GEOFFREY DECKER
A fast pace was set from the gun and the race went out harder than a lot of runners expected, but it wasn’t enough to break Gebre Gebremariam, who was racing his first ever 10k on the road and third ever road race, period. Gebre split a 2:06 last 800 meters to smash the Central Park 10K course record in 27:42. He gapped Peter Kamais of Kenya, whom he shared the lead with for nearly the entire race, in the final 200 meters alone to win by 7 seconds.
Here’s how it went down:
Kamais. Gebremariam and Alistair Cragg shared the lead through the first mile and a half, which is net uphill. At the mile, a crowded pack of nearly 20 came through in 4:26.
Kamais took over the pace in the second mile, hammering a 4:24 and gapping nearly everyone from contention as they headed into the Harlem Hills.
The only challenger left was Gebre, who came into the race with the goal of breaking 28 minutes. When he saw his 5K split – 13:47 – he must have surely realized that he was in for a much faster fight. By now, 3rd and 4th place, Julius Kogo and Chris Thompson, respectively, were distantly out of view.
As anyone who has raced the Central Park 10K loop knows, the fourth mile can be devastating. It’s not only the time when fatigue first begins to break the fickle adrenaline shield and keep honest the runners who were over ambitious early on, it’s also strategically placed on the steepest climb on the course. Being his first time ever racing in Central Park, Gebre said yesterday that all he wanted to do was weather the hills and move at the top.
He executed the plan perfectly. Kamais and Gebre ran stride-for-stride through the fourth mile in 4:40 and Kamais must have began to realize his fast early pace would not be enough to break Gebre on these hills.
Gebre finally asserted himself in the fifth mile and took a brief lead. It wouldn’t last for long, but there was a visible spring in his stride suggesting he was still fresh enough to handle any late moves from Kamais. At the 5-mile mark, they both came in at 22:41, a 4:25 split.
It became evident in the final mile that the finish would be close, but the on-paper finish illustrates just how locked up the race really was for Gebre.
With 800 meters to go, it was reported on the media truck that a 2:12 would be necessary to break the record. Although the duo remained neck and neck with 200 meters left, Gebre activated his kick and Kamais must have sensed that his wouldn’t come close. There was nothing for him to do but coast in and watch ahead of him as a $20,000 bounty awaited his victor. In the last 200 meters, Gebre gapped him by seven seconds, winning 27:42 to 27:49, with Gebre closing the 800 meters in 2:06.
After the race, I talked to some of the athletes to get a sense of their races, since I wasn’t able to watch theirs (I was on the media truck, so all I saw were the leaders). Here’s what they had to say:
Abdi Abdirahman (6th, 28:35): He only had about 10 minutes to warm up and normally prefers 20-25 minutes. He said he felt like shit for the first two miles and just never felt comfortable.
Ed Moran (9TH, 28:39): “When I woke up this morning, I committed to racing aggressively, no matter what the pace was. We went out faster than I wanted to, but I stuck to the plan.” Moran is coming off what he calls an 18-month period of poor training and referred to this as a “comeback” race.
Patrick Smyth (12th, 29:03): Smyth, one of the only guys at the Stanford 10K two weeks ago who didn’t run well, was much more pleased with this performance. The common estimate for transferring the Central Park 10K course to a track 10k is that it’s about 40 seconds faster on the track. Smith, who ran 28:33, felt that this was a better race for him.
Bobby Curtis (22nd, 30:39): “I took it easy. Just did a tempo,” which, he said, was the plan from the start.
Haron Lagat (18th, 29:58): Lagat was 7th last year with a time of 28:43, indicating just how off today’s performance was for him. “I was tight the whole time. I was fine at the start but by the time we hit the hills, I don’t know, I just tightened up.”
Khalid Khannouchi (21st, 30:31): As his first race back from more than two years off from a chronic foot injury, the former world record holder received a special call-out from Mary Wittenberg and polite applause from the more than 8,000 participants. Khannouchi expressed “joy” and “happiness at being back, but admitted he was nervous before the race. As for his time and performance, “I am not at all disappointed. I need some races to get some rhythm and speed back.” He said he didn’t care what people thought about his relative more place and time. He said that he’s still cross training in the pool 3 times a week and only running 70 miles a week. He plans to race again in July before making a decision about returning to the marathon.
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