Battling the elements, Leonid Shvetsov wins in Dresden (© Victah Sailer)
Leonid Shvetsov and Krystyna Kuta took the 9th Morgenpost Dresden Marathon, battling not only against their rivals but also against the elements.
In dreadfully wet and cold conditions Russia’s Shvetsov clocked 2:16:19 while Kuta of Poland ran 2:41:54. The total entry number for the Morgenpost Dresden Marathon, which also included a Half Marathon and a 10k race of regional significance, was 7,505.
A number of marathon races ran into problems this year because of high temperatures – just two weeks ago that hit the Chicago Marathon. Today in Dresden, it was the other way round. Organisers, who had put together the strongest men’s field ever in the race, experienced the worst weather conditions ever at this Marathon. In a freezing cold 4° Celsius, rain and even slight hail Russia’s national record holder Shvetsov (PB 2:09:16) ran his own race throught the streets of Dresden with its famous landmarks like the Opera House or the Frauenkirche, which had been destroyed in World War II. Not long ago the rebuilding process was finished: the church is back to its former glory. Bringing some glory to a race, which has promising future potential, was the aim of Shvetsov.
“I had hoped to have a chance to run sub 2:12. But at least sub 2:13 seemed realistic,” said Shvetsov. Guided by three pacemakers the 38-year-old Russian took the lead right from the start. He then passed half way in 66:42 minutes, more than two minutes ahead of Edwin Yano (Kenya). At 25k – five kilometres earlier than planned – Shvetsov was all on his own. Pacemaker James Getanda (Kenya) felt uncomfortable in the cold conditions and was not able to help the leader at this decisive stage. “It is always easier to run with someone else than alone”, said Svetsov, who suffered muscle problems during the last 10k and slowed. “I tried, but I simply could not run faster any longer.”
“I think in normal weather conditions I would have run two to three minutes faster”, added Shvetsov, who will now go to the ING New York City Marathon with a different mission. “I am coaching a group of athletes. Among them are Ukrainian Oleksandr Kuzin (note: winner of Linz with 2:07:33) and Boston Marathon winner Lidiya Grigoryeva.”
At the finish in Dresden Shvetsov was more than four minutes ahead of his nearest rival Emmanuel Lagat (Kenya/2:20:46). Oleksandr Holovnytskyy (Ukraine) took third with 2:22:17. A number of Kenyan favourites had either dropped out of the race or finished a long way behind. But not only runners gave up on a miserable day. Conditions were so bad that elite race director Christoph Kopp stopped his motorcycle at half way and went for a bus instead to follow the race!
Three women led the race at half way: Kateryna Karmanenko (Ukraine), Remalda Kergyte (Lithuania) and Kuta (Poland) passed that point in 1:21:21. Kuta was the one who managed to run even faster during the second half. The 40 year-old mother of two clocked 2:41:54.
“Taking into account the weather I am happy with my time”, Kuta said. As last year Kergyte took second (2:45:14). Karmanenko was third with 2:46:50.
Jörg Wenig for the IAAF
