Kimutai bides record time

ATHLETICS/Dublin Marathon: Trouble can come at you from all directions in the marathon. Mostly the physical sort associated with stretching one's limits to running 26.2 miles. Lezan Kimutai had to endure that and more before winning yesterday's adidas Dublin marathon. In the process he finally provided the 25th edition of the event with a new race record.

The 31-year-old Kenyan at first found the pace a little fast. Then coming down Orwell Park in third place after 17 miles he was chased by a loose dog, the owner apparently unaware of the danger at hand. Mercifully, the golden retriever proved friendly and Kimutai pressed on undaunted.

Just four miles later, when the marathon is supposed to hit you with a brick wall, Kimutai accelerated to the front and quickly opened a decisive lead. He rocked a little before the end but kept his fluid stride on track to win in two hours, 13 minutes and eight seconds. That clipped an impressive 37 seconds off Jerry Kiernan's record, which had stood since the Kerryman won the 1982 edition of the race. Many a good athlete had tried to better it since, but in the end Kimutai proved a worthy successor.

It was his fourth visit to Dublin; he finished second last year and fifth the year before. And yesterday he ran with the experience of a truly tested marathon runner, holding back in the first half of the race when several of his Kenyan comrades apparently sensed their day.

At halfway Kimutai wasn't near the front. By then Julius Kimtai and Joseph Kanda had taken off, pressing some 40 seconds ahead after a burst around Kilmainham. They both looked comfortable enough to triumph.

Yet the marathon makes a fool of any certainty. When Kimutai spurted past them coming down Fosters Avenue just after 21 miles the whole scene changed. Kimtai would fall back to third, and Kanda back to sixth.

So coming into Merrion Square for the finish only Kimutai could afford to relax. He ended up 97 seconds ahead of the South African Tseko Mpolokeng (2:14:45), who actually covered the closing miles fastest of all. His elder brother and 2001 Dublin winner Zacharia Mpolokeng was fifth (2:16:25).

In terms of leading times, this was the fastest Dublin Marathon to date. The first nine broke the 2:20 barrier despite facing a difficult wind for much of the way. Yet sipping warm tea at the finish and busy text messaging, Kimutai looked anything but exhausted.

"I was very relaxed the whole way," he said, "but wanted to run at my own pace. And that dog didn't worry me. I was well focused. It wasn't a problem."

Kimutai earned 15,000 for his first place, and another €3,000 for breaking the record. Not a bad day's work, but with a wife and three children he said he'd have no problem spending it.

The early pacesetting of Charles Kiplagat ultimately ensured the record - with the five-mile marker (24:42) and the 10-mile marker (50:15) all well on target. Kiernan, however, didn't seem too upset at his name being erased from the record books:

"Well we ran the old course, the slow course," he joked. "Mind you, we did have a better day. But seriously, it's about time that record went."

Last year's women's record of 2:27:22 was also under threat, but that race changed dramatically in the latter stages. Kenya's Caroline Cheptonui was almost a minute clear at halfway but endured a damaging encounter with the wall.

It was Russia's Yelena Burykina, who had taken second last year, who judged the distance better, coming home in 2:32:53 and also collecting a €15,000 prize in what was her third marathon.

She too was elated at the finish, trying to telephone her husband in Russia with the news: "All the way along I was listening to my coach," she explained, "and never panicked. At 21 miles I knew I could do it. I got my speed up and thankfully the leader fell back."

Another Kenyan, Florence Barsosio, took second (2:33:58), with another Russian, Tatiana Titova, taking third in 2:36:04.

For the 10,000-plus still out on the roads the main concern, as always, was finishing. One who did was Mary Nolan Hickey, who thus continued her unique achievement of being the only woman to complete all the Dublin marathons, and this time even dipping under the 3:30 barrier.

MARATHON DETAILS: 1 L Kimutai (Kenya) 2:13:08 (race record), 2 T Mpolokeng (South Africa) 2:14:45, 3 J Kimtai (Kenya) 2:15:22, 4 N Nobanda (South Africa) 2:15:59, 5 Z Mpolokeng (South Africa) 2:16:25, 6 J Kanda (Kenya) 2:17:19, 7 J Kipngetuny (Kenya) 2:18:06; 8 T Abyu (Ethiopia) 2:18:53, 9 B Ako (Tanzania) 2:18:56, 10 I Kimuge (Kenya) 2:22:18.

Irish placings (national championship): 12 G Crossan 2:24:07, 13 P McKinney 2:24:39, 14 P O'Callaghan 2:25:15, 16 C Holt 2:25:50, 18 R Fahy 2:28:30, 20 P Deegan 2:29:14.

Women: 1 Y Burykina (Russia) 2:32:53, 2 F Barsosio (Kenya) 2:33:58, 3 T Titova (Russia) 2:36:04, 4 N Zolotareva (Russia) 2:43:15.

Irish placings (national championship): 5 V Vaughan 2:52:10, 6 H Crossan 2:53:28, 10 P Murphy 2:56:54.