Dutch road races good for Makau

By FEVERPITCH REPORTEr and AGENCIES

Dutch road races are good for Patrick Makau. The 25-year-old stormed to the fourth fastest marathon of all time with his 2:04:48 victory at Rotterdam on Sunday.

On March 14, he ran his ninth half marathon at The Hague, winning in 59:51.

"The victory in The Hague was the decision to start in the Rotterdam marathon.’’ Makau told IAAF.

"I had injury problems since last year. The half marathon in The Hague gave me the feeling that everything was okay,’’ Makau said.

And Makau showed he was okay, kicking away from Geoffrey Mutai over the final kilometre for his remarkable victory. After 32 kilometres, young Ethiopian Feyisa Lelisa (20), broke away from a group of ten. Pressing the pace, the group broke. Makau, Mutai and a third Kenyan, Vincent Kipruto, followed, with the quartet running together behind Lelisa.

The four passed the 35Km marker in 1:43:52, when Lelisa, and then Kipruto, fell back. In the final seven kilometres, it became a duel between Makau and Mutai, with the winner mostly leading before making his final break.

　

ROTTERDAM MARATHON

Rotterdam Marathon again lived up to its billing as one of the fastest in the world, as for the first time in history, four runners broke 2:06-flat in the same race.

As is the case in most sub-2:05 races, Makau was pushed to the limit by runner-up Mutai, who ended up becoming the 7th man in history to run sub-2:05 (2:04:58), as Makau did not pull away until after the 40km mark.

In 2003, Paul Tergat was the first to break 2:05 when he ran 2:04:55 to Sammy Korir’s 2:04:56. Last year in Rotterdam, there was yet another epic finish as Duncan Kibet edged out James Kwambai in a race where both were timed in 2:04:27.

World record holder Haile Gebrselassie is the only man who has gone under 2:05 more than once (he has done it three times).

Kwambai found the going rough this year, returning 20th in 2:24:07 although he was in the lead pack at the 35km mark.

It was the second straight marathon where he ended up walking late in the race, as last November he was with the front pack late in the New York Marathon before stopping and ultimately visiting the hospital.

This latest performance, again following a thorough build-up, may further shake the talented Kwambai’s confidence.