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Mar-28-2007
Kastor Ready for Rematch with Prokopcuka and Jeptoo at Boston
by David Monti
(c) Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved
Finishing sixth at last November's ING New York City Marathon was a bitter disappointment for Deena Kastor, the USA record holder for the distance.
She had prepared thoroughly for the storied race, but made a fatal tactical error when she did not respond to a mid-race breakaway by Ukrainian Tatiana Hladyr and Latvian Jelena Prokopcuka. Kastor finished sixth in 2:27:54, more than eight minutes slower than her American record at London last April, while Prokopcuka went on to defend her New York crown and took the lead in the World Marathon Majors points chase.
But on Monday, April 16, at the 111th Boston Marathon, Kastor will get another crack at the Latvian, a gritty competitor who has won three of her last four marathons and finished second at Boston last year. Speaking via teleconference yesterday from the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, Calif., Kastor said she is ready for the rematch.
"I know my work is going to be cut out for me," she said of facing both Prokopcuka and the defending champion, Rita Jeptoo of Kenya, who also finished ahead of Kastor in New York. "I know it's going to be a tough race. These are women who know how to struggle and fight in the race. I feel very prepared for it."
The race in New York was a sharp contrast to what transpired for Kastor in London about seven months earlier. Paced by her training partner, Mike McKeeman, and a Kenyan, Henry Tarus, Kastor ran away from the field to win by more than two minutes in 2:19:36 becoming the fourth-fastest woman of all-time. The performance was near-perfect following excellent preparation under coach Terrence Mahon.
"I guess every time I have a goal of running a marathon the goal itself seems to dictate which race to run," said Kastor. "For so long I wanted to break the 2:20 barrier."
But she turned to Boston this year for its great tradition, and the chance to win another major marathon on U.S. soil (she won Chicago in 2005).
"Boston has always been in the heart and soul of every marathoner out there," said Kastor who grew up in the Boston area. "It's always been in the back of my mind. It seems very easy to choose Boston this year."
Flora London Marathon race director Dave Bedford did want his defending champion back, but Kastor had already set her eyes on Boston, seeing it as her best chance to win the race given that she just turned 34 years-old.
She can't run it next year because of the U.S. Olympic Trials Marathon, which will also be held in Boston but on a different day and course.
"Would she have made more money to run London than Boston?" said her longtime manager Ray Flynn in a telephone interview. "Yes, but not significantly more." Flynn added: "I think she was always Boston-leaning.
If she didn't run Boston this year, she may never run it."
Besides Prokopcuka and Jeptoo, Kastor will have to conquer Boston's notoriously hilly course. Although it has a net elevation loss of about 137 meters, it's the up and down --especially the down-- which beats up runners'
legs. Coach Mahon has designed specific workouts for Kastor so she'll be ready.
"We've done 21 mile runs where six of those miles are up hill followed by downhill running," said Kastor. "We've gotten in downhill pavement running."
Her recent victory in near U.S. record time at the Gate River Run 15-K, the USA championships at that distance, in Jacksonville, Fla., demonstrated that her training was on track. The race was specifically chosen for it's combination of long uphill climbs followed by fast downhill running.
"She actually ran a 4:49 mile down that hill," said Mahon of the descent of Hart Bridge hear the end of the race. "In training we've been trying to throw those things at her." He added: "How fast can she run off the hill?"
Boston also does not use pacemakers, so Kastor will have to use the kind of competitive instincts which allowed her to land the bronze medal at the 2004 Olympic Marathon. In that race Kastor was in 11th place at the halfway mark, but ran a brilliantly paced second half to get on the podium.
Kastor will remain at sea level until her trip to Boston. She chose to stay at the Olympic Training Center for her final weeks of preparation because of the simplicity of life there. She lives in a dorm room and takes her meals in the athlete's cafeteria, which must be at least somewhat difficult for someone who is a passionate cook and just had the kitchen renovated in her Mammoth Lakes, Calif., home.
Nonetheless, it's the passion for competition which keeps Kastor going, allowing her to see through the daily grind of training to the glory of victory. There's also the chance to make history: an American woman hasn't won Boston since Lisa Larsen-Weidenbach in 1985.
"Just to know that Boston is coming up is inspiring enough to get out the door," she said.
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