FLORA London Marathon
Women's elite race
Men's elite race

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(6:50 a.m. London time) The sun wakes me up. As I look out my window, the sun is shining over the Tower Bridge and the famous Tower of London. The day will be clear and warm. With arguably the best men's field since the 1984 Olympics, there are nine men who can win this race. On the women's side, there are six women who can take this event.

The weekend has been wonderful. I have spent much of the time observing Race Director Dave Bedford and his team. At the Friday Welcome Reception, Dave Bedford introduced himself as director of the "number one marathon in the world." FLORA London has much to argue about its position in the world marathon food chain.

I arrived in London on Friday morning, and the weekend was on. After some writing, I took a nice walk down the Thames in front of the world historic site, the Towers of London. As I passed the traitor's gate, I recalled that the Duke of Birmingham was taken through that gate by Henry VIII's men and beheaded way back in the sixteenth century. Walking along the Thames, one sees bridges, several barges and ships going up and down the river. I walked by a club called the Banker's where a party was going on a Friday afternoon. This was just after passing a health club, Cannon's, which had actual old three-inch cannons out front! Pictured in the window was Paula Radcliffe using the Nike plus ipod.

The city is electric with marathon energy. adidas has followed up its superb communications at Boston with an even keener focus in London. The "impossible is nothing" campaign is their global campaign (they are using four track athletes out of the eight that they use across the world). For example, in Sport magazine (freesport.uk), adidas purchased a four-page cover to wrap around the 600,000 circulation publication, and positioned it in the top hotels in London as well. And just as they had in Boston, adidas entertained many of the top running store owners from Europe, discussing their commitment to the sport.

London is becoming (especially with 2012 Olympics) a true battleground in the footwear wars. ASICS, while strong here, has Nike, adidas Brooks in close pursuit with brands like New Balance, Saucony and PUMA making some strides.

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Women's Race, Miles 1-12 miles

Lornah Kiplagat (Netherlands), Chunxiu Zhou (China), Benita Johnson (Australia), Geta Wami (Ethiopia), Constantina Tomescu-Dita (Romania), Mara Yamauchi (Great Britain), and Berhane Adere (Ethiopia) are in the first group. The first mile was hit in 5:27. Following that group is Liz Yelling (Great Britain), Blake Russell (U.S.) and Kathy Butler (Great Britain / trains in Boulder, CO).

The pacers were pretty erratic early on for the women. They hit mile one in 5:27, mile 2 in 5:16, mile 3 in 5:05, with the 5k passed in 16:24, four miles in 21:03, five miles in 26:18, six miles in 31:42, and 10k in 32:55 (a second 5K covered in 16:28).

Blake Russell (U.S.), who has had some superb training, according to coach Bob Sevene, is rolling along quite well. Sev told us yesterday that Blake is ready to run 2:26 or better. Russell, Yelling and Butler ran together through four miles in group two, when Butler decided to slow it down a bit.

The day is clear and warm already. The stated goal of the pace setters is to run sub-2:20 pace for the half, or 69:15 for the half way point.

The five kilometers between 10 and 15k were run in steady 5:22-22 pace, with Wami, Kiplagat behind the pace setters. 15k was passed in 49:34, so the third five kilometer section was passed in 16:39. At 15k, the lead pack is five: Kiplagat, Zhou, Adere, Tomescu-Dita and Wami.

Between 15k and 20k, the temperature has gone up and the front pack is still down to five; Kiplagat, Adere, Chunxiu, Wami, Tomescu-Dita and they passed 20k in 1:06:18. Johnson (Australia) has dropped off by 29 seconds, Yamauchi (Great Britain) who ran so well here last year, is back 1 minute, 43 seconds, with Yelling and Russell back over three minutes at 1:09:45, about a 2:26 pace. For Russell and Yelling, Kiplagat and crew are still running 2:21 pace.

Russell just back from a foot injury, retired from the competition about 12 miles, complaining of back spasms.

