Sunday’s running of the Buffalo Marathon had a definite Ethiopian flavor to it. The men’s and women’s winners were both from that African country. Habtamu Bekele won the men’s race in 2 hours, 26 minutes and 5 seconds. Meserte Kotu took the women’s race in a course-record time of 2:43:10; the previous mark was 2:44:57 set by Beth Anne De- Ciantis in 1991.
Kotu was far too good for the field, taking the victory by more than 10 minutes over defending champion Jessica Allen. Kotu has a personal best of 2:30:02, so she figured to be a top contender Sunday. Kotu finished an impressive eighth overall.
“She was great. I’m honored to even share the same turf,” said Allen, who finished in 2:54:48 –almost two minutes faster than her winning time in 2007. “That’s pretty cool. It’s pretty prestigious for Buffalo to get such a runner from so far away.”
Allen said it took Kotu a while to get ahead, but there was no catching her once she moved in front around the 11-mile mark.
“She broke away right after Tifft Farms –pretty much at the bridge coming back into the First Ward,” said Allen, of Hampton Bays, L. I. “That’s where I started to be by myself.”
Allen held off Jennifer Boerner (2:58:14) of Amherst for second place.
Kotu does not speak English and thus was unavailable for interviews. She had the most profitable day of any of the participants, earning $2,000 for the victory plus $1,000 for the course record.
Bekele, who runs out of Marietta, Ga., won by a a relatively comfortable 16 seconds. Jason Lokwatom, a Kenyan running out of Troy, Ohio, was second at 2:26:21.
Bekele has raced throughout the world. He ran the 26-mile, 385-yard distance in an impressive 2:10:43 during the 2003 Rome Marathon. Bekele was second in the Bermuda Marathon earlier this year, finishing in 2:31:26. He ran a 2:26:19 in Atlanta early in April.
Bekele speaks little English, but he did say that he was “very, very happy about winning” and that the Buffalo course was “very good.”
Andrew Carnes of Canton, Ohio, had the lead in the race through the 10-mile mark, but went out too fast then faded under some persistent pressure of the lead pack. Carnes was fourth in 2:33:28. Darrin Pocza of Bemus Point was the top Western New York runner at 2:51:18, placing 12th.
In the masters division, James Derick of Big Flats was the men’s victor in 2:40:40. Gina McGee of Johnstown, Pa., won the women’s division in 2:59:28.
Mackey Tyndall of Panama City, Fla., was the fastest wheelchair competitor in a time of 2:06:59.
“It was a great day,” he said. “The roads were a little rough, but it was a flat, smooth course. I had a pretty good pace. I got a little bit fatigued at the end, but it was a good time overall.”
Tyndall is a retired Air Force captain whose injuries led to doctors doing two total hip replacements and the placement of a metal rod and some screws in his back. This was his sixth marathon of the year, and he says wheelchair athletes have gotten plenty of exposure in events like the Boston Marathon.
“It’s gotten a lot bigger, especially because of the military factor,” he said. “Last year at the Marine Corps [race in Washington], there were double the amount of hand-cycles. The hand-cycles are getting more popular, because of the ease of going from an injury to hand-cycle as opposed to a push-chair.”
In the half-marathon, Fernando Cabada showed why he is considered one of the top distance runners in America. He ran the 13.1-mile course in 1:08:52 to win. Cabada, running out of Boulder, Colo., ran his first-ever marathon in 2:12:26 in 2006. On the women’s side, Natasha Filliol won in 1:22:59. A native of Paris, Ont., she is one of Canada’s top triathletes.
By almost any definition, it was about a perfect morning for running, with sunshine and temperatures in the 50s. Some wind may have kept the times down just a bit.
Race director John Beishline said the final total of entrants was more than 3,000. That’s a big jump from last year’s 2,200.
Men’s Marathon
1. Habtamu Bekele 2:26:05
2. Jason Lokwatom 2:26:21
3. Paul Simboli 2:27:06
4. Andrew Carnes 2:33:28
5. Samson Mulli 2:33:49
6. Gerardo Avila 2:34:26
7. James Derick 2:40:40
8. Benson Osoro 2:44:16
9. Nelson Chavez 2:45:42
10. John Piggott 2:49:46
11. Mark Looney 2:51:11
12. Darrin Pocza 2:51:18
13. Gary Cattarin 2:54:12
14. Daniel Garrett 2:54:18
15. Derek Dunstan 2:54:22
16. Adam Bross 2:58:47
17. Christopher Ciamarra 2:58:54
18. Doug Hall 2:59:07
19. Craig Rudzinski 2:59:41
20. Christopher Occhino 2:59:46
Women’s Marathon
1. Meserte Kotu 2:43:10
2. Jessica Allen 2:54:48
3. Jennifer Boerner 2:58:14
4. Katherine Danner-Aldri 2:58:34
5. Gina McGee 2:59:28
6. Jill Skivington 2:59:35
7. Tammy Slusser 3:01:41
8. Jennifer McNutt 3:05:37
9. Michele Chille 3:18:32
10. Lisa Benzer 3:18:40
11. Emily Johnston 3:19:23
12. Katherine Fredlund 3:22:26
13. Mary LeBrun 3:22:37
14. Jackie Horvath 3:25:39
15. Kimberly Schenk 3:25:52
16. Kim Whitaker 3:26:00
17. Danielle Harmon 3:26:07
18. Kristin Winiewicz 3:26:16
19. Laura Richenderfer 3:26:59
20. Rosemary Wedlake 3:29:04
By Budd Bailey, [email protected]
Buffalo News