NOVEMBER 1, 2013
WILL MEBRAHTOM KEFLEZIGHI WIN THE NEW YORK MARATHON?POSTED BY NICHOLAS THOMPSONAmerica has had two great male marathoners in the past decade. One is a blond man from the California mountains with an apple-pie name, Ryan Hall. No one in this country has run 26.2 miles faster. But Hall switched trainers a few years ago—leaving behind men of the flesh, declaring that he would rely on God instead—and he’s been injured more or less ever since. God tested Job by letting Satan give him boils all over his body. He’s testing Hall with plantar fasciitis. The New York City Marathon, which takes place this Sunday, was supposed to be Hall’s triumphant return. He dropped out two weeks ago.
The second marathoner is a refugee from Eritrea named Mebrahtom Keflezighi, who’s lived in the U.S. since he was twelve. He’s not as fast as Hall—his best time is 2:09:08, compared to Hall’s 2:04:58—but he’s better. Élite marathoners come in two forms: those who race the clock and those who race to win. Hall likes flat, fast courses, and he likes to run by himself, even when it means giving up a chance to come in first. Keflezighi is around the lead pack; he takes risks and enters races with lots of curves and hills that slow you down. He’s the kind of guy who likes to run New York, with its brutal bridges and preposterous start up the Verrazano, and win.
Keflezighi won a silver medal in the 2004 Olympics. In the 2008 Olympic trials, in Central Park, Hall crushed him. Keflezighi fractured his hip in the race; on the final lap, coming up the hills on the east side, he looked like he could have lost to Jared from Subway. It seemed like Keflezighi was done, but he came back. He won New York in 2009. In the Olympics, a year ago, he came in fourth. Last year, his plans to race New York were dashed when the race was cancelled after Hurricane Sandy. He attended Boston this past spring as a fan, cheeringrecreational runners on until just before the bombs exploded. The sound, he said, reminded him of his childhood. He’s thirty-eight now and maybe, perhaps, beginning to fade.
Keflezighi probably won’t win on Sunday. He’ll be competing against Geoffrey Mutai, the course record holder; Stephen Kiprotich, the Olympic champion; and Tsegaye Kebede, the man most likely to take the year’s World Marathon Majors championship. But Keflezighi has a shot. And he’ll surely be near the front for as long as he can hold on. If you see a tight pack of runners racing up Fourth Avenue, Bedford Avenue, or even the east side of Central Park, yell “Go Meb!” as loud as you can.
Photograph by Lucy Nicholson/Reuters
http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/sportingscene/2013/11/will-mebrahtom-keflezighi-win-the-new-york-marathon.html
Received on Sat Nov 02 2013 - 16:32:53 EDT