At the halfway, five are still in the pack at 1:09:58. Kiplagat is in control with Zhou and Adere relaxed and Wami and Tomescu-Dita are in tow. Johnson hits the half in 1:10:35, with Yamuachi 1:11:09, Yelling in 1:13:34 and Butler in 1:13:38.

Women's Race, Miles 12 to 40k

There is a time when the body overcomes the adrenaline and it is happening in the women's race. Lornah Kiplagat is leading at 25 kilometers in 1:22:50 with Wami (Ethiopia), Zhou (China) together. Adere is back one second, with Tomescu-Dita (Romania) back sixteen seconds and Johnson (Australia) 1:24:22. Yamauchi (Great Britain) in 1:25:06, Yelling (Great Britain) in 1:27:29 and Butler (Great Britain) in 1:27:42.

At sixteen miles, near the Canary Wharf, Butler (a University of Wisconsin graduate who is now based in Boulder, CO) retired from the competition. She was in third place for Great Britain women athletes.

Lornah Kiplagat is testing and probing and probing and testing, taking sharp increases. She is indeed testing Zhou and Wami. On several occasions, we have seen Wami looking back. Kiplagat is tall and her stride is uncompromised. China's Zhou is now my bet on the winner's circle---she is controlling all of her movements, head still down, and Wami looks to be struggling a bit. The gang of three, Zhou, Kiplagat, Wami are at 1:39:35. Tomescu-Dita of Romania is in fourth, 1:40:38.

The top ten is changing. Salina Kosgei (Kenya) is now in fifth in 1:41:41. Yamauchi (Great Britain) is running brilliantly, on a huge personal best pace, just like she did last year, hitting 30k in 1:42:23. Johnson (Australia) is in sixth at 30k in 1:42:26. Adere (Ethiopia) has fallen back from fourth to eighth, hitting 30k in 1:42:54. Yelling is running in ninth in 1:45:31 and Inga Abitova of Russia is in tenth place in 1:47:03.

And the battle goes on

Chunxiu Zhou, Geta Wami, Lornah Kiplagat ran the five kilometers between 30k and 35k together. At 35k, Zhou (China) took the lead in 1:56:44 and immediately Kiplagat started to drop back, with Wami taking over second. Tomescu-Dita was fourth in 1:58:26, and Kosgei of Kenya in fifth.

Chunxiu Zhoutook the second and started to build. Soon, it was obvious that Kiplagat has given it her all, and she begins to fall back. By 40 kilometers, Zhou, the Asian Games champion, has 35 seconds on Wami (Ethiopia). Zhou hits 40k in 2:13:23, with Wami in 2:13:58. KIplagat in 2:15:23, with Tomescu-Dita in fourth in 2:16:07 and Kosgei in fifth in 2:16:59.

Women's race, 40k to the Finish

Chunxiu Zhou of China has run her race. She stayed out of trouble for 35k, close to the front, and then, she put down the hammer and the race was over! Zhou Zhou, the first winner of Flora London Marathon from China, gave notice to the world of the powerhouse that is about to be unleashed in Beijing in sixteen months with her fine win here in 2:20:38! Gete Wami held on for second with a fine 2:21:45 for the Ethiopian. Contantina Tomescu-Dita of Romania, who has run so well, passed Kiplagat in the stretch to take third in 2:23:55. Salina Kosgei of Kenya took fourth with her conservative, come from behind run with 2:24:13 to Lornah Kiplagat's 2:24:46 for fifth.

Mara Yamauchi of Great Britain ran a near personal best with her fine 2:25:41 for sixth place (just 11 seconds off of her personal best). Benita Johnson of Australia ran 2:29:47 the hard way in this heat, taking seventh. Liz Yelling of Great Britain who had been near the lead early in the race, finished eighth in 2:30:44. Inga Abitova of Russia ran 2:34:25 in ninth and Berhane Adere of Ethiopia finished up in tenth in 2:39:11.

