Rodgers Rop with Boston winner's laurels (© Getty Images)
New YorkWith a week's worth of media and public appearances behind them, the lead players in this Sunday's 33rd New York Marathon are now quietly preparing for their roles, not unlike their Broadway acting counterparts before opening night. But while this particular stage may be 'Off-Broadway', this show, with a cast of 30,000, is definitely the biggest in town.
The women will be the first to enter the limelight and will race alone, promising a fierce competition among one of the finest women's fields assembled this year. It's a setup that all the racers eagerly anticipate.
"We don't have the fear of that mad rush at the beginning," said Ireland's Sonia O'Sullivan, who will make what she calls her "competitive" debut on Sunday. "And we won't have to run faster than we have to, to beat that rush. And spectators can see the race better, and can follow the race more closely."
Kenyan Lornah Kiplagat, who has had one of the finest road racing seasons in recent memory, echoed O'Sullivan's sentiments. "It won't be as crowded and we won't have to worry about being pushed," she said. "We can stay more relaxed, and we'll be in much better control of the race. I wish all marathons could be this way."
"This is ideal for us," said Marla Runyan, whose performance on Sunday will mark her debut at the distance. "It will be easier to keep track of each other."
The participation of Runyan, who is legally blind, has heaped considerable attention on the race. Articles in the daily national newspapers and major magazines, as well as profiles on television and radio networks have all focused on the 33-year-old's marathon run.
"It's kind of a shock," she said of all the attention this week. "I try to downplay it as much as I can. To me, it's just so commonplace – something I've lived with for 26 years. I'm more worried about running well and competing well."
Defending champion Margaret Okayo, who sped to a 2:24:21 course record last year, noted a slight worry of her own.
"I'm nervous," she admitted. "I know everyone's looking to me. But I feel really good and am ready."
This will be the first “women's only” marathon for the petite Kenyan, who trains nine months out of the year in Italy. "I really don't know how it will go, but I hope the nervousness ends quickly." Okayo, the first woman to simultanously reign as both Boston and New York champion, is aiming to become the first successful defender of the Big Apple title since Tegla Loroupe. (1994-95), and only the third ever.
Conversely, Kiplagat, winner of the Osaka Women's Marathon in January, exuded confidence.
"I'm very excited," she said. "My shorter distances have been going really well." In one of those races, she set a new World best 50:54 for ten miles. "I knew I was in good shape. It was not really a coincidence that I ran so fast."
Kiplagat readily concedes though, that the longer distance is an entirely different game. "I've never really had a breakthrough in the marathon. But I've been feeling that it will come really soon." Many believe that it will come this weekend.
2000 champion Ludmila Petrova was confident as well, but her success will ultimately depend on the success of her recent training "experiment."
"For the first time, I was training at altitude," the Russian explained, "And I feel quite well." But her racing has yet to be tested. Petrova added that she was not particularly surprised by her 2:22:33 personal best in London where she finished third behind fellow Russian Svetlana Zakharova. "I was counting on 2:24, but I might have been faster. I was afraid to run faster early in the race."
The men's race features Ethiopia's defending champion Tesfaye Jifar in his first race since a disappointing fifth place showing in May's IAAF World Half Marathon Championships in Brussels.
"I haven't prepared any less than last year," the 26-year-old Ethiopian said. He decided to take a lay off from racing to recover from the pains in his right calf that slowed him considerably in the latter stages of April's London Marathon.
"I wanted my body to fully recover from that overtraining," he explained, speaking through an interpreter. "We all over trained for London," he said, referring to his London training partners Tesfaye Tola and Haile Gebrselassie.
Rodgers Rop, this year's Boston winner, is anxious to improve on his third place finish here last year. In Boston, Rop said, he knew that his mid to late race control would bode well. "By 35K I felt really strong and it gave me high morale." He plans to run a similar style race on Sunday, but will keep a watchful eye on the defending champion.
"Last year, Tesfaye had the experience. He was staying behind and we were pushing. He's the one to watch." The 26 year-old Kenyan, who trains part of the year in Detmold, Germany, said he's aiming to reach sub-2:09 territory, a performance he believes will be enough to win. "It may be too cold for a course record."
Some are looking to Italian record holder Stefano Baldini as a wild card to challenge the east African duo, to become the fourth Italian to win in New York. Before running a personal best 2:07:29 to finish fifth in London last spring, Baldini said he spent six months preparing particularly for that one race. The same cannot be said for his build-up to his second New York appearance.
"I spent a lot of time on the track this year. I didn't stop (training and competing) after London. And I didn't stop after the European championships." The initial miles, Baldini said, will show how well he can do. "If the race starts like last year and is not much faster, than I will do very well. The final 10K is my strongest."
The women begin at 10:35, while the men's gun will sound at 11:10. A crowd of nearly two million is expected to line the five borough course. A guaranteed prize purse of $475,000 will be awarded, with $80,000 and a Pontiac Vibe for first, ranging to $1,000 for tenth. Prizes for US finishers in the top will be doubled. Time bonuses, ranging from $65,000 for sub 2:07/2:22 to $5,000 for sub 2:11:30/2:29 are being offered as well.
Bob Ramsak for the IAAF
