schol phenom, Jordan Hasay came through the U.S. college system, then, the past several years with Alberto Salazar and the Nike Oregon Project. Jordan Hasay had a strong build up to the marathon, with the Medtronic 10 Miler, the Houston Aramco Half Marathon, the Gate River Run 15k , and then, the Prague Sportissimo Half Marathon. Jordan Hasay ran with poise, took water, stayed in the shade and battled down to the very last few feet. She came within 12 seconds of Rose Chelimo, keeping her focus to the finish. That 2:23:00 was the finest debut ever by an American woman marathoner. Jordan Hasay has found her event!
3. Geoffrey Kirui is a young, talented marathoner. This guy looks like the Kenyan version of Herb Lindsay, a fine American road racer and distance runner in the 1970s and 1980s. Geoffrey has arms, and he used them over those last few miles to battle Galen Rupp. In his first Boston, Geoffrey Kirui, in his fourth marathon, won the Boston Marathon. This guy will be around for some time to come!
4. Galen Rupp continues to build his career in the marathon. Look, the guy did not know if he would run the marathon two weeks before. Look for pictures of his half marathon in Prague, across the cobbled streets. Galen was wincing from his Plantar Fasciattiis. He took the cortisone shot, took two weeks down, and came back. Galen stayed out of trouble, and with a couple more weeks of training, he could have been there! The other thing, Galen Rupp spoke effusively at the presser post race, after the race, obviously enjoying the race and soaking up the iconic place of the Boston Marathon. He will be back, as he has a race to win.
5. Desi Linden put it all on the line, we hope that she will be back! Desi Linden is one of the good ones. In 2011, she had us on our seats, as she battled to the very finish, loosing by two seconds. In a hot race, Desi Linden pushed the pace, and made the field work for their living. There was nothing else that she could have done that day, as the 2017 race was Edna Kiplagat's. Her post race press comments showed that Desi gets it. She noted how many more Americans ran well in 2017, and that sooner than later, the US would have winners once again on the top of the podium in Boston.
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