"I ran by myself from about two miles on. I now know that I can run a race by myself. I wanted to be in a group, but the group I was in, they were going along quicker than I expected. I took some of the leaders around the Canary Wharf and that gave me some confidence . . . I was injured last spring so I am quite happy with my performance. Osaka will be quite hot this summer, so this was a good test." noted Mara Yamauchi, the UK runner who is based in Japan.

Again, Chunxiu Zhou of China ran the race of her life. In challenging conditions, and with a very tough field, Zhou gave the sporting world just a glimpse of what will happen in Beijing when China unleashes its sports power. Zhou ran a smart race and kept herself out of trouble. At 35 kilometers, Zhou made her move and she was alone, building a 67-second lead between 40k and the finish.

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Men's Elite race, Start to twelve miles

Last night the race director, Dave Bedford, confided that this was the best London field ever. One of the most prominent observers of the marathon world scene told this writer that the 2007 Flora London field was the best men's field since the 1984 Olympics.

Please understand that part of job description of a sports journalist is take away the bravado and give our readers as honest a recollection of the event as we can. But in truth, as I went through the Media guide, I had nine names of athletes who I felt could win. My final picks were Martin Lel and Felix Limo and of course, Mr. Haile. At the welcome reception on Friday night, Felix Limo spoke to a few of us and said that he was feeling good and was ready for a hard race. As I reflected on the race on Saturday morning, I saw five or six runners with a mile to go . . . a real horse race.

Saturday was spent with Ian Stewart, Jim Hogan and friends talking about track. To hear Jim Hogan, the 1966 European marathon champion who is now 78-yeas-old, who trains horses and until six months ago, raced them as well, speak of running in the sixties was like a window back to Britain days of distance greatness. Ian Stewart told us that Jim Hogan and a very young Ian Stewart trained together in 1968 at a French high altitude camp. While most of the runners walked to get used to altitude, Stewart and Hogan were training three times a day, getting ready for the Mexico Olympics.

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Men's Race: Start to 20 kilometers.

The men's race started a half hour after the elite women's race. The pack immediately broke off with Felix Limo (Kenya), Jaquad Gharib (Morocco), two time World Champion, Benson Cherono (Kenya), Martin Lel (Kenya), Haile Gebrselassie (Ethiopia), Hendrick Ramaala (South Africa), Khalid Khannouchi (U.S./NY) Juan Carlos De la Ossa (Spain), Paul Tergat (Kenya), and Stefano Baldini (Italy), hitting the 5 kilometer mark in 15:09. Sitting right behind the pack was debut marathoner Ryan Hall of the U.S. who had kept many in the U.S. quite excited about his run at Flora London. Baldini, in his eighth appearance here, looked to be working even harder than usual. Was it the weather?

Hendrick Ramaala (South Africa) took the pack through 10 kilometers, in 30:11. Limo, Gharib and Lel were right there, with Gebrselassie running well in the pack. Khannouchi (U.S.), was wearing a white head band with Benson Cherono (Kenya) at his side. Juan Carlos De la Ossa (Spain) and Tergat were at the back of the first pack, running within themselves.

At this time, the official temperature was 62 degrees and rising. The temperature at the start of the women's race was 59 degrees, and no clouds.

Felix Limo lead the pack through 15 kilometers in 45:13 (so the first three 5ks were run in 15:09, 15:03, 15:01). Baldini was first to drop off, but he is also known for his last minute charges, so we shall have to wait and see how he fares. Ramaala, Gharib, who looks great, surveying the other lead pack runners, Khannouchi, Gebrselassie, Cherono, Tergat, De la Ossa and Abderrahim Goumri were in the hunt.

The stakes in elite marathoning are high. First job is to get as far as one can with as little distress or fatigue. There are so many excellent marathoners that elite races have become like bike races: Get over the distance and sprint like mad as one sees the finish line.

