The guy I most wanted to win, did it! NYC half marathon 2008 champion, 21-year old Tadese Tola ran his competitors to shreds and won in Central Park record time, 40 seconds ahead of world's second fastest half marathoner Patrick Makau.Thursday I not only spoke to 11th and 12th place finisher Abdi and Fam but also Tadese. It was a little difficult as his English is not the best (well, who am I to talk!). However, the Ethiopian gave me some insight about his training partners (guess who that is!) and future plans. After the race he (and Makau) signed my Healthy Kidney tech shirt which will be our goodie for the Tuesday quiz. Not to be missed!
NYRR reports:
A morning fog cleared slightly for the 9:00 a.m. race start, but then rain began to fall. More than 7,500 finishers took on the Central Park 10K loop in intermittent showers. No one was better prepared for the challenge than Ethiopia’s Tadese Tola, who some predicted would break the course record.
Tola looked strong from the start and led the first half of the race, along with defending champion Patrick Makau of Kenya. Beside Tola’s confident stride, Makau’s fidgety behavior—he kept grabbing at his leg—hinted at the eventual outcome. When Tola made his move in the fourth mile, no one was able to match it, and he began to build a lead. Makau and Boaz Cheboiywo of Kenya fell into second and third place, respectively, and kept those positions to the finish. Tola’s 27:48 smashed Dathan Ritzenhein’s 2007 course record by 20 seconds; the 21-year-old was awarded the Zayed Bonus of $20,000 for his historic achievement: the fastest 10K ever run in Central Park.
Post-race, Tola commented, “After mile four, we were moving at a fast pace, and I was confident I’d have the record.” He earned $7,500 for first place to Makau’s $5,000 for second. Prize money was awarded to the top eight in the open race. Makau mentioned his leg pain as a factor in his performance and said, “I’m just getting back to normal after the marathon.” He made his marathon debut—a fourth-place finish at the Fortis Rotterdam Marathon—on April 5.
Ireland’s Martin Fagan took eighth place, and American Olympians Abdi Abdirahman and Anthony Famiglietti were 11th and 12th. Five local stars finished in step with the visiting professionals, making the top ten. Wegayehu Tefera of Ethiopia (fourth) and Westchester Track Club (WTC) teammates Stephen Chemlany of Kenya (fifth) and Worku Beyi of Ethiopia (sixth) earned NYRR-member prizes.
In the women’s race, NYRR Runner of the Year Aziza Aliyu of WTC broke the tape in 33:38, missing the course record she set last year by six seconds. In second place was fellow Ethiopian Hirut Mandefro, followed by WTC’s Salome Kosgei in third. Fourth-place Alemtsehay Misganaw of Adidas Women (ADIW) earned the final NYRR-member prize.
VIDEO
(All photos courtesy of NYRR - thanks!)
1 TOLA TADESE M21 3 NIKE Addis Ababa Ethiopia 27:48 2 MAKAU PATRICK M24 1 ADID Ngong Kenya 28:28
3 CHEBOIYWO BOAZ M30 8 NIKE East Lansing MI Kenya 28:31
4 TEFERA WEGAYEHU M20 15 Briarcliff Manor NY Ethiopia 28:40
5 CHEMLANY STEPHEN M26 14 WTC Sleepy Hollow NY Kenya 28:41
6 BEYI WORKU M22 7 WTC Bronx NY Ethiopia 28:42
7 LAGAT HARON M25 12 NEWB Lubbock TX Kenya 28:43
8 FAGAN MARTIN M25 6 REEB Flagstaff AZ Ireland 28:45
9 GIRMA TESFAYE M26 174 WSX NEW YORK NY 28:46
10 NG'ETICH ABRAHAM M27 321 WTC HIGH FALLS NY 28:57
11 ABDIRAHMAN ABDI M32 4 NIKE Tucson AZ 29:02
12 FAMIGLIETTI ANTHONY M30 5 SAUC Knoxville TN 29:07
13 BOURAMDANE ABDERRAHIME M31 10 ADID Ifrane Morocco 29:15
14 BLINCOE ADRIAN M29 9 NEWB Bryn Mawr PA New Zealand 29:28
15 TORRES EDWARDO M28 16 REEB Boulder CO 29:49
16 ABEDE TSEGAYE HALEFOM M26 451 WSX BRONX NY 29:50
17 CARLSON ANDREW M27 11 BRKS Flagstaff AZ 29:57
18 MEYER LUCAS M25 23 BAA Ridgefield CT 29:58
19 LAVALLEE ROLAND M30 21 NBB North Smithfield RI 30:43
20 DENEKE TEKLU TEFERA M29 114 WSX NEW YORK NY 30:47
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