by Larry Eder
In the Turkish bath that was the LSB Chicago 2007 marathon, Patrick
Ivuti ran Jaouad Gharib down at the finish line of the race! Patrick will
be running the 16th annual Volkswagen Prague Marathon on Sunday,
May 9, 2010, defending his title from 2009.
Patrick Butcher, our globalrunner (see globalrunner.org), writes about
the late Emil Zatopek and his observations on the growth of the marathon,
which took place a decade ago. The VW Prague Marathon, still in its infancy,
continues to grow, like marathons and races around the world!
another life, run a marathon”, Emil Zatopek.
effort of a marathon debut that won him a third Olympic gold, in Helsinki 1952,
he cannot have foreseen the thousands of ordinary mortals who would follow his
example as they trawl up and down the banks of the Vltava River in his adopted
home city of Prague in Sunday’s 16th annual race.
On one of the last
occasions that your correspondent was graced with the Bohemian born Zata’s
company at this event a dozen years ago, there was no slur intended in the old
legend’s musing, “women are running faster than I ever did,” it was simply
wonder at the impact the event had made in the decades since his retirement.
the Vltava on Sunday morning, for the biggest race in the brief history of the
event.
international big city marathons; but run through the baroque splendour of one
of Europe’s most beautiful capitals, with the start and finish in the dreamy Old
Town Square, it has become one of the most attractive fixtures on the marathon
circuit, proof of which is that over 50% of the 7500 entrants (25% up on last
year) come from abroad.
2.07.48, which took over a minute off the previous record, and was just five
seconds shy of his all-time best.
temperate conditions here, but the opposition, particularly Yemane Tsegay of
Ethiopia may be harder to combat.
we train together”), Tsegay, 25 was third in the half marathon here a month ago,
a performance he insisted today (Thursday) that he was more than satisfied
with.
very pleased to run so well after a hard 42k. At 30k (in Japan), we were on 2.06
pace, but the rain, it had been raining all day, increased, stronger and
stronger, and really slowed me down”.
World Championships in Berlin last summer, and his top-class personal best
2.06.30 in Paris last Spring.
whose 2.04.56 in Berlin 2003 was bettered only by colleague Paul Tergat’s world
record, a stride and a second ahead.
Korir was also the first man to clock up
ten sub-2.09s, but is probably past his best, which leaves another colleague
Charles Kibiwott as next fastest, at 2.06.52, and likely to be a closer
contender.
women’s record, despite it belonging to Italian compatriot Maura Viceconte, with
her 2.26.33 in 2001.
if not in stone, then in writing for at least a year, is Helena Kirop of Kenya,
whose best is 2.24.54, in Dubai in January.
husband Peter Lomuria, a 2.13 marathoner, they have set up the Helena Kirop
Foundation, an educational charity dedicated to the nurturing of young girls
from poor families in their respective Turkana and Pokot tribal areas.
merits her success. But that won’t stop veteran Lyubov Morgunova of Russian
(2.25.12) trying, nor indeed her compatriots, Alevtina Ivanova (2.26.38) and
Laria Zyuzko (2.26.26), nor Kirop’s colleague Rose Cheruiyot (2.5.48), nor yet
the Ethiopian pair, Ashu Kasim (2.25.49) and Eyerusalem Kuma
(2.26.51).