In the pack at 20 kilometers were some dangerous sprinters--Felix Limo, London 2006, Martin Lel, London 2005, Paul Tergat, World record holder, Marilson Gomes dos Santos, 2006 ING NYC winner, Jaquad Gharib two time World Champion winner, Ryan Hall, American record holder in half marathon, and Haile Gebrselassie, world record holder (broken World records 21 times)--who could pick the winner here? All looked good in this pack, as Hall (U.S.) came into the top ten for the first time. The pack passed 20k in 60:23-60:31.

Men's elite race, what is at stake?

The stakes are high for all of the elite athletes, but no one has a higher level of gambling than Haile Gebrselassie. He won Berlin and Fukuoka last year, after taking ninth here in London in 2:09:05. Critics suggest with his track form, he does not handle the roads well. Now, do not start laughing, because there is a point. I believe that Haile is the most experienced distance runner of his generation over cross country, 5,000 and 10,000 meters. He is also the last of a breed of distance runners who evolve into marathoners, the argument can be made. Today, many of the elite runners start racing marathons early. The adage of getting experience over cross country racing, then middle distance racing, then tackle the marathon is more the exception than the rule. This race has runners of all pedigrees up front.

Just a little on the footwear wars

adidas is the sponsor in London, Berlin and Boston. ASICS had New York, and New Balance is at Chicago, as well as the Elite Racing Rock 'n Roll series. This gives the brands huge visibility in those markets and the expos are celebrations of all that is good, great and weird in our sport. Up front, most of the expos show footwear, apparel, typical running products, then there are race booths, sports drinks, the occasional wine or beer tasting. The expos get crowded, crowded, crowded the day before the race.

In the footwear wars, serious footwear companies like, ASICS, Brooks, New Balance, Mizuno, Saucony, Nike, adidas, Reebok, PUMA are the food chain in the U.S. In the UK, it is a bit different with ASICS, Nike, adidas, Brooks, New Balance, Saucony, Reebok, and PUMA are in the food chain along with much of Europe. We are doing some footwear checks on the course at London and will share those with you later this week.

On the elite athlete level, adidas, Nike, ASICS, Saucony, New Balance are the companies that have the top athletes. Brands love it when their athletes can win their competitions' race. In truth, while the elite athletes bring excitement to the sport and city, it is an exceptional athlete who really helps brand a footwear brand. Gebrselassie has done that for adidas.

A footwear check at two areas of the course showed ASICS at 50 percent, Nike at 25 percent, adidas at 12 percent and New Balance at 6 with Brooks just under six percent. (Note: this was done with mid packers, four hours plus).

Elite Men's Race, 20k to 40k: The race unfolds

At the halfway point, the pace setters were off their goal of 1:02:45. This was good, as the pack of Goumri (has run sub thirteen minutes for 5k), Lel, Limo, Gharib, Gebrselassie, Khannouchi, Ramaala, Tergat, Cherono and Gomes hit 1:03:39. At 1:03:41 was Baldini and Hall.

"I felt really good at halfway, " Hall recalled after the race. " I was just trying to stay out of trouble and I started to feel really good after the half marathon."

Twenty five kilometers was hit in 1:15:23 and the gang of ten was starting to gel, still pretty early for a move to make any sense in a field like this, Ramaala, the South African, Limo and Lel, the past and present champions at London and Jaquad Gharib, the double world champion all looked spectacular. Khannouchi was running well, with Gebrselassie at his side. Behind them were the debut marathoners: Abderrahim Goumri of Morocco and Ryan Hall of the U.S., with Paul Tergat right by there side.

When the debuting American was asked to recall his race, he told us that the 25 kilometers went by and he was feeling better and better. "I was really comfortable. I was running next to Baldini and Paul Tergat. I wanted to be competitive today," recalled Hall.

