Races — Rock N Roll Seattle Marathon debuts as city’s largest run

SEATTLE — On a day that dawned with clear blue skies, the inaugural Rock ‘n’ Roll Seattle Marathon & Half- Marathon lived up to the hype, kicking off the Seafair season and debuting as Seattle’s largest running event. On Saturday, 25,000 runners from all 50 states and 14 countries participated in the races, which ran from Tukwila to downtown Seattle.

Some of the days top performances came from Kenya’s Elija Nyabuti, who set a new Washington state record for the half-marathon with a time of 1 hour, 5 minutes, 14 seconds, and from American Michelle Suszek who won the women’s marathon in 2:38:37, a full four minutes faster than her previous best.

“I wanted to run my own race today and wanted to break the 2:40 mark,” said Suszek, who entered the race just a week ago and recently started working with new coach Lyle Knudson after a disappointing finish in April’s Country Music Marathon.

The top five finishers in the women’s marathon were Americans. Two-time Chicago Marathon champion Berhane Adere of Ethiopia won the women’s half-marathon in 1:11:19.

In the men’s marathon, Kenyan Peter Omae won in 2:18:17. American Peter Gilmore finished second (2:18:52). Both men pushed the pace after a 10K split of 31:37, breaking away from the lead pack at mile 10. The duo ran shoulder-to-shoulder for the next 10 miles, before Omae pulled away with the lead and the win.

“The first opponent every marathoner has is the distance and the course itself,” said Toni Reavis, who commentated during the event’s live webcast on Competitor.com. “Because of the challenging nature of the Seattle course the runners had to make sure they handled the distance before trying to outrun their competition.”

Although this was a debut event for the new Seattle Rock N Roll Marathon, the event sold out its 25,000 slots a full two months before its June 27 running. The total number of finishers to cross the line in the parking lot of Quest Field was over 20,000.

Next year’s Rock ‘n’ Roll Seattle Marathon is set for June 26, 2010.

Inaugural Rock ‘n’ Roll Seattle Marathon
Seattle, WA, Saturday, June 27, 2009

Men’s Elite Results — Marathon
1) Peter Omae, Kenya, 2:18:17
2) Peter Gilmore, USA, 2:18:52
3) David Kiprop Yego, Kenya, 2:19:23

Women’s Elite Results — Marathon
1) Michele Suszek, USA, 2:38:37
2) Leah Thorvilson, USA, 2:38:49
3) Christine Glockenmeie, USA, 2:56:02

Men’s Elite Results — Half-Marathon
1) Elija Nyabuti, Kenya, 1:05:14*
2) Pat Rizzo, USA, 1:05:34
3) Rik Ceulemans, Belgium, 1:06:01
*Washington state record (previous, 1:05:43, Dave Mora (USA), 1994)

Women’s Elite Results — Half-Marathon
1) Berhane Adere, Ethiopia, 1:11:19
2) Nuta Olaru, Romania, 1:11:43
3) Isley Gonzalez, USA, 1:20:14

Source: Competitor Group
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