Moving
up to the Marathon
K. Ken Nakamure for the IAAF
30 October 2001 - Track fans are always
intrigued when the champion in one event
challenges a new event, but the marathon
debut by top track runners holds special
interest for fans, perhaps because the
move from the 10,000m to the marathon
may be one of the most difficult one
among the popular transitions between
events. Recently, its difficulty was
seen through Paul Tergat’s marathon
debut.
The world currently awaits the marathon debuts of Haile Gebrselassie and Paula Radcliffe next spring. However, the marathon debut of Deena Drossin at the New York City Marathon is also well anticipated, because she has the credentials to be a top marathon runner.
Drossin was tenth, twelfth and twelfth in the last three World Cross Country Championships. She is also the two-time US 10,000m champion and finished eleventh in the World Championships in both Sevilla and Edmonton. It is true that Drossin is not in the same class as Radcliffe, Tulu, Gebrselassie or Tergat, but neither was Abel Anton. However, Anton is one of the greatest marathon runners of his era. After a credible track career, which includes gold at 10,000m in the 1994 European Championships at Helsinki, Anton made his marathon debut at the 1996 Berlin Marathon, which he won. After winning his second marathon, in his third marathon Anton won gold at the 1997 World Championships in Athens.
It is generally thought that runners who have excelled in the World Cross Country Championships tend to do well at the marathon because cross country requires the strength that is also important for the marathon. Carlos Lopes of Portugal, who won the World Cross Country Championships in 1976, and 1984 (he also won in 1985 in his home country) went on to win the Olympic marathon gold in 1984 and set the world marathon best in the following year. Before making a marathon debut at the 1982 New York City marathon, Lopes was one of the best 10000m runner of his time, having won a silver medal at the 1976 Olympic Games as well as recording the third fastest time in the summer of 1982. Although Lopes dropped out of his debut marathon, he recorded the fourth fastest marathon in history in his second marathon at Rotterdam in 1983. On the other hand Lope’s countryman, Fernando Mamede, once the world record holder at 10,000m ran several marathons but failed at each time.
Steve Jones of Wales who was third in the 1984 World Cross Country Championships as well as eighth at the 10,000m in the 1984 Olympic Games set a world marathon best at the 1984 Chicago marathon. Like Lopes, Jones dropped out of his debut marathon in Chicago in 1983, but also like Lopes his second marathon was a spectacular one.
It should be noted that both Lopes and Jones were much better at the 10,000m than at 5000m, which is certainly expected for good marathon runners, for it is a sign of endurance, a requirement for the marathon.
However, not all top cross country runners ran spectacular marathons right away. Some runners never fulfilled their apparent potential at the marathon, while other struggled before fulfilling their potential. Lynn Jennings, 1990, 1991 and 1992 World Cross Country Champion who was third at 10,000m in the 1992 Olympic Games, ran her first serious marathon in Boston in 1999, but was only twelfth in 2:38:37. She might have waited too long.
Derartu Tulu, the 1992 Olympic 10,000m Champion who also won the 1995 and 1997 World Cross Country Championships made her marathon debut at the 1997 Boston marathon. She was only fifth in 2:30:28. After a maternity leave in 1998, Tulu tried several more marathons, but failed to turn in the expected performances until the 2001 London marathon. In London, Tulu finally won the marathon in 2:23:57.
Moses Tanui was another runner who struggled before making it to the top of the marathon scene. Before making his marathon debut, Tanui won the 10,000m at the 1991 World Championships as well as being a runner up in the 1993 edition. He also finished second in the 1990 and 1991 World Cross Country Championships. However, Tanui was tenth in the 1993 New York Marathon (2:15:36) as well as 1994 Boston Marathon (2:09:40), before winning in Boston in 1996.
Elana Meyer is another runner whose marathon debut drew lot of attention because she was a silver medallist at 10,000m in the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona. Her marathon debut was quite spectacular, with a third place in the 1994 Boston marathon in 2:25:15. Unfortunately, she never improved her marathon personal best.
The New York City Marathon has been the site of sensational marathon debuts. Greta Waitz, Liz McColgan and Tegla Loroupe chose New York as the site of their debut. Of course, the most stunning of all the debut marathon at the New York City Marathon was by Greta Waitz in 1978, when she won in the world best time of 2:32:29.8. Coming into her debut marathon, Waitz was the reigning World Cross Country Champion, having won the race in Glasgow in March of 1978. Waitz went on to become a marathon legend as she won the inaugural World Championships marathon as well as a silver medal at the inaugural Olympic marathon.
By 1991, Liz McColgan was one of the top distance runners in the world. Having won a silver medal in the 1988 Olympic Games 10,000m, McColgan finally climbed to the top in 1991 as she won the gold at the World Championships in Tokyo. She was also a good cross-country runner, having finished third in the 1991 World Cross Country Championships. McColgan chose to make her marathon debut at the New York Marathon in 1991. She won with 2:27:32, which was the fastest debut marathon at the time. Unfortunately McColgan only slightly improved her marathon personal best, and she never dominated a marathon as she was expected to do.
Tegla Loroupe who made a marathon debut at the 1994 New York City Marathon was more fortunate. Loroupe, who was fourth at the 10,000m in the 1993 World Championships, won New York in 2:27:37 in her debut; she went on to set two world marathon bests: 2:20:47 and 2:20:43.
The current world marathon debut record stands at 2:23:11, which was set by Yoko Shibui in the 2001 Osaka Ladies marathon when she improved the previous record, 2:23:44, set by Catherina McKiernan, a four time World Cross Country Runner-up (1992, 1993, 1994 and 1995) in the1997 Berlin marathon. The women’s debut record, which is nearly five minutes slower than the world best is quite soft compared to men’s counterpart, which is only a minute slower than the world best. It needs to be improved.
