Running: Marathon records fall

Monday, October 01, 2007 - 07:20 PM

By Dean McNulty,
Sun Media

Kenya's John Kelai shattered a 31-year-old record for the marathon in Canada yesterday, besting more than 2,000 runners in the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon with a time of two hours nine minutes and 30 seconds.

The old record of 2:09:55 was set at the Montreal Summer Olympic Games in 1976 by East Germany's Waldemar Cierpinski.

The 30-year-old Kelai won the top prize of $15,000 for his win and a bonus of $20,000 for setting the new mark.

He was dogged to the end by last year's winner and fellow countryman Daniel Rono, who posted his personal best time of the season at 2:09:36.

Ethiopia's Kasime Adilo was third in 2:10:20.



The record run came on the same day Ethiopia's Haile Gebrselassie broke the world record by running a 2:04:26 in Berlin.

And another Ethiopian, Asha Gigi, led the Toronto Waterfront women's race from start to finish, passing halfway in 1:12:04 before fading in the final stages. She still crossed the line in 2:33:16, a new women's course record.

Kelai said he was beginning to lose strength in the final few kilometres.

"I used all my mental powers to block everything out in the final two kilometres," he said. "It was very difficult."

Kelai said he used the enthusiasm of the thousands of spectators along the 42.2-kilometre route as inspiration to keep going.

"I was focusing on all the great Canadian people who were cheering me on," he said. "It means so much to me to win this race in Canada."

Race organizers also were thrilled at the record-setting pace of the event.

Race director Alan Brooks said that while 2,099 took part in the full competitive marathon, another 10,000 ran either the half marathon or the 5K run.

"We're absolutely thrilled with the 2:09:30 from John Kelai and with a brilliant run by Daniel Rono. Their performances put the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon in an international club of elite marathons," Brooks said.

The top Canadian runner was Vancouver's Jerry Viak, who crossed the finish line in 2:17:23 with Lisa Harvey, of Calgary, the top Canadian woman at 2:48:47.