Catherine “the Great” Ndereba Reclaims One Crown; Tadesse Tola Steals Another
Men’s race ends in a sprint, with Ritzenhein strong in third
When the field of the NYC Half-Marathon Presented by NIKE had narrowed to two men, most experts would have picked the same one to win. Patrick Makau, 23, of Kenya is the third-fastest half-marathoner in history, and he came to New York with a four-race winning streak at the distance, all in 2008, and all against world-class fields.
Tadesse Tola, a 20-year-old Ethiopian running only his second half-marathon, had pushed the pace hard from the start, but few would have expected him to drop everyone but Makau after six miles and then hold the pace for seven more. Yet with a mere quarter-mile remaining in the race, they were side by side, and the inexperienced Ethiopian seemed an easy target for Makau. But Tola sprinted again.
Makau lost two yards, and he fought to regain them. As they tore down the West Side Highway with their eyes on the finishing banner, Makau took back one yard, but Tola denied him the other. The novice crossed the line a stride ahead of the favorite in 1:00:58. “It was a hard competition,” he would say, speaking through a translator. “Winning here tells me that I have a good future.”
Behind them, Dathan Ritzenhein of the United States was having a great race. One month away from the Olympic Marathon in Beijing, he was performing a test: racing hard in hot, humid conditions against top competitors. When Tola and Makau had made their decisive break just before halfway on an uphill section of Central Park, he’d let them go. “If I had run a 4:25 mile up that hill,” he said, “my race would’ve been over right there.” Instead, he maintained his effort and kept the leaders—and Richard Maiyo of Kenya, who was running in third—in view as they left the park and ran through Midtown. “I was drinking more than anyone, and my fuel system was working,” he said later. “I got a second wind at ten miles.” Ritzenhein passed Maiyo, closed slightly on the leading pair, and took third place in 1:01:38; Maiyo finished fourth in 1:01:55.
Many great runners followed. In sixth place was Kenya’s William Kipsang, a 2:05:49 marathoner. In eighth was Hendrick Ramaala of South Africa, winner of the ING New York City Marathon in 2004. The conditions were deceptively tough: 90-percent humidity at the start, temperatures in the 70s. Preparation was vital, and Tola had come prepared. “The hills in Central Park are a lot like where I train back home,” he said.
Asked what had made him become a runner, Tola cited a famous example: Haile Gebreselassie, two-time Olympic gold medalist, the marathon world record-holder, and the winner of the NYC Half in 2007. “I live near Haile,” said the 20-year-old. “I heard a lot about him, and I saw him running. It encouraged me to try.”
Makau seemed unruffled by the loss. “[Tola] is very strong. I kicked hard—I tried to win,” he said, smiling. Ritzenhein was particularly upbeat, with the biggest race of his life just over the horizon. “I felt great today,” he said. “This was a great last test before Beijing. It really confirmed for me that I’m in the kind of shape I thought I was in.”
Fierce competition also marked a women’s race in which several top entrants were prepping for their Olympic marathon effort, scheduled for August 17. One of these was two-time marathon world champion and reigning Olympic marathon silver medalist Catherine Ndereba of Kenya, who won the NYC Half in 2006 and finished a close second last year. Ndereba, always a calm and calculating competitor, tucked into a lead pack that also included Mexican marathon record-holder Madaí Pérez, 2008 Sapporo Half-Marathon winner Yuri Kano of Japan, and Kenyan standouts Rose Cheruiyot and Alice Timbilili.
At age 36, Ndereba is a veteran performer who has nothing to prove at any distance. Called “Catherine the Great,” she had 17 career half-marathon victories in 24 known attempts at the distance. So it was no surprise that the mighty and humble Ndereba pushed the pace after mile 12, dropped remaining pursuers Pérez and Kano, and made it win #18 with her 1:10:18 finish. Perez finished second in 1:10:26 and Kano rounded out the podium with her finish in 1:10:31.
“I surprised myself with how fast I was able to push my pace,” said Ndereba. Like Ritzenhein, she pronounced herself ready for Beijing: “I was using this as my last tune-up, weighing my endurance as well as my speed. I can say I feel good. I’m ready to go.”
The day’s comeback award had to go to another veteran, 44-year-old Colleen De Reuck of the United States, who finished fifth in 1:12:03. The four-time Olympian has been running—and winning—major races since many of her competitors were in grade school. Only one other masters runner—a man—beat her today. And she gave birth to a daughter, her second child, just one year ago.
The achievements of athletes like De Reuck, Ndereba, Tola, Makau, and Ritzenhein show the rest of us what can be accomplished through hard work and determination. As fans around the world eagerly await the opening of the Beijing Olympic Games just two weeks from now, these world-class competitors brought the Olympic spirit to the streets of New York City.
