Rop Rodgers (© Getty Images Allsport)
After an amazing 2002 and a below par 2003, Kenya's Rodgers Rop took an impressive win in the Lisbon Half Marathon at the end of March in 59:49, and next Monday (19 April) will race at the Boston Marathon in order to try to repeat his 2002 victory in the world's oldest race over the 42,195 km distance.
Quick rise into the world elite
Rop, born in 1976 in Nandi, son of a teacher and a housewife, 3 brothers and 8 sisters, started running seriously only in 2000, although his first races were in high school, in the mid-1990s.
In 2001 he made his debut on the international stage, when he took third place in Berlin Half Marathon with 1:00:57. Just one month later, in the German capital again, he won over the 25 km with a world best of 1:13:44.
”I was happy to win in such an important race," he confirms, "but nobody informed me that my time was the best performance, so I cannot remember anything else about the moment."
"I understood that I could become a top marathon runner"
Late that year he also ran his first marathon. He chose the New York City race, because he wanted a "big marathon debut".
”I didn't know anything about marathon, so I was a little worried. I didn't expect any specific performance". He closed the race out in 3rd place, running 2:09:51 and earned 30,000$.
"My life was not just changed by the money earned in New York, but by the 3rd place I had achieved, because I understood that I could become a top marathon runner."
Boston – first victory and son’s name!
He opened the 2002 season with a good 5th place in Lisbon Half Marathon (1:00:45). Three weeks later he surprisingly won the Boston Marathon in 2:09:02, out-kicking his countryman Christopher Cheboiboch by 3 seconds.
"When I came back in Kenya, I was met in the airport by the head of Kenya's Olympic Committee Kipchoge Keino. People in my area received me like a hero as well," he proudly remembers. That spring his wife (a former 800 runner) gave birth to their first son, who they named... ‘Boston’!
New York in 2002 too!
The Boston Marathon win was just the prelude to another big win in New York City Marathon in the autumn of 2002. In the 'Big Apple', Rop ran a wonderful race, making his decisive move inside Central Park and winning in a new PB of 2:08:07. His main rival was Cheboiboch yet again (2nd with 2:08:17).
Before Rop, only Bill Rodgers (in 1978 and 1979), Alberto Salazar (1982) and Joseph Chebet (1999) had been able to take double wins in the two most famous US marathons in the same year.
Pushed too hard in 2003
In 2003 Rop also aimed at the same double, but it was a terrible mistake as he over worked himself in preparation.
"After a good half distance race in Lisbon (I was 5th in 1:00:50) I was in good shape, but I decided to push very hard with my training. I made my most important workouts together with Christopher (Cheboiboch). Both of us were too much motivated, so we destroyed each other."
The result was that Cheboiboch finished 5th in 2:12:45, while Rop was more behind, 7th in 2:16:14 in the 2003 Boston race.
"After Boston (last year) I was completely exhausted. I took three full months of resting and I started training again late in August. When 2003 ING New York City Marathon arrived, I was only at 80 per cent of my shape. I really still needed one month more to reach my best."
However, he was only beaten by IAAF World Half Marathon champion Martin Lel, and came second in 2:11:11. Who was the 3rd in the race, yet again behind him? Cheboiboch, of course, who crossed the finish line in 2:11:23.
Change of coaching regime
Rop’s New York performance last autumn was almost a miracle after such poor training preparation.
After the race Rop moved to a new coaching group headed by the Italian Renato Canova.
The move meant Rop restarted work with his first coach Amos Korir, who is Canova's main coaching partner in Kenya.
Significant win in Lisbon last month
The first result of the new cooperation has been great, as he beat a very strong field of Lisbon Half Marathon on 28 March 2004 with 59:49, ahead of Lel and last Boston Marathon's winner Robert Kipkoech Cheruiyot. Both will be the main rivals next Monday in Boston.
"My win in Lisbon gave me a good confidence. Before this race a time a little under 61:00 seemed to be my limit in half marathon distance. Now I realised that my speed and my speed endurance improved very much, and this without working more, probably just working better."
Until last Tuesday Rop had stayed in Italy, near Turin, where he had trained with the 2002 Venice Marathon winner David Makori, who will run in Boston as well.
NB. a full Boston Marathon preview will be published later this week.
