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Oct-16-2010
Rutoh Surprise Winner of Under Amour Baltimore Marathon
by Steve Nearman
BALTIMORE - (October 16, 2010) - The movie "Secretariat" is scoring at the movie theaters but a real live long-shot flew to the Under Amour Baltimore Marathon from Kenya and stole the show on Saturday morning.
David Rutoh didn't think he had a chance in the world to win the 10th running of Charm City's largest running festival. He said he was just hoping to slip into the top 10.
The 24-year-old from the Kenyan town of Kericho was up against the course record holder here from 2008, an Ethiopian who had recently traveled 26.2 miles in 2:12 and a bevy of top-notch Kenyans as is the tradition here.
Rutoh traveled to Baltimore Tuesday on his own dime, as he was one of 60 elite runners whose request for travel expenses was declined. His bib number: 3294.
"I wasn't expecting to win," Rutoh said. "There were a lot of strong guys."
The smart money was being bet on Julius Keter, who holds the course record here of 2:11:56 from 2008, Ethiopian Alene Reta who was coming off a 2:12 marathon and many of the elites in the deep portfolio of competitive Kenyans compiled by elite coordinator Clay Shaw.
Together, Keter and Reta smoked the first half of the course in 1:03:01 but burned out in the hills of Baltimore and never made it to the finish, opening the door for Rutoh to make a late dramatic charge to win his second career marathon in his richest payday of $23,000. His time was a respectable 2 hours, 13 minutes, 11 seconds.
Two-time Colombian Olympian Juan Cardona was runner-up in 2:13:29 and Kennedy Kemei of Kenya was third (2:13:43).
Max King from Bend, OR was top U.S. finisher in 2:15:34, good for sixth overall. As has become tradition here, runners from Kenya filled seven of the top 10 places.
Olena Shurkhno of Ukraine was touted as a pre-race favorite and she delivered. She too had strong competition including defending champion and 2008 Beijing Olympian Iuliia Arkhipova of Kyrgyzstan and the always-tough Lyubov Denisova of Russia.
Shrugging off a brief challenge by Arkhipova in the waning miles of the race, Shurkhno emerged on top, earning $23,000 with a solid performance of 2:32:17. Arkhipova did not fare too poorly, banking $14,000 as runner-up in 2:33:52.
"I wanted to run faster today," the 33-year-old Shurkhno, who has won several of her 15 career marathon including a personal best 2:30:11 at the 2008 Toronto Marathon, said through her interpreter Denisova. "I had a problem with my right hamstring, it started three weeks ago and it began to hurt after 12 miles today."
American Nan Kennard of Boulder, CO earned $8000 for third but more importantly to her, a 2012 Olympic Trials "A" standard qualifier in 2:35:49.
Two-time Baltimore Marathon champion and grandmother Ramilya Burangulova, a 49-year-old Russian who trains in Gainesville, Fla., took top Masters honors in 2:41:06, while David Doherty, 41, of Towson, Md. was top male Master in 2:44:17, 20th overall.
Sean Sharpe of Cockeysville, Md. scored a 25-second triumph in the accompanying CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield Half Marathon in 1:14:51 and Mary Kelly of Broomall, Pa. also won by 25 seconds in 1:27:03. In the United Way of Central Maryland 5K, Matt Straughm of Glendale, Md. and Cara Wettlaufer of Nottingham, Md. earned top honors, finishing in 15:46 and 19:32, respectively.
Runners generally enjoyed the cloudless skies and temperatures in the mid- to upper-50s at the start. But they did not appreciate the heavy headwinds over the second half of the course, much like last year.
Some 3,359 runners completed the marathon, 8,004 completed the half and another 2,681 completed the 5K. Thousands more participated in the Legg Mason team marathon relay.
10th Under Armour Baltimore Marathon
Baltimore, MD, Saturday, October 16, 2010
MEN
1) David Rutoh (KEN), 2:13:11, $23,000
2) Juan Cardona (COL), 2:13:29, $14,000
3) Kennedy Kemei (KEN), 2:13:43, $8000
4) Joseph Mutinda (KEN), 2:14:31, $5000
5) Edward Tabut (KEN), 2:14:46, $3000
6) Max King, Bend (USA / OR), 2:15:34, $2000
7) David Tuwei (KEN), 2:15:51, $1500
8) Benson Cheruiyot (KEN), 2:16:33, $1200
9) John Crews (USA / NC), 2:16:46
10) Paul Ngeny (KEN), 2:19:56
MASTERS MEN (40+)
1) David Doherty, 41, MD, 2:44:17, $1000
2) John Piggott, 45, VA, 2:47:26, $750
3) Jorge Pereyra, 52, URU, 2:50:05, $500
WOMEN
1) Olena Shurkhno (UKR), 2:32:17, $23,000
2) Iuliia Arkhipova, (KGZ), 2:33:52, $14,000
3) Nan Kennard, (USA / CO), 2:35:49, $8000
4) Salome Kosgei (KEN), 2:36:26, $5000
5) Yumilesh Delelecha (ETH), 2:37:06, $3000
6) Everlyne Lagat (KEN), 2:38:47, $2000
7) Alice Ndirangu (KEN), 2:39:13, $1500
8) Ramilya Burangulova, 49, RUS, 2:41:06, $1200
9) Truphena Jemeli (KEN), 2:43:54
10) Elena Orlova, 40, RUS, 2:49:50, $1000
MASTERS WOMEN (40+)
1) Burangulova, see above; earned Open money only
2) Elena Orlova, see above
3) Fiona Bayly, 43, NY, 3:08:26, $750
4) Eileen Davis, 40+, VA, 3:12:53, $500
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