Adere turns it on, flows to win
Constantina Tomescu-Dita was running fast, way too fast.
The Romanian, who has become a fan favorite at the LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon, went out at close to a world-record pace Sunday. She looked good in her blue headband and white arm warmers, eating up mileage on a chilly Chicago morning. She had people talking, but when your personal best is 2:21:30, your chances of running 2:15 aren't good, especially on a cold, windy day.
Sure enough, after leading by as much as 2 minutes, 10 seconds, Tomescu-Dita's legs were cooked by 20 miles and she was passed by Russian Galina Bogomolova and Ethiopian Berhane Adere as they turned from State onto 35th just past the 23-mile point.
From there, the women's race became a tactical track event as the agile Adere battled the piston-like Bogomolova. As they went up the Roosevelt Road hill just before the last turn, the long-legged Adere turned it on. She really didn't look tired. The Russian didn't quit and gave it her all right to the line, but it wasn't enough.
The lanky Adere posted a 2:20:42, the fourth-fastest women's finish in the 29 years the Chicago Marathon has been run. Only England's Paula Radcliffe (2:17:18 in 2002) and Kenya's Catherine Ndereba (2:18:47 in 2001 and 2:19:26 in 2002) have run faster in the Windy City. Bogomolova was a strong runner-up at 2:20:47, knocking 1:01 off her best time.
''My training was good,'' Adere said. ''I tried [to go with Tomescu-Dita] for one kilometer, and then she pushed it [to get away]. I think she was gone at 5K.'' But near the 20-mile mark on Halsted near Archer, ''I heard from the Russian coach that she was 1:23 ahead [and slowing down].''
It would have been hard for Tomescu-Dita to be speeding up. She went through the half-marathon in 1:08:05, hanging onto a pack of American men running in the 2:16 range.
''I was trying to run under 2:20,'' Tomescu-Dita said. ''I think now it was too fast. When I see the 1:08, I think, 'Maybe that's too fast.' You must feel good at 30K [to have a chance to win]. I died at 35K. When Adere and Bogomolova went by me, I couldn't keep the pace.''
That's for sure.
Australian Benita Johnson and Mexico's Madal Perez Carrillo also passed Tomescu-Dita, who might have been greedy after going under the world record for 20K two weeks ago in Hungary. Johnson got her first marathon podium finish in third in a personal-best 2:22:36, with Perez Carrillo coming home fourth in 2:22:59. Tomescu-Dita waltzed with the famed marathon wall as she dragged herself in fifth in 2:24:25.
''I died those last 2K,'' she said. ''I lost maybe two minutes.''
Adere, Bogomolova, Johnson and Perez Carrillo all set national records.
''It is very important for me to have the Russian national record,'' said Bogomolova, who also lost to Adere in April at London when they were fourth and fifth. ''Of course, I wanted to win, but I knew it would be difficult for me.''
''We ran an aggressive pace, but I wasn't afraid,'' said Johnson, who was close to a 2:20 pace early in the race in a pack that included Adere, Bogomolova, Johnson, Japan's Hiromi Ominami and Russia's Ludmila Petrova. Perez Carrillo joined up later as Petrova and Ominami dropped back.
The first American woman was Elva Dryer, who posted a strong 2:31:48 in her 26.2 debut to lead 25 women under the U.S. Olympic marathon trials standard of 2:47.
''When I came across that line, I thought instantly that I wanted to run another one -- with no wind, of course,'' Dyer said. ''I learned that the last 10K can be brutal. I do have some things to work on in terms of my training and preparation, but now I have the experience.''
American masters star Colleen De Reuck, a four-time Olympian, finished 13th overall with a 2:33:18.