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Boston Marathon 2014 – The Preview
by John Elliott

Dennis Kimetto Owns the Best in the Field? photo credit: Victah Sailer/PhotoRun

The Men’s Race
Deep and Fast Field
Press Releases or articles for the eliete fields at top marathons often start with the raw numbers and Boston has these: Five men who have run sub-2:05, two additional who have run sub-2:06 and three more who have run sub-2:07. It wasn’t long ago that sub-2:10 was some sort of standard and the Boston field will have sixteen men who have beaten that standard. Among that crew and a few who are just off that standard are seven Americans who have run 2:12 or better including all of the best American men who will be running a marathon this year. The official list of “elite” starters includes twenty-six runners altogether.

The Africans
The top marathoners in the world hail from Kenya and Ethiopia – that is just a fact. We could argue whether it is in the genes, because of the culture of running, because much of those countries is at altitude – but it doesn’t really matter. Dominating the field are the Kenyans and Ethiopians – the race being an especial favorite of Kenyan runenrs who grew up watching the Kenyan greats running and winning the Boston marathon. Top in the field – and the man we would count as our favorite is Dennis Kimmetto. Kimetto has run only three marathons, but the AVERAGE of those three marathons is 2:04:57, better than the personal best (on a record-worthy course) of all but one of his competitors. Kimetto was runner-up in his first martahon and then won his next two in course-record fashion, his most recent run (2:03:45) being only 22 seconds off the world record. New to running, Kimetto seems to have nowhere to go but up. Defending chamipon Desisa Lelisa won the Dubai Marathon in 2013 and followed that up with a win at the Boston Marathon and a Silver Medal at the World Championships Marathon in Moscow – at 24, Desisa is also one who has potential to continue to excel. Rounding out the top Africans and our top picks are Wilson Chebet who has won the last three Amsterdam Marathons in times under 2:06 and Gebre Gebremariam, a past New York City Marathon champion and past Boston Marathon third place finisher – and others.

The Americans
The big story for the 2014 Boston Marathon is the race’s ability to bring in ALL of the top Americans currently running the marathon – and as much as the overall race, we will look forward to seeing how the Americans stack up against each other to give us an idea of where we will be heading into the 2016 Olympics. Ryan Hall holds the best American times in the marathon, but has had middling success at Boston (third in 2009 and fourth in 2010 and 2011). Meb Keflezehi, the 2004 Olympic Silver Medalist, was the top American at the 2012 Olympic Trials and was fourth at the 20112 Olympics – at 38 he is the oldest in the elite field, but is always tough. Abdi Abdirahman made the 2012 Olympic team in the marathon, although we aren’t completely convinced that his heart is in the marathon distance. Brett Gotcher, at 29, ran a personal best at Houston in 2010 and was near the top of the list to make the 2012 Olympic team, but missed by two spots. Jason Hartmann has proven to be tough on the Boston course, finishing as top American and fourth overall in both 2012 and 2013. Nick Arciniaga was crowned USA Marathon Champion with his win at the 2013 Championships race. And Jeffrey Eggleston is coming off a strong run at the 2013 World Championships Marathon. And while we don’t believe any of these Americans will win the Boston Marathon, we look forward to see how they compete in the international field.

The Women’s Race
As with the men’s race, the women’s race will feature top African runners and virtually all of the top Americans. Again, we look to the Africans for the overall podium finishers, but look to see how the Americans can stack up. That said, two Americans have the potential to surprise: Shalane Flanagan and Desiree Linden (nee DAvila).

The Africans
Rita Jeptoo was a surprise winner of the Boston Marathon in 2006 and finished third in 2008. Jeptoo then disappeared from the running scene to have a child and a break – and in late 2011 returned to running better than she ever had with breakthrough performances in Chicago, a repeat win at Boston in 2013 and a personal best sub-2:20 win at the 2013 Chicago Marathon. With her continued improvement and comeback experience, we believe that Jeptoo will be the one to beat. Mare Dibaba holds the fastest personal best in the field and was the winner of the Xiamen Marathon in China in January in a course record. Some would wonder if a marathon in January and another in April is a poor recipe for success, but the Ethiopian runners have a good history of doubling at tough January/April marathons…perhaps Dibaba can continue this tradition. Jemima Sumgong followed Jeptoo to a runner-up spot in the 2013 Chicago Marathon and will be a strong contender for a podium spot. Sharon Cherop and Caroline Kilel as past Boston Marathon winners will also be competitive.

The Americans
No American has won the Boston Marathon since 1985 and sadly it will continue to be a longshot. Shalane Flanagan, the American record holder at 10,000m has the raw talent to compete and was fourth at Boston in 2013 – but her 2:26:07 personal best at the marathon puts her back in the field. A slow start and first miles might let Flanagan prevail. Desiree Linden (nee Davila) is the other top American contender. She ran to the runner-up spot at Boston in 2011, but was later sidelined by injuries. Her 2:29:15 at the 2013 Berlin Marathon shows that she is getting back in shape, and on Marathon Monday we will see how far she has come. Amy Hastings, Serena Burla and Adriana Nelson are among the few American women who have run sub-2:29 that are now running marathons – and we look forward to seeing how they fare to give us a glimpse of who may be ready to compete to represent the USA at the 2016 Olympics.

