Maratona: Cronaca Flash

di Stefano Morselli

31/10/99 Maratona di Francoforte
Con il tempo di 2h12'38", l'estone Pavel Loskutov ha vinto la maratona di
Francoforte precedendo l'etiope Simeretu Alemayuhuj e il giapponese
Kenichi Hawakubo.
In campo femminile dominio della keniana Esther Barmasai che ha
chiuso la prova in 2h33'58".

Marine Corps Marathon – October 24, 1999
It was one Olympian against another. One Mark against another. In the end,
Mark Croasdale of Great Britain beat Mark Coogan of Maryland 2:23:27 to
2:24:18. Although less than a minute separated the two runners at the finish,
they had very different agendas at the start and took very different routes to get
there. Croasdale, a corporal in the British Royal Navy, began his athletic
career as a successful cross country skier, competing in the 10,000m at the
1992 Winter Olympics. Since then, he has made a successful transition to
running and entered Marine Corps with the aim of winning. Coogan, a 1996
Olympian in the marathon, didn't enter the Sunday race until the night before.
He was in town promoting an energy bar and decided to use the race as a hard
training run. Upon finding himself near the lead, Coogan held back, but
admitted that it took some self-restraint to not go for the win. Close behind
Coogan was third-place finisher Maximino Ayala of Mexico, who ran 2:24:38. In
the women's race, Bea Marie Altieri of Maryland had a lead of up to four
minutes during the race, but hit the wall very hard, and was passed by
fellow-Marylander Donna Moore around Mile 23. Moore, 39, used her
experience (also won here in 1997) to cruise on to victory in 2:51:53, while
Altieri finished second in 2:56:48. First-time marathoner Christi Ireland of
Virginia was third, running 2:57:58.

Amsterdam Marathon – October 17, 1999
This race was one for the ages, as Kenyan Fred Kiprop kicked to victory at the
Amsterdam Marathon, running 2:06:47 (fourth on all-time list) and leading three
others under the exclusive 2:07:00 mark. Between the Berlin and Amsterdam
Marathons, in just a three-week period, seven different men have broken into
the all-time top 10 marathon list and dipped under the 2:07 barrier. With so
many top contenders on the men’s marathoning scene, it should only be a
matter of time before Ronaldo da Costa’s world record of 2:06:05 is broken.
Kiprop was followed closely in Amsterdam by Tesfaye Jifer of Ethiopia, who
ran 2:06:49 (fifth on all-time list)–in his first marathon–to break the world
marathon debut record by five seconds. Kenyan William Kiplagat was third in
2:06:50 (tied for sixth on all-time list), and Ethiopian Tesfaye Tola, also a
first-time marathoner, followed in 2:06:57 (tied for ninth on all-time list). With
such a thrilling men’s race, Kenyan Lornah Kiplagat’s 2:25:29 victory almost
got lost in the shuffle. The women’s race was comparatively noncompetitive as
Kiplagat finished almost four minutes ahead of Russia’s Lyubov Morgunova
(2:29:21). Morgunova’s countrywoman, Ludmila Afonyushkina, was way back
in third (2:39:29).

Hartford Marathon – October 9, 1999
In his first marathon, NYRRC member Fouzie Alouie of Morocco and New
Jersey pulled away from Jesse Maina in the final miles of the Hartford
Marathon to take top honors, in 2:23:45. Maina finished second, running
2:24:30. Another NYRRC member, Mike Slinskey, who won the 1996 edition of
this race, finished third this year in 2:27:13. Russian Tatiana Titova was
dominant in the women’s race, winning by almost 14 minutes, in 2:38:36.
Finishing second and third were Tammy Slusser (2:52:27) and Laurel Kjorlien
(2:58:37). NYRRC member Deborah Gaebler ran to an excellent sixth-place
finish, in 3:01:32.

Twin Cities Marathon – October 3, 1999
On a 40-degree Minnesota day, Andrew Musuva of Kenya became the first
runner to win the Twin Cities Marathon three consecutive times. His winning
2:13:41 was his fastest performance yet on this course, and he didn’t have
much time to spare, with second-place finisher John Kariuki only eight
seconds behind. Elly Rono was third in 2:14:17. Of local interest, NYRRC
member Tesfaye Bekele finished 10th in 2:17:52. The women’s race served as
the USA National Championship, and 25-year-old Kim Pawelek PRed by 4:02
to snag her first National title. Her 2:37:56 gave her the fastest time by a U.S.
woman in 1999. Also breaking her PR (by 2:20) was second-place finisher
Jennifer Tonkin, who ran 2:38:58. Alaskan Chris Clark finished third in 2:40:38.
Among the Masters, 44-year-old NYRRC member Gillian Horovitz won a
National Championship, finishing eighth overall in 2:46:39.

Berlin Marathon – September 26, 1999
Making headlines at the Berlin Marathon was two-time NYC Marathon
Champion Tegla Loroupe’s world best performance of 2:20:43, which took four
seconds off the old mark (also hers). Berlin now has some tough course
records, as the men’s world best (2:06:05 by Ronaldo DA Costa) was set at
last year’s race. Although that record remained standing this year, Kenya’s
Josephat Kiprono (1st, 2:06:44) and Takayuki Inubushi (2nd, 2:06:57), did give
it somewhat of a scare, becoming the first two runners to break 2:07 in the
same marathon. (This feat was subsequently surpassed in Amsterdam three
weeks later, see Amsterdam report for details.) Their performances placed
them 3rd and 6th on the all-time marathon list. The third-place finisher,
Samson Kandie of Kenya, was well back in 2:08:31. Among the women,
Marleen Renders’ superb second-place performance of 2:23:58 was
overshadowed by Loroupe’s world best, but gave her a new Belgian National
Record. Finishing third was Russia’s Svetlana Zakharova, in 2:27:07.