DADO BECOMES SURPRISE CHAMPION IN NEW YORK CITY
By Chris Lotsbom
(c) 2011 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved. Used with permission.

(06-Nov) NEW YORK, NY -- A heart-pounding finish played out in Central Park here at the 42nd ING New York City Marathon, as Ethiopia's Firehiwot Dado caught Kenya's Mary Keitany with little more than a mile to go to earn her first World Marathon Majors victory in a personal best 2:23:15.

The women's race began with an early surge by Kenya's Mary Keitany, the world record holder in the half-marathon, who sped down the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge in the lead, stringing out the elite field very early on. Responding to the break, only a handful of competitors chose to tail Keitany; among those to take the risk were Kenya's Caroline Kilel, Ethiopians Werknesh Kidane, Firehiwot Dado and Buzunesh Deba.

Looking smooth and relaxed, the 29-year-old Keitany seemed to be coasting up and down the hills through Brooklyn.  Hitting 5-K in 16:04 and 10-K in 31:54, her lead swelled to over two minutes as she blazed through halfway in an unthinkable 1:07:56, faster even than Paula Radcliffe when she ran her absolute world best of 2:15:25 in London in 2003 on a much easier course.

Keitany's fluid form, with head tilted and braided hair bobbing, seemed to have changed following her descent of the Queensboro Bridge in to Manhattan. Turning onto First Avenue, her arms weren't pumping as hard, now tucked in close to her bib number.

Her lead was decreasing step by step; after having a 2:23 margin at mile 15, she ran a 5:35 mile on First Avenue, typically one of the faster stretches of the race. It was down to 2:14, and wouldn't increase any more.

The chase pack behind had separated, with Deba and Dado leaving Kidane and Kilel behind. It was now or never for the Ethiopian-duo.

"Once we saw her, we said let's catch her. And working together, we caught her," recalled Dado, 27, after the race.

Dado and Deba would come closer and closer as the miles passed. Adjacent to Central Park with nearly 5-K remaining, Keitany's lead had been cut to just over a minute. Once in the park, the Kenyan lost another 30 seconds. With a mile and a half to go, Deba and Dado were still working together, and had the top spot in sights. At that moment, Keitany glanced over and saw she suddenly had company. Surging, as if to have a second wind, Keitany wanted to stay in front. But her legs weren't the same, noting fatigue in her right leg that had been building throughout the day.

"That's why I lose a bit the last half. And that's why my colleagues caught me on the way," said the 29-year-old

Nearing Columbus Circle, Dado took the lead for the first time all day, and made the final break needed to win. Holding off a late charge by Deba, Dado crossed the line victorious in 2:23:15, with Deba right behind in 2:23:19. An exhausted Keitany was third in 2:23:38, the same position she finished here last year.

"Because [Keitany] had been running so fast from the very beginning I didn't imagine we'd catch her," said the champion, who won in the closest women's finish since 2004 and earned $170,000 in prize and bonus money. "I was very surprised and I was very happy that we were able to catch her."

Rounding out the top five were Ana Dulce Felix of Portugal (2:25:40 PB)and Kim Smith of New Zealand (2:25:46). The top American was Molly Pritz. Running her debut marathon, Pritz finished 12th in 2:31:52. A Bucknell graduate now training under Mark Hadley, Pritz plans to compete in the Olympic Trials this January.