Burka surprise win: Kenyans take position 2-5 as Ethiopian excels in LA

By GEORGE ORIDO in Los Angeles

Focused training, good weather and past records failed to propel Kenyan runners to the top of the 2014 Los Angeles marathon on Sunday.

Lani Rutto finished second behind Ethiopia’s Gebo Burka, registering a personal best of 2:10:18.

Rutto managed 2:10:48 after challenging Burka in the last 5km but the Ethiopian went into a tactical zigzag mode that sealed the fate for Kenyans who completed a clean 2-3-4-5 positions.

After a brilliant start defending champion Erick Mose slowed at 22km after completing a descent.

“I had a sudden sharp back pain and it became difficult to stay with the leading pack,” said Mose at an elite runners’ press conference after the marathon.

There were high hopes for the Kenyan to defend the title he won last year and add to the unique gender challenge where men and women compete for the cross line.

Head start

In the Los Angeles marathon, women have a head start for 15 minutes and men competing in the same course have an opportunity to overtake the female colleague and win a US Dollars 50,000 bonus.

On Sunday, Ethiopian Amane Gobena crossed first and won both the women race and the gender challenge with a total prize of $75,000.

“I am very happy to win this race as everything fell in plan,” said a jovial Gobena through a translator.

The 31-year-old managed to finish in 2:27:37, a major improvement after finishing a distant sixth in Dubai in January.

The Ethiopian team were running in a group and it was clear there was a great deal of teamwork.

Finish building

“I urged them on and I didn’t want to break away from the rest of my compatriots,” said Gobena who intends to complete building a house with her money.

This paid off with Tigist Tufa who finished second in 2:28:04 and American Lauren Kleppin finishing third in a personal best of 2:28:48.

Gobena had led at 21km and together with Tufa broke from the pack after 29km showing clear signs of their intention to win.

But in a short while Gobena started pulling away in a move that gave her first marathon win since 2011.

Mose said he did not understand why the men were slow yet the weather was better than last year with temperatures at 21 degrees celsius.

“The weather today was much better than last year. I had a great training in Mexico and came here last week to acclamitise,” said Mose who was happy he could finish third under the circumstances.

Rutto said the fact that there were four Kenyans in the top five finishes was a major statement that the country still has the race in their hands and promised a major shock next year. He is now eyeing the Berlin marathon in September.     — [e-mail]