by Larry EderThe Philly Half Marathon has been around for 36 years. In my era, it was the place to go to run a fast half marathon before one ran a Fall marathon. It still is.
Stanley Biwott Repeats at Rock ‘n’ Roll Philadelphia
· The 27-year-old Kenyan ran the fastest half-marathon time in the U.S. this year
· Sold-out race welcomes 22,500 entrants in event’s 36th year
PHILADELPHIA — Defending champion Stanley Biwott of Kenya owned the streets of Philadelphia once again on Sunday morning, winning the Rock ‘n’ Roll Philadelphia Half Marathon for the second-straight year in 59 minutes and 36 seconds. The 27-year-old Biwott, who broke away from countrymen Edwin Kipyego (third, 60:04) and Cybrian Kotut (second, 59:59) just past the 6-mile mark, ran the fastest half marathon on U.S. soil this year on a record-eligible course (Bernard Koech ran 58:41 in San Diego this past June) and the second fastest time in this event’s 36-year history.
“This victory was very important to me,” said Biwott, who improved upon his winning time from last year by 27 seconds. “I knew that I had some speed in preparation for New York [City Marathon]. It was encouraging because I improved my time from last year. I trained very well for this race and I knew I was in good shape.”
Through an opening mile of 4:34, a pack of seven which included Ghirmy Ghebreselassie of Eritrea (fourth, 1:02:27), Moroccan Abdellah Falil (fifth, 1:02:44), Ethiopian Ayele Feisa and Kenyan Henry Rutto — remained intact, but not for long. A quick 4:26 split for mile 2 created a clear chasm between Biwott, Kipyego, Kotut and remainder of the early lead group. By 5K (14:00), it was clear that it was going to be a 3-man race to the finish. Not much changed over the next 3 miles before Biwott made a strong surge to the front, opening up a quick gap that he would continue to stretch out over the remainder of the race. Passing 10K in 28 minutes flat, Biwott clicked off his next 4 miles in 4:26,4:32, 4:35 and 4:31 to come through 10 miles in 45:15 with a sizable gap on Kotut and Kipyego, who were battling for runner-up behind him.
Fernando Cabada of Boulder, Colo., was the top American finisher in eighth place, running 1:03:53, his best mark of 2013 to this point. The 31-year old, who finished seventh at the 2012 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials in 2:11:53, has improved steadily since July, when he ran 1:08:22 to finish third at the Rock ‘n’ Roll Chicago Half Marathon.
“It went out fast and I felt really good to where I almost wanted to run with the Africans,” Cabada said after the race. “But I think sometimes my aggressiveness and ambitions will be the end of me in a race. If you go out too fast the first 3 miles there’s nowhere to go but back. I had Andrew Lemoncello (tenth, 1:04:36), Mike Sayenko (11th, 1:04:36) and Patrick Rizzo (12th, 1:05:06) with me, and those are some good guys to run with and I wanted to help whenever I needed to help. The first couple miles went a little slow, and I didn’t want to make excuses or rely on anybody so I just decided to go off on my own.”
In the women’s race, 24-year-old Lyudmyla Kovalenko of the Ukraine found her final gear less than 100 meters before the finish line, passing New York-based Ethiopian Konjit Biruk just before the tape to win 1 hour, 8 minutes and 59 seconds. The 25-year-old Biruk finished as the runner-up was just one second back, while Hanae Tanaka of Japan, 23, took third in 1:10:03.
“I was trying to stay close because I knew I could finish stronger,” Kovalenko said of her wait-till-the-last-minute winning strategy. “I just tried to hold my pace through the entire race.”
It was a two-woman race from mile 4 to the finish, with Kovalenko and Biruk never less than a few meters apart for nearly the entirety of the flat, fast 13.1-mile layout. Passing 6 miles in 31:28, Kovalenko was right on her goal pace of5:15 per mile with Biruk sitting on her right shoulder. The 25-year-old Ethiopian surged to the front with a kilometer to go and it appeared all but certain that Kovalenko had been dropped for good. But with less than a tenth of a mile until the tape, the Ukrainian 5,000m Olympian put her finishing speed to good use, blowing by Biruk at the last possible second to post a massive 44-second personal best.
Susanna Sullivan, 23, of Falls Church, Va., was the top American finisher in 11th place, running 1:16:18, an 8-second personal best. The Notre Dame graduate, who was hoping to run under 1:15 to secure a berth at the 2016 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials, said she felt great through mile 10, but a bad side stitch slowed her in the latter miles of the race.
“It’s a huge surprise and a tremendous honor,” Sullivan said of finishing as the top American, eight seconds and one spot ahead of U.S. 5,000m Olympian Julie Culley, who is prepping for November’s New York City Marathon. “It makes me feel better about that last mile. I felt great through about 15K, and I was encouraged t
hat I was on pace as long as I was but the last few miles were kind of tough. I’ll figure it out.”
An estimated 22,000 runners from all 50 states and 19 countries participated in the 36th annual event, which started at Eakins Oval and weaved through downtown and past Independence Hall before running along the Schuylkill River and finishing in front of the historic Philadelphia Art Museum. Participants celebrated to a performance by Walk Off the Earth at the post-race concert.
Philadelphia’s Leslee Hoey started the race as the very last participant, passing 11,551 runners on her way to the finish line as part of the Transamerica’sTomorrow Chaser program. As a result of Hoey’s efforts, Transamerica will donate $11,551 to the Achilles International- Philadelphia Chapter, an organization that helps disabled athletes stay active in sports. Hoey finished with a time of 1:33:06.
Former Biggest Loser contestant Rebecca Meyer knocked off number 40 on her quest to complete 50 races in 50 states before her 3oth birthday in March. She completed the race in 3:44:52.
Race Results
Name, Age, Country, Time, Prize Purse
Top Half Marathon Finishers – Overall
Men
1. Stanley Biwott, 27, Kenya, 59:36, $3,500
2. Cybrian Kotut, 21, Kenya, 59:59, $2,000
3. Edwin Kipyego, 22, Kenya, 1:00:04, $1,500
4. Ghirmy Ghebreselassie, 17, Eritrea, 1:02:27, $1,000
5. Abedellah Falil, 37, Morocco, 1:02:44, $750
Women
1. Lyudmyka Kovalenko, 24, Ukraine, 1:08:59, $3,500
2. Konjit Biruk, 25, Ethiopia, 1:09:00, $2,000
3. Hanae Tanaka, 23, Japan, 1:10:02, $1,500
4. Tomomi Tanaka, 25, Japan, 1:10:03, $1,000
5. Asami Kato, 22, Japan, 1:10:21, $750
Top U.S. Finishers
Men
1. Fernando Cabada, Boulder, CO, 1:03:53, $500
2. Eliud Ngetich, 19, New York, NY, 1:03:55, $400
3. Mike Sayenko, 29, Bellevue, WA, 1:04:36, $300
4. Jeremy Criscione, 35, Gainesville, FL, 1:04:52, $200
5. Ahmed Osman, 25, Flagstaff, AZ, 1:04:54, $100
Women
1. Susanna Sullivan, 23, Falls Church, VA, 1:16:19, $500
2. Julie Culley, 32, Arlington, VA, 1:16:28, $400
3. Christine Ramsey, 30, Baltimore, MD, 1:16:37, $300
4. Chantelle Wilder, 27, Monte Sereno, 1:16:42, $200
5. Emily Hulme, 29, Havertown, PA, 1:16:53, $100
Masters (over 40)
Men
Phillipe Rolly, 41, McLean, VA, 1:09:00, $500
Women
Dorota Gruca, 42, Las Cruces, NM, 1:15.25, $500