As Hall was feeling good and staying on the back end of the elite pack, Meb Keflezighi (U.S.) was having a marathon of challenges. First, his blister on his left foot started to trouble him again, and then, his started to compensate for the blister and aggravated the achilles on his right leg. Meb (according to Coach Bob Larson), was bothered by the cobblestones a bit after that as well. It was proving to be not a good day, and he would retire from the competition just after sixteen miles.

The course was getting hot. No shade at all, humidity about 40 percent and temperature between 11 and twelve noon local time went from 61 to 68. "I made sure I took water at each stop. First, I would drop some on my head and then a few good swallows," noted Hall.

The race for 2007 London really started at 30 kilometers, as Baldini (Olympic, European marathon championship fame) looks to be working hard all of the time. His strength is frightening, as he churns up the road, one expects little pieces of road to pop up out of the street, as the tough Italian reminds all marathoners that he needs to be respected on any course, much less London. But this year was not to be, and Baldini dropped out right after Keflezighi between sixteen and seventeen miles. The attrition rate of the top athletes was horrific today---the heat was part of it, but the methodical way the gang of ten ran the course must have been debilitating as one fell off the back, never to regroup and come back to the leading runners.

Felix Limo led at 30 kilometers in 1:30:41. Jaquad Gharib (Morocco) started to smile and look around a bit. This writer was wondering what Mr. Gharib knew that no one else did? Lel was running within himself, as was Gomes, Goumri and Hall. Hall was running close to the water tables, making sure he had some room to maneuver. Gebrselassie was running just behind with Ramaala and Tergat, who seemed to be struggling a bit at the back of the group. Benson Cherono had dropped off and by 30k was 52 seconds back.

And then, it happened . . . about 1:32 into the race, just before nineteen miles, Haile Gebrselassie, the greatest distance runner of our generation, dropped from the pack and stopped running. From our viewpoint, we saw a grimace, and then the characteristic smile, and his effort was over, he retired from the competition.

And then, there were nine.

"I had decided that if I was going to lead, then I wanted to be effective, not just stay there, " commented marathon novice Ryan Hall after the event. The truth was, Hall was not running like a novice at all! " In workouts, we had done a two and one half hour run and then hit the track and ran 9:25 for two miles, " added Hall in a post race interview. He and his coach, Terrance Mahon, knew what Hall was in for and he had stayed near the lead between 30 and 35 kilometers.

At 35 kilometers, Hall took the lead and held it for about three kilometers, hitting 35 kilometers in 1:45:52. He took the lead, and ran at the front, with the cast of marathon's best: Felix Limo, Martin Lel, Abderrahim Goumri, Jaquqd Gharib, and Paul Tergat all in the mix. Gharib was strong, but did not seem able to break them. Hall's lead evaporated before 40 kilometers, where Martin Lel took control at a water stop, with Felix Limo, Goumri, Gharib and Tergat following. Hall dropped back about eight seconds at the time, and by the time Lel hit 40 kilometers, and the real running had begun, Hall was fifteen seconds back of Lel's 2:01:13.

"I was holding on, hoping for a good time, I wished I could have held on a bit more, " commented Ryan Hall later.

Men's elite race, 40k to finish---and it is . . .

Last year Martin Lel (Kenya) lost to Felix Limo. This year Limo was there, Goumri was there, Gharib was there and so was Tergat and Ramaala. Hall was fifteen seconds back at 40 kilometers...

The jockeying began, each runner testing, probing, testing, probing, knowing that it would come down to the last six hundred meters and he who could get the jump had a certain advantage.

Jaquad Gharib (Morocco) tried first, but while his strength allowed him to take the punishments of the early and mid race pace, his sprint would not prove to be effective and Gharib has run 3k in 7:32!

Paul Tergat was holding on for dear life with Hendrick Ramaala out of the kicking game as well.

