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American Shalane Flanagan Places Second in ING New York City Marathon
USA Women's Marathon Championship Title to Flanagan, Katie McGregor Second, Kathy Newberry Third
Photo above by www.photorun.net: Edna Kiplagat of Kenya outran two marathon debutantes in Central Park and won the ING New York City Marathon women's title (2:28:20).From USA Track & Field
November 8, 2010
New York, NY
Shalane Flanagan (photo at left by www.photorun.net), 29, of Portland, OR turned in the highest place finish by an American woman at the ING New York City Marathon in 20 years, placing second (2:28:40) and winning the 2010 USA Women's Marathon Championship on Sunday, November 7. It was her debut over 26.2 miles, a highly anticipated event due to her 2008 Olympic medal and American record-setting performances on the track: she holds the 10,000m record (30:22.22, 2008), and lowered the 5000m record in 2007 (14:44.80; broken in August by Molly Huddle, 14:44.76).On Sunday, competition for place took precedence over racing for a fast time; Shalane Flanagan found a gradual accelerating pace that suited her marathon debut. She ran with a huge women's lead pack during most of the race; the average mile pace was close to 6:00 during the first 5K (18:40).
The size of the lead pack, with at least 18 women passing the half marathon mark in 1:15:52, reflected the wide-open nature of the field. Without the long shadow of world record-holder Paula Radcliffe looming over the starting line, several athletes were ready to take their shot at the winner's podium: Shalane Flanagan, world half marathon champion Mary Keitany of Kenya, 2010 Los Angeles Marathon champion Edna Kiplagat of Kenya, defending champion Derartu Tulu of Ethiopia, and Ludmila Petrova of Russia (second in 2009).
The race started to shape up near the 30K mark as the pace quickened, with a split of 1:14:12. Approximately 2 hours into the race, 13 women still remained in the lead pack, but Flanagan and Keitany assumed positions at the front of the group.
Shortly past 35K, at a water stop approximately 2:07 into the race, Flanagan, Keitany and Kiplagat separated themselves from the pack, and the race was on. Flanagan led the three women into Central Park, with Keitany and Kiplagat both looking great on her heels. A 23rd mile passed in 4:58 proved this was no longer a tactical race.
As they approached mile 25, Kiplagat pulled away with long strides; she established a 5-second lead over Keitany as Flanagan fell back to third. The American passed Keitany into second place along Central Park South as Kiplagat extended her lead in front. Edna Kiplagat won the race in 2:28:20; Flanagan crossed the finish line 20 seconds later for second. Mary Keitany, who like Flanagan was making her marathon debut, finished third (2:29:01), with Inga Abitova of Russia fourth (2:29:17), and New Zealand's Kim Smith fifth (2:29:28).
Kiplagat took home $135,000 for the win and $5,000 for breaking 2:29, while Flanagan won $110,000 in prize money: $65,000 as overall runner-up, an additional $40,000 for winning the USA women's title and a $5,000 time bonus for breaking 2:29. Flanagan's performance was the best placing by an American at this race since Kim Jones finished second in 1990 (2:30:50).
"My team really prepared me for this stage, and to seize the opportunity that was out there," Flanagan said. "I stayed calm and collected. I tried to stay with the women for as long as I could. It came down to who had the legs and the heart. I couldn't be more pleased in my first marathon, really.
"Having a win is the ultimate goal. As soon as I finished second, I thought about what I could have done to finish first . . . My passion for the marathon is very strong after today."
American Katie McGregor was with the women's lead pack until almost 25K. McGregor is the 2010 USA 10 Mile, 15K, and 25K champion; she crossed the finish line as the second American, 11th overall (2:31:01), and set a personal record. Kathy Newberry was the third American woman and 17th overall (2:35:23). With her performance, McGregor won the 2010 USARC women's standings; her teammate, Antonio Vega, earlier won the men's overall standings.
For more information on the USA Running Circuit, see www.usarunningcircuit.com
For more on the ING New York City Marathon, see www.ingnycmarathon.org.