Boston bound: Jason Lehmkuhle Runs PR to Lead the 'Other' Americans

by Jim Gerweck/Running Times

While much of the pre-race chatter focused on whether Ryan Hall or Meb Keflezighi would become the first American man to win the Boston Marathon since 1983, there were other Americans vying, if not for the top of the podium, at least for a continuation of the recent U.S. distance-running resurgence. And on a day that produced an astounding rewriting of the men’s course record, most of them took advantage of the excellent running conditions to fashion PRs and placings in the top 20.

Jason Lehmkuhle proved the most successful of them, placing ninth in 2:12:24, a 30-second personal best. “Overall, I’m pretty pleased,” he said. “Any time you’re in the top 10 of a major marathon it’s something to hang your hat on. I think maybe we might have been a little too aggressive in the beginning [1:04:50 halfway split], and if we’d dialed it back a bit might have been able to be a little stronger through the hills, but every time you run one of these you learn something.”

Lehmkuhle ran almost stride for side with his Team USA Minnesota teammate Antonio Vega, and Josh Rohatinsky, who dropped out around 14 miles. “That was so helpful to have guys to work with and stay engaged when the course got tough,” said Lehmkuhle.

Vega, who won the national half marathon title in January, lowered his PR by almost 2 minutes with his 2:13:47 run. He thought he was in shape for a 2:10-2:11 run. Having done much of his buildup on a treadmill due to the harsh Twin Cities winter, he felt the lack of sufficient outdoor training, particularly on downhills, caught up with him over the last 5K. “With 2 miles to go my legs really went to pieces,” he said. “I didn’t anticipate how much the downhills in the beginning would beat them up,” echoing the lament of so many Boston neophytes.

Two members of the Hansons-Brooks Distance project, newcomer Drew Polley (16th, 2:16:36) and long-time member Chad Johnson (19th, 2:17:41), who turns 34 the day after the race, also cracked the top 20 with sub-2:19 Olympic trails qualifying performances. Jason Delaney (2:19:17) made it seven American men in the top 20.

While most of the top runners at Boston focused on the race as part of a lengthy build-up, usually stretching over several months, the top U.S. woman, Paige Higgins, was nearly an 11th-hour entrant, deciding to run here only after dropping out of the L.A. Marathon at 16 miles a month ago due to stomach issues. “I smashed my legs up pretty good there,” she said. “It wasn’t just a walk in the park.” Gambling that she could recover and quickly regain her fitness in a short time, she took an easy week followed by two weeks of 110-120 miles, then a reduced taper. The crash course method paid off, as she placed 13th in 2:36:00. “My plan was to run smart,” she said. “Try to dance through the downhills and uphills, then race from 20. It worked pretty well—I passed four women in the last 2 miles.”

Mary Akor, one of the most prolific marathoners anywhere, kept up her 2010 average of a marathon a month to finish 16th in 2:38:12, with four other American right behind to make a sweep of the last five spots in the top 20.