It came down to Abderrahim Goumri (Morocco), Martin Lel (Kenya) and Felix Limo (Kenya). First they dropped Gharib, who would finish fourth, then surprise of surprises, Martin Lel made a mad rush around the 250 meter point and hit the final straight away in the lead, pumping his arms like there was no tomorrow. Goumri got Felix Limo's number and took a lead for second that Felix Limo could not match.

Martin Lel kept his sprint through the finish, taking the 2007 FLORA London race in 2:07:41. Debut marathoner Abderrahim Goumri ran 2:07:44 for second. Felix Limo (Kenya) ran 2:07:47 for third. Jaquad Gharib ran 2:07:54 for fourth. Hendrick Ramaala (South Africa) ran 2:07:56 for fifth and Paul Tergat ran 2:08:06 for sixth place. Just behind Tergat was Ryan Hall, who ran the fastest debut ever by an American in 2:08:24, to become the second fastest American ever!

"I had hoped to run under 2:08, but really time was not my goal, it was to be competitive, and I am happy, " noted a famished Ryan Hall, who looked pretty good for someone who had just run 26.2 miles under 4:54 a mile.

The top ten rounded out with Marlison Gomes (Brazil) in 2:08:37 for eighth, Dan Robinson (Great Britain) in 2:14:14 for ninth and Andi Jones (Great Britain) in tenth in 2:17:49.

After the race, Ryan Hall was sitting with his wife, Sara, in the media centre. He did not even look tired. He said he felt tight, but okay. As for what's next on his schedule . . .

"Now is the time for me to support Sara," Ryan noted. "She is running 1500 meters next weekend at Stanford and then helping pace a friend, Jen Rhines, to a fast 10k. I am going there to watch her and support her. She has been such a support for me," he said.

When asked what he would tell his younger brother, who is a top prep distance runner, Ryan thought a moment, smiled and replied, "Be patient."

Final thoughts

In the past week, I have had the pleasure of witnessing both the BAA Boston Marathon and FLORA London Marathon. In the past year, I have seen all five World Marathon Majors. Each has their own flavor, presense in the community and challenges. 2007 Boston will be remembered for Mother Nature, who threw a curve ball, and slowed the elites, but gave us two very competitive races and cool conditions for the citizen runners. Boston is the historic icon of marathoning, nothing more needs to be said. Berlin showed the strength of running in Germany and just how fast Berlin is, with Haile Gebrselassie's run there. The LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon was a real horse race this year, on both the men's and women's sides and citizen runners are treated very well there and they have a great expo as well. New York is a world marathon, with half of the field from out of the U.S. The mother of big city marathons. New York has given rise to the other big city marathons.

FLORA London is in a position all its own. Dave Bedford and his team have the money, the support and the infrastructure to run a race that is full of superlatives. It was the most competitive men's marathon this writer has ever seen with two amazing debuts on the men's side---Goumri and Hall will be duking it out over the marathon distance for the next few Olympics. Zhou showed the world what Chinese marathon runners are made of, and Wami surprised many with her toughness. In the end, on two continents, in one week, Mother Nature gave us two extremes: global cooling and global warming!

In the end, if there is a race where sponsors get their money's worth, it is definitely FLORA London. The crowds, the coverage on BBC, the print and web coverage and most of all the 40,000 plus lives who were changed the past six months focusing on their training. Multiply that by the thousands of family members, the running stores who sold footwear and provided training tips, and the media who gave these runners tips, training plans and inspiration, one sees how much one little old marathon can effect. The 2007 FLORA London marathon was a success any way one thinks of it.

Revelations here? Not sure what to say there. The marathon is a lesson in crisis management and time management. One does change after completing one, two or a hundred. The elite athletes, to an athlete, are a pleasure to speak to and are quite articulate about their hours spent training and racing. Our sport, again, is putting one foot in front of the another, and some just do it a bit faster than others. Those who were fastest today, we made marathon champions. Those persevering today we call marathoners. There is honor and pride in all positions, but there is a difference. The champions are known in the record books, the citizen marathoners know in their hearts.

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