Adriana Pirtea (Romania) had a debut at The LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon she'll never forget. The 27-year-old was only 300 meters away from claiming the title-but she underestimated the defending champion. Ethiopia's Berhane Adere shrunk the gap on the inexperienced Pirtea and caught her at the end to win by three seconds.
Adere's finish in 2:33:49 was her second straight title in Chicago, though the victory came with unseasonably humid conditions. After a cluster of six elite women runners was the norm up to mile 15 when Adere and Pirtea started to separate from the rest.
The energized Pirtea began pulling away from Adere at mile 22. Her lead then increased over the noticeably tired Adere to 25 seconds. The race looked more bleak for the champion when she started slowing even more, falling behind further by 30 seconds at the 24th mile- insuperable for most.
Pireta had an impressive day attaining this lead against one of the world's best. But her gap at mile 25 started to dwindle before the runners hit the south Loop. Adere's pace increased as the Romanian's decreased considerably. Adere's fastest mile, a 5:16 at mile 24, propelled her back into challenging Pirtea.
At the 25-mile mark Adere reached deep down inside herself and willed her tired body on and up to just 19 seconds behind Pireta. The 40K mark was not kind to Pireta as she continued to slow her pace.
Pireta turned the corner for the final 1.2 miles onto Columbus Drive. As she approached the last stretch of asphalt, Pirtea felt comfortable enough to wave to the excited crowds gathered along the fences at Grant Park. But that's when the champion became a repeat champion.
"She (Pirtea) got tired and I changed into track-racing mode," said Adere. "I pushed real fast."
The former track athlete turned her jets on and used that background to her advantage. Behind by 100 meters with 300 left to the tape, Adere charged down Columbus and passed a surprised Pirtea, crossing first to a dramatic finish.
The oppressive heat was a factor, even on a leader with a thirty-second advantage with less than a third of the race left.
"The last 4K was tough," said Pirtea. "I slowed and had to run in the shade a lot." Pirtea also admitted that the distraction of cheers from the crowd for her contributed toward her false sense of comfort and eventual loss. "I didn't actually know how close she was behind me. Nobody said anything."
Pirtea's second place finish in 2:33:52 cemented her as an up-an- coming dominant runner in the marathon world. "I did have a good day and I'm hoping to have more."
Kate O'Neill, of the United States, made the red, white and blue proud today. The 27-year-old from California was hovering at fifth and sixth place most of the 26.2 trek. A disqualification of one runner ahead of O'Neill, and her determination through the pack, launched her to a third place finish in 2:36:15.
O'Neill made her move at the 20-mile mark. She overtook Great Britain's Liz Yelling and eventually sped past Benita Johnson, of Australia. The American at one point was one minute behind the overall leader. With three miles left, O'Neill controlled the third spot and crossed without a challenge. She heard some extra encouragement from the crowd during her climb to a top three placement.
"I believe I was seventh (place) for a while," said O'Neill. "They were telling me I was within striking distance, so I was trying to hang on to that motivation. I was surprised to come in third. I'm really excited. It was a great experience today."
O'Neill's third place finish earned her a $40,000 prize purse as well as a $3,500 bonus as the first American.
The thirtieth annual race gave back-to-back champion Adere a $125,000 prize purse. Pirtea's second place netted her $65,000.
Adere's finish in 2:33:49 was her second straight title in Chicago, though the victory came with unseasonably humid conditions. After a cluster of six elite women runners was the norm up to mile 15 when Adere and Pirtea started to separate from the rest.
The energized Pirtea began pulling away from Adere at mile 22. Her lead then increased over the noticeably tired Adere to 25 seconds. The race looked more bleak for the champion when she started slowing even more, falling behind further by 30 seconds at the 24th mile- insuperable for most.
Pireta had an impressive day attaining this lead against one of the world's best. But her gap at mile 25 started to dwindle before the runners hit the south Loop. Adere's pace increased as the Romanian's decreased considerably. Adere's fastest mile, a 5:16 at mile 24, propelled her back into challenging Pirtea.
At the 25-mile mark Adere reached deep down inside herself and willed her tired body on and up to just 19 seconds behind Pireta. The 40K mark was not kind to Pireta as she continued to slow her pace.
Pireta turned the corner for the final 1.2 miles onto Columbus Drive. As she approached the last stretch of asphalt, Pirtea felt comfortable enough to wave to the excited crowds gathered along the fences at Grant Park. But that's when the champion became a repeat champion.
"She (Pirtea) got tired and I changed into track-racing mode," said Adere. "I pushed real fast."
The former track athlete turned her jets on and used that background to her advantage. Behind by 100 meters with 300 left to the tape, Adere charged down Columbus and passed a surprised Pirtea, crossing first to a dramatic finish.
The oppressive heat was a factor, even on a leader with a thirty-second advantage with less than a third of the race left.
"The last 4K was tough," said Pirtea. "I slowed and had to run in the shade a lot." Pirtea also admitted that the distraction of cheers from the crowd for her contributed toward her false sense of comfort and eventual loss. "I didn't actually know how close she was behind me. Nobody said anything."
Pirtea's second place finish in 2:33:52 cemented her as an up-an- coming dominant runner in the marathon world. "I did have a good day and I'm hoping to have more."
Kate O'Neill, of the United States, made the red, white and blue proud today. The 27-year-old from California was hovering at fifth and sixth place most of the 26.2 trek. A disqualification of one runner ahead of O'Neill, and her determination through the pack, launched her to a third place finish in 2:36:15.
O'Neill made her move at the 20-mile mark. She overtook Great Britain's Liz Yelling and eventually sped past Benita Johnson, of Australia. The American at one point was one minute behind the overall leader. With three miles left, O'Neill controlled the third spot and crossed without a challenge. She heard some extra encouragement from the crowd during her climb to a top three placement.
"I believe I was seventh (place) for a while," said O'Neill. "They were telling me I was within striking distance, so I was trying to hang on to that motivation. I was surprised to come in third. I'm really excited. It was a great experience today."
O'Neill's third place finish earned her a $40,000 prize purse as well as a $3,500 bonus as the first American.
The thirtieth annual race gave back-to-back champion Adere a $125,000 prize purse. Pirtea's second place netted her $65,000.
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