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Rock 'n' Roll Philadelphia Half Marathon: Victories for Kenyan Mathew Kisorio and Kim Smith of New Zealand
U.S. All-Comers Records for Kisorio (58:46), Smith (1:07:11)
By Bert Rosenthal for Running USA wirePHILADELPHIA --(September 18, 2011)--History was made at the Rock 'n' Roll Philadelphia Half Marathon on Sunday morning, not once but twice, as Mathew Kisorio of Kenya and Kim Smith of New Zealand set U.S. All-Comers Records, winning the men's and women's Open titles with late surges.
At the 34th race edition, Kisorio fought off a challenge from one of his best friends, countryman Sammy Kitwara, winning in 58 minutes, 46 seconds, smashing the mark of 58:55, which was then a world record when set by Haile Gebrselassie of Ethiopia in Phoenix in 2006. Smith also beat back a challenge from Werknesh Kidane of Ethiopia, winning in 1:07:11, breaking the previous U.S. record of 1:07:36 she set at New Orleans in February.
"The times were unbelievable," said Rod Dixon, 1972 Olympic bronze medalist and 1983 New York City Marathon champion. "As we keep moving on in history, the bar keeps getting lower. Pretty soon, if you put up one or two million dollars in prize money, you'll see someone run a marathon under two hours." Dixon won this historic Philadelphia race twice, setting a world record here in 1981.
"The times were fantastic," stated Jim Ryun, the great U.S. distance runner and 1968 Olympic silver medalist. "It was so beautiful to see. Their strides and their form were wonderful. They were very strong at the finish."
Kisorio, who plans to run his first marathon in New York in November, was excited about his race.
"I was looking to run my fastest ever," said Kisorio, who also won the Philadelphia race last year in a then course record 1:00:16. "I've been training hard in Kenya for the last two months."
The 22-year-old running sensation kept looking at his watch during the race. "When I saw my watch at 10K, I knew I could run under 60 (minutes). This course is fantastic." Kisorio improved his personal record by one minute, 17 seconds.
Kisorio and Kitwara broke away from the field near the three-mile mark and continued running stride-for-stride until the final hill, shortly before the finish. Then, Kisorio made a move and Kitwara just couldn't keep up.
"Going up the hill was hard for me," Kitwara said, after finishing two seconds behind his compatriot in 58:48 but also under Gebrselassie's old mark. Kisorio's time was also the fourth-fastest in world history (#3 individual) and Kitwara's was fifth (#4 individual).
Bobby Curtis, former Villanova All-American, was the first U.S. finisher, placing ninth in 1:01:53 in his first half-marathon, also becoming the second fastest American half-marathoner for the year. 2000 Olympian Adam Goucher, in his first race in some two years, also dipped under the Olympic Trials qualifier of 1:05:00, finishing in 1:04:52. He was one of seven men and nine women who qualified for the 2012 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials in Houston at today's race.
Smith, 25, entered the race with much trepidation. What caused her psychological concern was her performance in the Boston Marathon in April. There, she had a huge lead after 10 miles when she developed a torn calf muscle and had to drop out.
"It was nice to have this race," Smith said. "I needed this for motivation. I was struggling with Boston. Physically, it didn't take me long to recover, but mentally it did. I was just trying to run hard and be relaxed and feel comfortable. I knew I was running fast, but I wasn't sure what my times were translating to."
History, it turned out.
Smith and Kidane ran together until about the final mile. Then, Smith took the lead and Kidane couldn't keep up.
"I wore her down," Smith said. "She was tough. To beat her is something. She's a world champion."
Kidane, winner of six medals at the World Championships including a gold, finished in 1:07:28, also under the old U.S. All-Comers Record. The best American was Maegan Krifchin of Ithaca, NY who placed fifth in 1:11:04, bursting onto the U.S. distance running scene with the third fastest half-marathon time by an American woman this year.
Smith also set pending U.S. All-Comers Records for 10 miles (51:04) and 20 kilometers (1:03:38), while Kisorio set a pending all-comers mark of 55:44 for 20K, making for a historic day in Philadelphia.
