Marathon Weekend (Mar 21): NYC Half, LA, Lisbon Half, Seoul, Rome

Bestsellers

Garmin FR 410
Garmin FR 405CX
MOTOACTV
Garmin FR 405
Nike+ GPS
Garmin FR 305
Garmin FR 405
Garmin FR 910XT

Sharebar

Marathons galore on the upcoming weekend with some of the most popular marathons and half marathons from around the world dishing out some real treat for the marathon fans and runners alike. Here’s what you can look up to for the weekend of Mar 20-21, 2010:

New York City (NYC) Half Marathon (Mar 21)

This is just the 5th edition of the race, but give that this is NYC, no wonder the event has set new benchmarks. This year is expected to witness about 15,000 runners at the starting line, and in another first, the marathon has shifted from its summer dates to a new spring date, weather would definitely be a plus on this one.

Men’s field is led by Haile Gebreselassie, who still is the 3rd fastest ever at this distance, with a 58:55 from 2006. and giving him a challenge will be Brazil’s Marilson Gomes Dos Santos, a former two-time NYC marathon winner. NYC 2009 marathon winner Meb Keflezighi was supposed to start but backed out few days back due to an injury. Ryan Hall probably has his priorities elsewhere (Boston, Apr 2010). Abdi Abdirahman will be heading the US field with Anthony Famiglietti and Josh Rohatinsky, but whether they are threat material at this level remains to be seen.

Women’s field will see Deena Kastor of USA and London 2009 runner up Mara Yamauchi of Great Britain fight it out for the title. For both of them, this would be a great tune-up and test before the London Marathon in April.

LA Marathon (Mar 21)

Defending champion Wesley Korir of Kenya will be heading the men’s field at Los Angeles, and will be the out-an-out favorite to win this race. Giving him company will be Richard Limo of Kenya (2:06.45 PB), and 2009 LA Marathon runner-up Tariku Jufar of Ethiopia. This race is setting new records too, with an expected 25,000 runners expected to start, an impressive figure probably exceeded only by New York and Chicago in the US, and topping the Boston and Marine Corps marathon fields as well.

In the women’s field, Russians will again be looking at dominating this event. The last 5 marathons at LA have been won by runners from Russia. Silvia Skvortsova (PB 2:26:24) Russia and Ethiopia’s Ashu Kasim are the women to watch.

Lisbon Half Marathon (Mar 21)

The 20th edition of the popular European marathon will see more than 30,000 runners taking part, a new record. Lisbon is a super fast course, with Paul Tergat’s 2000 time of 59:05 yet to be beaten here. 2009 had Martin Lel (59:56) and Kara Goucher (1:08:30) winning the mens and womens races. This year, Zersenay Tadesay of Eritria, a four time World Half Marathon champion will be leading the challenge. Other key aspirants for the title would be Jaouad Gharib of Morocco and the in form Kenyan Sammy Kitwara. Both Tadese and Kitwara have sub 59 minutes personal bests, so a world record attempt is surely on here.

Seoul International Marathon (Feb 21)

This will be the 81st edition of the Dong-A Seoul Marathon. I had actually registered for this race as a qualifying event for Comrades Marathon in May but decided to skip after qualifying at Mumbai. Last year saw a field of 20,000 runners taking part. Kenyan runners usually dominate the mens race and this year is expected to be no different, with organizers getting 10 Kenyan runners for pace setting and trying to break the course record of 2:07:06 from 2004.

Rome Marathon (Mar 21)

A visual delight awaits runners at the picturesque Maratona di Roma, or the Rome Marathon. Landmarks such as Saint Peter’s Basilica, the Trevi Fountain, Piazza Navona, and the Spanish Steps await the runners, and running here also involves going through narrow streets in the old part of the city. Last year, Benjamin Keptoo of Kenya started as a pace setter, but he liked it so much, he went on to win the race in 2:07:17! About 11,000 runners expected to start the marathon.