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|  Ramaala, Radcliffe Win ING New York City Marathon By Jim Gerweck November 7, 2004 Courtesy of Running USA wire
NEW YORK - For Hendrik Ramaala and Paula Radcliffe, it was
redemption for Olympic DNFs. For Meb Keflezighi, it was the culmination
of a silver hat trick. And for Deena Kastor, it was proof that while the
spirit may be willing, if the flesh is weak, even the magic and excitement
of the ING New York City Marathon isn't enough to produce a miracle. Great Britain's Radcliffe and South African Ramaala, early leaders in the
Athens marathons who never reached the finish line, rebounded
strongly in the final big event of a year full of many spotlight races.
Ramaala, 32, finally realized the promise he's shown in the past by
winning a major marathon, pulling away from Athens silver medalist
Keflezighi and 2004 Boston champ Timothy Cherigat in the final miles in
Central Park to a convincing 25 second win in 2:09:28. "The time didn't matter to me," said Ramaala, who had finished 14th
(2002) and fifth (2001) in his previous Big Apple runs. About the only
mistake he made in running a tactically perfect race was missing the
finish tape when he crossed the line. Less than half a minute later, Keflezighi, who had finished second in the
Olympic Marathon Trials in Birmingham, Ala. in February and duplicated
that performance in Athens, made it three second place finishes in three
major marathons in a year, each one faster than the preceding one. His
2:09:53 was the second fastest time for an American this year (behind
Khalid Khannouchi(c)^s 2:08:44 from Chicago last month) and gave him
three of the top five U.S. annual performances. It was also the fifth fastest
U.S. time at New York and made him the third fastest American in the
race's history, behind Alberto Salazar and Ken Martin. It was the highest
placing by an American in New York since Bob Kempainen's runner-up
in 1993. "I just tried to be smart today. At about 16 miles, they threw in a really
strong surge. I was struggling with a cramp. It took a lot of energy to
catch up to those guys. Ramaala had his day today. People had doubts
about what I was going to do, but the doubts have been answered," said
Keflezighi, a two-time Olympian and UCLA grad. In addition, 1993 was also the last time two American men placed in the
top 10, a feat that was equaled this year. Keflezighi of Mammoth Lakes,
Calif. was followed across the line seven places later by Team Running
USA training partner Ryan Shay, who recorded a 21 second PR with his
2:14:08 clocking. "I wanted to run in the 2:10s, be in the top three Americans, and top 10
overall, so two out of three, I have to be pleased with my run here today,"
said Shay. His time was the ninth fastest by an American this year, and
makes him the seventh fastest performer for 2004. Three other
Americans Abdi Abdirahman (14th, 2:17:09 in his debut for the
distance), Matt Downing (16th, 2:18:50) and 2004 Olympian Dan
Browne (20th, 2:23:27) cracked the top 20. As exciting as the men's race was it was overshadowed by the drama of
the women, who, for the third year in a row, started 35 minutes ahead of
the men. Right from the get-go Radcliffe, 30, who had decided to run just
12 days before, assumed her front-running style, towing a group of
some half dozen through splits that were more than a minute ahead of
Margaret Okayo's 2:22:31 course record, set last year. As the group
came off the Queensboro Bridge past 15 miles, Kastor, who admitted
her body had not recovered quickly enough from Athens to allow her to
prepare for this race the way she wanted, began to cramp up in many
parts of her legs, and stepped off the course somewhere before 17
miles. The leaders slowed a bit in the final 10K, but the early pace had done in
all Radcliffe's challengers except Susan Chepkemei, the hottest road
racer on the American circuit this summer. The two matched strides
down Fifth Avenue and through Central Park, with Radcliffe putting in
her one final, and as it turned out, winning, move as the pair re-entered
the Park at Columbus Circle. "I was confident I could beat Susan in a kick, since I've raced her several
times before," said Radcliffe. More of a worry was a wave of nausea that
hit her around 24 miles. "I just told myself to push through it, you can get
sick after you finish. What mattered was coming here and winning the
race." Known as much for her gutsiness as her speed, Radcliffe did just that,
edging Chepkemei by four seconds in the closest women's finish in the
race's history. Their times of 2:23:10 and 2:23:14 ranked number 3 and
4 on the all-time New York list, and the same positions for the world list
for 2004. On a beautiful fall day in New York City with temperatures in the mid-50s
and plenty of sun, a race record 37,257 started. MEN 1) Hendrik Ramaala (RSA), 2:09:28, $125,000 plus smart car WOMEN 1) Paula Radcliffe (GBR), 2:23:10, $140,000 plus smart car Top U.S. 15) Jenny Crain (USA/WI), 2:41:06 For full results, go to: www.ingnycmarathon.org
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