Ryan Hall, Catherine Ndereba win Philadelphia Distance Run

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Ryan Hall, Catherine Ndereba win Philadelphia Distance Run



Sun Sep 20, 2:49 PM

By The Associated Press


PHILADELPHIA - Ryan Hall outduelled three Kenyan runners on Sunday to become the first American-born runner to win the Philadelphia Distance Run since 1986.

The top-ranked U.S. marathoner broke away from Sammy Ndereba, Benjamin Limo and Valentine Orare late in the 21.1-kilometre race and hit the finish line in one hour one minute 52 seconds.

The California-based Hall fell short of breaking his American record of 59:43, but said it was a good tuneup for the New York City Marathon on Nov. 1.

Catherine Ndereba, the sister of Sammy Ndereba, won her seventh women's title but first since 2002. She finished in 1:09.43 to beat compatriot Irene Limika by 3 seconds.

Mark Curp was the last American to win the men's race.

"At about the 12-mile (20-kilometre) mark, I put in a surge and decided I was going to press as hard as I could," said Hall, who was the top American finisher (10th) at the Olympic marathon in Beijing. "After the first couple miles it was obvious there wasn't going to be a record today. I need practice winning races. It didn't matter if it was a 60-minute race or a 62-minute race."

About 14,000 runners participated in the race under conditions that were close to optimal, with the temperature about 15 C at the starting line and relatively low humidity.

"It was pretty special to win here in Philadelphia," Hall said. "There were people on the course chanting 'USA!' That added some excitement to the race."

Ndereba, who trains in nearby West Chester, Pa., for part of the year, was all smiles after crossing the finish line. The 37-year-old calls Philadelphia her "second home" and was helped along by many cheering fans.

"My goal was to break 1:10 and I did it," she said. "It's a home crowd. I've been here almost 15 years. The people cheered and that gave me the spirit to keep on."

Ndereba first won the PDR in 1996 and then took home five straight titles between 1998 and 2002.