Martin Fagan & Belainesh Gebre Win BAA Half-Marathons
By Marc Davis
Posted Sunday, 11 October, 2009
From Ryan Lamppa, Running USA
BOSTON - (October 11, 2009) - Under sunny skies and a crisp start time temperature of 41 degrees on Sunday, a record field of runners competed in the 9th B.A.A Half Marathon, presented by Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the Jimmy Fund. A crowd of 4,025 runners started the 13.1 mile loop course within the City of Boston and Town of Brookline's famed Emerald Necklace park system. Many new faces led the way in one of the most popular events of the fall racing season, but Ireland's Martin Fagan and Ethiopia's Belainesh Gebre emerged as the day's victors in 1:02:21 and 1:11:07 respectively.
The men's elite field included John Korir of Kenya, one of the most successful road racers over the past decade. Most were looking to the experience of Korir to control the pace, but it was his countryman Philemon Terer who decided to take the race out from the gun and daring the other runners to keep close. Joining Terer from the start was Providence College graduate Fagan. After his recent Irish record in the half-marathon of 1:00:57 early this year (Den Haag, 2009), Fagan, 26, was now both confident and experienced on this course.
After opening miles of 4:43 and 4:41, the pack was left in Terer and Fagan's wake. The two continued to battle until they entered Franklin Park Zoo, where Fagan seemed to relax and give Terer a chance to make a move.
Terer's lead, however, was short-lived, as Fagan kept confident with his knowledge of the course. "I got it back around the 8th mile," he said. "I knew the course, and once I saw him fade on the uphill coming back, I knew I could pull him back."
That hill near Arnold Arboretum (8-mile mark) seemed to take just enough out of Terer's legs for Fagan to pull up alongside and continue the two man battle. With another 4:43 in the 10th mile, Fagan was clearly daring Terer to keep up with his momentum. By this point, Korir was a distant third and was slowly being caught by American Jeff Eggleston.
Coming into the final two miles, neither Terer nor Fagan were giving up an inch to each other. With 100 meters to go, Fagan found the edge he needed and pulled five meters ahead to earn the 3-second victory and become only the second Irish-born runner to take the title behind Marie Davenport's two victories (2003, 2006) and women's course record effort ('03). Fagan's time of 1:02:21 was just one second off the course record of 1:02:20 (Tom Nyariki, KEN, 2007).
"After I lost that lead, we started to come back towards the rest of the participants heading into the zoo," Fagan said. "Everyone was cheering for me to catch up, and that's all the motivation I needed to get back into the race."
Eggleston, a graduate of the University of Virginia, ended up catching Korir for third place near the late stages of the race, and was very pleased with his overall performance (1:04:16). Now training under the tutelage of the famed coach Jack Daniels in the Flagstaff, Arizona altitude, Eggleston is looking towards his 26.2 mile debut in January at the P.F. Chang's Rock 'n' Roll Arizona Marathon.
The women's race played out in a similar scenario, as two women took charge from the starting gun with one of Poland's top marathon runners, Karolina Jarzynska, taking out the race with Jilliah Tingea of Kenya. The two women opened up a gap on the rest of the field by the third mile, and only Gebre could keep them within sight.
After splits of 5:19, 5:15 and 5:18 from miles 9 through 11, it was indeed Gebre who was now in charge, with Jarzynska slowing fading off the back. By the 12th mile, Gebre, 21, was even clear of Tingea, as she cruised home to a 36-second victory in 1:11:07. Tingea held on for second place in 1:11:43, with Jarzynska finishing third (1:11:50).
After the race, Gebre seemed to shrug off her heavy travel and racing schedule and, in fact, looked forward to a 10-kilometer race next weekend. "My hamstring was a little tight, but in the end I felt very good in the final miles," she said after the convincing victory. "Next week I will run in Minnesota, and then back to my training camp for some well deserved rest."
Both Fagan and Gebre won $5000 for their victories, and $30,000 in prize money was awarded at Sunday's race.
5,364 officially registered entrants, 4,025 official starters and 3,989 finishers represented the largest field of entrants, starters and finishers in event history.
9th B.A.A. Half Marathon
Boston, MA, Sunday, October 11, 2009
MEN
1) Martin Fagan (IRL), 1:02:21, $5000
2) Philemon Terer (KEN), 1:02:24, $3000
3) Jeff Eggleston (USA / AZ), 1:04:16, $1500
4) Peter Gilmore (USA / CA), 1:05:06, $1000
5) John Korir (KEN), 1:05:39, $600
WOMEN
1) Belainesh Gebre (ETH), 1:11:07, $5000
2) Jilliah Tingea (KEN), 1:11:43, $3000
3) Karolina Jarzynska (POL), 1:11:50, $1500
4) Katherine Newberry (USA / VA), 1:13:31, $1000
5) Jane Gakunyi (KEN), 1:15:54, $600
For complete results, go to: www.baa.org
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