Radcliffe Outlasts the Old and the New
(http://www.nycmarathon.org/news/story_11.php)

Defending champion holds off veteran Ludmila Petrova and U.S. debut record-setter Kara Goucher for third New York victory


Everyone expected Paula Radcliffe to push the pace and not look back; to try to reestablish herself as the world’s top marathoner after a second injury-induced Olympic disappointment. But when she’d fought a 10-mph headwind for 13 miles and five accomplished and determined women were still in her slipstream, it no longer seemed certain that the British world record-holder would win her third ING New York City Marathon.

Kara Goucher of the United States didn’t look like a first-time marathoner as she ran a step behind Radcliffe, her form smooth and relaxed. In her half-marathon debut at the 2007 BUPA Great North Run in England, she’d beaten Radcliffe by almost a minute. A personal-best 10,000 meters in the Beijing Olympics and a bronze medal at that distance in the 2007 IAAF World Championships had given Goucher the confidence of having reached a new level. Perhaps another debut would yield another upset victory.

Close behind came four past champions: Dire Tune (Boston, 2008) and Gete Wami (Berlin, 2006 and 2007) of Ethiopia, Rita Jeptoo (Boston, 2006) and Catherine Ndereba (World Championships, 2003 and 2007) of Kenya—and most surprising, Ludmila Petrova, whose only major marathon victory had come in this race eight years earlier. Now 40, the Russian ran with fierce concentration and a low, economical stride.

Big challenges are often thrown down on First Avenue as the leaders enter the final 10 miles. The surprises were subtler this time: As Radcliffe inexorably tightened the screws, from 5:30 miles to 5:20s, then even faster, small shocks came as each great runner fell back: Ndereba, then Jeptoo, then Wami and Goucher, and finally Tune. Near-incredibly, Petrova remained at Radcliffe’s heels through miles in 5:23 and 5:18; in the 22nd mile, Radcliffe pressed the pace to 5:12, and Petrova surrendered.

In both 2004 and 2007, Radcliffe had needed a sprint finish to win. She seems never to glance back; perhaps she stopped hearing footsteps after 22 miles and could enjoy finally running unpressed through Central Park. But although the gap to second place widened to almost two minutes, Radcliffe ran with her usual unrelenting effort to the finish, which she reached in 2:23:56.

After Radcliffe’s breakaway, Goucher had passed the fading Tune and gained on Petrova, who had given almost everything in an attempt to win the race. The debutante and the veteran pushed each other to the end; this time, experience prevailed: Petrova finished in 2:25:43; Goucher in 2:25:53—faster than any American woman in race history and a U.S. debut record. She blew kisses to the crowd.

Jeptoo, Ndereba, Wami, and Tune followed. Wami’s failure to place first or second lost her the 2007-08 World Marathon Majors title to Germany’s Irina Mikitenko, who was voted the winner after the two tied on points and head-to-head matchups.

Petrova smashed the world record for 40+ women. Goucher became the first American woman on the podium since 1994. And in one of the finest women’s fields ever assembled, Paula Radcliffe, like this race itself, proved to have matchless talent in the world of marathoning.