Macharia and Chepchumba win in Bogota

Isaac Macharia defended his title and Pamela Chepchumba won the women’s crown here at the Bogota International Half Marathon Sunday. They led more than 47,000 runners across the line in a combined half marathon and 10K event.

MEN

Macharia, who was coming off a quick (2:07:16) second place finish at the Dubai Marathon this winter, joined Kiprono Mutai and Kiplimo KImutai in any early surge to the front less than one kilometre into the race. “It wasn’t anything planned,” said Kimutai. “Everyone just went together. We were all thinking about winning the race.”

The move was one of three distinct accelerations that shaped the race. It had the effect of startling the field early, with only Brazil’s Marilson Dos Santos giving chase. The 2006 New York Marathon winner was coming off three weeks of altitude training in the mountains of Columbia, yet he could get no closer than 5 seconds in the first 5K (14:40), before falling off pace.

At 10K (29:50) Macharia took a peak behind and probably didn’t see Dos Santos, who was 25 seconds back. A minute later Macharia threw in a short surge that dropped Kimutai. And it was just a two-man race.

Macharia and Mutai ran side-by-side, then took turns with the pace, the other drafting just off a shoulder. The sun was out and temperatures had climbed into the mid 60s, after an ideal-weather start.

The only real hill on the course was a bridge at 14K. Mutai chose that occasion to attempt a breakaway. But it was short-lived. Macharia pulled back even on the downside. The 15K mark passed in 44:45, and at 17K Macharia accelerated again, dropping Mutai in a matter of strides, then quickly building to a gap—10 seconds or more—that was insurmountable to the finish.

Macharia, who trains in the famous Ngong Hills of Kenya, crossed in 1:03:34, not a fast time because of the altitude (2600m) but an effort that made him proud nonetheless.

“It is not important to run a fast time here in Bogota,” he said. “It’s like the New York City marathon—people run 2:08 and 2:09. You don’t run fast there, but you run it to win.” Macharia said he is preparing to run New York in the autumn.

Mutai (1:03:49) followed, then Kimutai (1:05:03) and Dos Santos (1:05:59), who revealed a greater plan at work. “I was following Brazil’s Olympic marathon programme,” he said. “So today was a combination training run and race.” Vanderlei de Lima used that same approach in 2004 when he used the Bogota Half as a final tune up before winning the bronze medal in the Athens Olympic marathon.
Morroco’s Ridouane Harroufi, who has been in great form this summer in the United States, was never a factor, finishing 8th in 1:07:02. “I tried to push but I had no oxygen,” he said. “It is high here. Higher than Albuquerque (where he trains).”

WOMEN

The day before the race Chepchumba, the 2007 World Half Marathon bronze medallist, expressed a concern about the altitude, that her training in Eldoret, Kenya was not high enough to let run competitively in Bogota.

That concern weighed heavily on her mind in the first part of the race (5K in 16:32), when defending champ Neriah Asiba stuck with her each step of the way. But eventually, Chepchumba found her compact stride pulling away from her rival. “I sure felt the altitude, said Chepchumba. “Especially when we started. Finally, by 8K I was starting to feel better, to get my breath, and that is when I pulled away.”

Chepchumba finished in 1:12:55, almost five minutes slower than her PB (1:08:06). She said her attention now turns toward marathon training. Last year, she set a PB for the distance (2:25:36) in winning the Milan Marathon. This year, she said she will either run New York City or Tokyo.

Dave Kuehls for the IAAF

Results

Men
1. Isaac Macharia   1:03:34
2. Kiprono Mutai    1:03:49
3. Kiplimo Kimutai  1:05:03
4. Marilson Dos Santos 1:05:59
5. William Naranjo  1:06:21
6. Paulino Canchanya 1:06:26
7. Giovanni Amador 1:06:55
8. Ridouanne Harroufi  1:07:02

Women
1. Pamela Chepchumba  1:12:55
2. Neriah Asiba  1:15:15
3. Emily Samoei  1:15:53
4. Yolanda Fernandez  1:17:02
5. Marta Ronceria 1:18:37
6. Marisol Romero 1:20:04