Elite Lineup:

Male Elite Athletes
Athlete	Country	Bib	Personal Best	Boston
Lelisa Desisa (24)	ETH	1	2:04:45, Dubai, 2013	History
Dennis Kimetto (30)	KEN	3	2:03:45, Chicago, 2013	History
Gebre Gebremariam (29)	ETH	4	2:04:53, Boston, 2011	History
Markos Geneti (30)	ETH	5	2:04:54, Dubai, 2012	History
Ryan Hall (31)	USA	6	2:04:58, Boston, 2011	History
Wilson Chebet (28)	KEN	7	2:05:27, Rotterdam, 2011	History
Tilahun Regassa (24)	ETH	8	2:05:27, Chicago, 2012	History
Eric Ndiema (21)	KEN	10	2:06:07, Amsterdam, 2011	History
Frankline Chepkwony (29)	KEN	11	2:06:11, Eindhoven, 2012	History
Micah Kogo (27)	KEN	12	2:06:56, Chicago, 2013	History
Adil Annani (33)	MOR	14	2:07:43, London, 2012	History
Paul Lonyangata (21)	KEN	15	2:07:44, Xiamen, 2013	History
Joel Kimurer (26)	KEN	16	2:08:18, Valencia, 2012	History
Lusapho April (31)	RSA	17	2:08:32, Hannover, 2013	History
Abdi Abdirahman (37)	USA	18	2:08:56, Chicago, 2006	History
Mebrahtom Keflezighi (38)	USA	19	2:09:08, 2012 U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Men’s Marathon, 2012	History
Brett Gotcher (29)	USA	20	2:10:36, Houston, 2010	History
Jason Hartmann (34)	USA	21	2:11:06, Chicago, 2010	History
Nicholas Arciniaga (30)	USA	22	2:11:30, Houston, 2011	History
Vitaliy Shafar (32)	UKR	23	2:16:36, London Olympics, 2012	History
Jeffrey Eggleston (29)	USA	24	2:12:03, Chicago, 2012	History
Mathew Bowen (31)	KEN	25	2:10:57, Rennes 2013	History
Moses Mosop (28)	KEN		2:03:06, Boston, 2011	History
Shami Dawud (29)	ETH		2:05:42, Dubai, 2012	History
Dathan Ritzenhein (31)	USA		2:07:47, Chicago, 2012	History
Jeffrey Hunt (31)	AUS		2:11:00, Beppu, 2010	History
Female Elite Athletes
Athlete	Country	Bib	Personal Best	Boston
Rita Jeptoo (33)	KEN	1	2:19:57, Chicago, 2013	History
Mare Dibaba (24)	ETH	2	2:19:52, Dubai, 2012	History
Jemima Jelagat Sumgong (29)	KEN	3	2:20:48, Chicago, 2013	History
Meseret Hailu (23)	ETH	4	2:21:09, Amsterdam, 2012	History
Eunice Kirwa (28)	KEN	5	2:21:41, Amsterdam, 2012	History
Sharon Cherop (30)	KEN	6	2:22:28, Berlin, 2013	History
Caroline Kilel (33)	KEN	7	2:22:34, Frankfurt, 2013	History
Desiree Linden (30)	USA	8	2:22:38, Xiamen, 2008	History
Flomena Chepchichir (32)	KEN	9	2:23:00, Frankfurt, 2013	History
Buzunesh Deba (26)	ETH	10	2:23:19, New York City, 2011	History
Tatiana Petrova Arkhipova (31)	RUS	11	2:23:29, London Olympics, 2012	History
Aleksandra Duliba (26)	BEL	12	2:23:44, Chicago, 2013	History
Yeshi Esayias (28)	ETH	14	2:24:06, Frankfurt, 2013	History
Philes Ongori (27)	KEN	15	2:24:20, Rotterdam, 2011	History
Belaynesh Oljira (23)	ETH	16	2:25:01, Dubai, 2014	History
Shalane Flanagan (32)	USA	17	2:25:38, Tokyo, 2009	History
Yolanda Caballero (32)	COL	18	2:26:17, Nagoya, 2013	History
Amy Hastings (30)	USA	19	2:27:03, Ad-Dawhah, 2006	History
Lanni Marchant (30)	CAN	20	2:28:00, Toronto, 2013	History
Serena Burla (31)	USA	21	2:28:01, Istanbul, 2011	History
Noriko Higuchi (28)	JPN	22	2:28:49, Carpi, 2006	History
Adriana Nelson (34)	USA	23	2:28:52, London, 2008	History
Adriana Aparecida Da Silva (32)	BRA	24	2:29:17, New York City, 2010	History
Meselech Melkamu (28)	ETH	25	2:21:01, Frankfurt, 2012	History