A race record of 20,886 entrants were scheduled to start in perfect weather, 56 degrees and a slight wind as the Rock 'n' Roll Philadelphia Half Marathon solidified its reputation as a great race. Among the runners was Dana Jacobson of ESPN, who completed the half-marathon in 2:19:49, under the careful eye of her trainer Bart Yasso of Runner's World. A pumped up crowd celebrated their accomplishment with a hard rocking performance by Bret Michaels.
Rock 'n' Roll Marathon Series co-founder Tracy Sundlun remarked on a banner day for the record books, "The reason everyone ran so fast was to get a front row seat to listen to Bret Michaels."
34th Rock 'n' Roll Philadelphia ½ Marathon
Philadelphia, PA, Sunday, September 18, 2011
Top Men
1) Mathew Kisorio (Kenya), 58:46, $9500*
2) Sammy Kitwara (Kenya), 58:48, $2000
3) James Mwangi (Kenya), 1:00:43, $1500
4) Peter Kamais (Kenya), 1:01:07, $1000
5) Julias Koskei (Kenya), 1:01:22, $750
*Includes Event Record and All-Comers Record Bonus (previous course record, 1:00:16, Mathew Kisorio (Kenya), 2010; previous U.S. ACR, 58:55, Haile Gebrselassie (Ethiopia), Phoenix 2006)
Masters Men (40 and older)
1) Vyacheslav Shabunin, 41, Russia, 1:03:52, $1000
2) Christopher Carr, 49, Garnett Valley, PA, 1:09:22, $500
3) Thom Little, 40, New York, NY, 1:09:26, $250
Top Women
1) Kim Smith (New Zealand), 1:07:11, $9500*
2) Werknesh Kidane (Ethiopia), 1:07:28, $2000
3) Bizunesh Deba (Ethiopia), 1:09:55, $1500
4) Jane Kibii (Kenya), 1:10:25, $1000
5) Maegan Krifchin (USA / NY), 1:11:05, $1250#
*Includes Event Record and All-Comers Record Bonus (previous course record, 1:07:45, Meseret Defar (Ethiopia), 2010; previous U.S. ACR, 1:07:36, Kim Smith (New Zealand), New Orleans 2011)
#Includes Top U.S. Prize Money
Masters Women (40 and older)
1) Peggy Yetman, 43, Leesburg, VA, 1:20:21, $1000
2) Abby Dean, 40, Philadelphia, PA, 1:22:37, $1500^
3) Nnenna Lynch, 40, New York, NY, 1:23:34, $250
^Includes top City of Philadelphia prize money
2012 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials Qualifying times
Men (sub-1:05:00)
Bobby Curtis, 26, Philadelphia, PA, 1:01:53, $1500^Chris Barnicle, 24, Newtonville, MA, 1:02:45, $400
Jason Hartmann, 30, Boulder, CO, 1:03:39, $300
Michael Eaton, 24, Bowling Green, KY, 1:04:37, $200
C. Fred Joslyn, 27, Syracuse, NY, 1:04:38, $100
Adam Goucher, 36, Portland, OR, 1:04:53
Paul Hefferon, 25, Rochester Hills, MI, 1:04:54
^Includes top City of Philadelphia prize money
Women (sub-1:15:00)
Dot McMahan, 34, Rochester Hills, MI, 1:13:00, $400Adriana Nelson, 31, Boulder, CO, 1:13:01, $300
Melissa White, 30, Rochester Hills, MI, 1:13:13, $200
Wendy Thomas, 32, Windsor, CO, 1:13:49, $100
Teresa McWalters, 27, Cambridge, MA, 1:14:23
Brianne Nelson, 30, Fort Collins, CO, 1:14:38
Amanda Rice, 27, Bethesda, MD, 1:14:39
Mattie Suver, 34, Lake Tapps, WA, 1:14:56
Complete results, photos and more at http://runrocknroll.competitor.com/Philadelphia.