Radcliffe’s redemption
NEW YORK — Paula Radcliffe ran through Central Park confident and happy, the finish of the New York City Marathon in sight.
It hardly mattered that Susan Chepkemei was on her elbow, the two women running side by side for nearly 5 miles. Or that she ate a meal the night before that made her sick during the race. Radcliffe knew she had to pull this race out, knew she had to show her Athens heartache had healed.
So Radcliffe pulled away in the final few feet, her head bobbing with each labored step, and won the tightest women’s race in NYC Marathon history. The world record holder crossed in 2 hours, 23 minutes, 10 seconds on Sunday, beating Chepkemei by 4 seconds.
Radcliffe hugged Chepkemei when it was all over, raised her arms in triumph and wrapped herself in the Union Jack. Less than three months ago, Radcliffe had nothing to celebrate. She cried after dropping out of the Olympic marathon with a few miles to go.
“I felt totally myself,” said Radcliffe, who wore bib No. F111 because that was what she was assigned in her first London Marathon win in 2002. “Nothing like that horrible feeling that I had, nothing like that.”
Hendrik Ramaala of South Africa got a bit of redemption of his own, winning the men’s race in 2:09:28 for his first marathon victory. Ramaala also dropped out of the Olympic marathon with a pulled hamstring.
Olympic silver medalist Meb Keflezighi of the United States was next across, 25 seconds behind in a personal best of 2:09:53. Ryan Shay was ninth in 2:14:08, marking the first time since 1993 that two American men finished in the top 10. It also was the first time in four years there was no Kenyan winner.
“I’m notorious for being a bad marathon runner,” said Ramaala, who also has a law degree from Witswatersrand University in Johannesburg. “They always told me you are good in half, you are not going to get it in a marathon.”
Radcliffe has had plenty of success in marathons, but what happened in Athens seemed to overshadow all that. She entered the race with a nagging left leg injury that forced her to take anti-inflammatory drugs. The medicine, combined with the stress and heat, left her feeling queasy.
She could not finish under the blazing Greek sun, stopping to sit on a curb along the course with about 3 miles to go. Radcliffe sobbed uncontrollably. She tried running the 10,000 meters a few days later but could not finish that, either, for one of the most disappointing turns in her career.
But she got back to training after letting her injury heal and decided just two weeks ago to run in New York, hoping to get back to the form that earned her a world best over 26.2 miles last year in London.
And she did just that, becoming the first British woman to win the race through New York’s five boroughs since Liz McColgan in 1991. Radcliffe said she briefly thought about Athens when she passed the 22nd mile, which is about where she pulled out of the Olympics.
“It wasn’t about redemption, it wasn’t about look at me,” said Gary Lough, her husband and manager. “It was about turning a page and moving forward.”
It was close, though. Radcliffe started feeling sick at about the 24th mile because of bad spaghetti the night before that gave her stomach problems throughout the night. But Radcliffe kept jostling for position with Chepkemei and made one final push under cascading autumn leaves to pull out the victory.
Russia’s Lyubov Denisova was third in 2:25:18, while defending champion Margaret Okayo of Kenya was fourth in 2:26:31.
The previous record for closest women’s finish in New York was 5 seconds, Wanda Panfil’s margin over Spokane’s Kim Jones in 1990.
“Of course it was in my mind that I could win the race, but I could not make it in the end because Paula, she was a little bit stronger,” Chepkemei said.
Ramaala actually missed out on the tradition of cracking the tape across the finish line because he didn’t see it, leaving Mayor Michael Bloomberg and race director Allan Steinfeld holding the unbroken tape. Ramaala later apologized for his mistake.
Olympic bronze medalist Deena Kastor pulled out of the race during the 16th mile because of extensive cramping.
Kristin Armstrong, ex-wife of Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong, finished in a personal-best 3:45:53.