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Apr-20-2006
Despite Odds, Kastor Faces Formidable Challenge At London
by David Monti
(c) Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved
LONDON (20-Apr) -- With reigning world champion and world record holder
Paula Radcliffe out of Sunday's Flora London Marathon with a foot injury,
American Deena Kastor finds herself viewed, at least by odds makers, as the
race favorite. The bookmaker SportingOdds.com has both Kastor, and Romanian
Constantina Tomescu-Dita, listed at 9-to-4, while another bookmaker, William
Hill, has Kastor at 9-to-4 and Tomescu-Dita at 11-to-4.
But the 2005 LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon champion, who is also the U.S.
marathon, half-marathon and 10,000m record holder, isn't getting distracted
by such talk, and is focused on the job at hand: executing the best possible
race she can.
"I take every race as it comes," Kastor told reporters at a news conference
today. "With Paula out of the race, it's going to change the dynamics. I'm
talking more about tactics now."
Accompanied by male pacemakers, the elite women will take off at 9:00 a.m.
on Sunday, 45 minutes ahead of the elite men and all the recreational
runners. Kastor, who has asked for the pacers to go through halfway in
1:09:45, will be trying to run smoothly and controlled in the first half,
and said she plans to try to run the second half even faster. That would
make her the first American --and just the eighth women ever-- to run under
the 2:20 barrier, something she said would be routine in years to come..
"I would just like to be one of the select few who do it now," said Kastor.
She tried for that mark at Chicago last October, and was ahead of the pace
until the final miles when, because of running a bit too aggressively in the
early going, she slowed to finish in 2:21:25, just nine seconds off of her
American record. She said today that her strategy of going out very hard in
Chicago "backfired a little," and she would need to remain more in control
in order to prevail here. (In Chicago, she split that halfway in 1:09:16).
She said the pacemakers, who will include her training partner Mike
McKeeman, should definitely help her to remain steady.
"Having people run with me is something I always thrive off of," she said,
explaining how she uses group training to develop both her strength and
speed. Coach Terrence Mahon has adjusted her workouts to help improve her
endurance and she reported that finishing every training session strongly
was a conerstone of her preparations.
In addition to Tomescu-Dita, who holds the Romanian record of 2:21:30, she
will have to hold off the challenge of Margaret Okayo of Kenya, twice the
champion at the ING New York City Marathon, the Boston winner in 2002, and
the London winner in 2004. Okayo also holds the course records for both
Boston (2:20:43) and New York (2:22:31). She struggled with injuries last
year, withdrawing from the ING New York City Marathon last November and
failing to finish at Las Vegas last December.
Susan Chepkemei must also be considered a threat to win, with three second
place finishes in New York and a 2:23:12 career best time. Her compatriot,
Salina Kosgei (2:24:32 PB) should not be overlooked, especially since she is
the training partner of Rita Jeptoo, who won the BAA Boston Marathon last
Monday. Finally, Berhane Adere of Ethiopia has a solid chance of gaining a
spot on the podium. She's the third-fastest 10,000m runner of all-time
(30:04.18), which points to marathon potential in at least the low 2:20's.
Kastor, with husband Andrew, coach Mahon, and training mate McKeeman, have
lived the last three weeks in nearby Teddington, training in Bushy and
Richmond parks. She said today she was sorry to leave.
"I had a great time there," she said. "Great food, great training. We
wanted to stay there forever."
Kastor was mute on future marathon plans, with the exception of the 2008
Olympic Games. Under the U.S. system, she will be required to run a trials
marathon in either the fall of 2007 or the spring of 2008 (a venue and date
has not yet been selected by USA Track & Field). But win or lose here, she
plans to leave soon after the race, citing a basic desire just to be home
again in the ski town of Mammoth Lakes.
"I'm actually kind of forgetting about the marathon come Monday morning,"
she said, adding that she would be leaving London then, win or lose. She
would only smile when she was reminded that the champions had to appear at a
Monday press conference.
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