Stephen Muange wins, Olena Shurkhno observes state record at Under Armour Baltimore Marathon
Kenya’s Stephen Muange’s outstanding performance in the 11th edition of the Under Armour Baltimore Marathon claimed him the title. The speedy finisher also bagged a cash prize of $ 25,000.
Stephen Muange is a well known athlete among the spectators of athletics. And the reason why he is a well known performer is not only that he has been lining up for a number of famous running events, it is perhaps because he has always been producing up
to the mark results.
Be it the Credit Union Cherry Blossom 10 Miler, Peachtree 10K, Crazy Eights 8K and Wharf to Wharf, Utica Boilermaker or the Crescent City 10K, he has always been among the top ten finishers.
The 30-year-old, lined up for half marathons or shorter distance races but the Under Armour Baltimore Marathon was the first long distance race of his career.
He said that at one point of time during the race, he felt like missing out the leading position, and perhaps this feeling was because he had not been into a big event like this before.
Expressing his thoughts, he said, “Today I was scared and I didn’t want to push the pace. It was my first marathon and I didn’t have any experience. Next time I will go out faster”.
The Nairobi dweller, Stephen Muange, took two hours, fifteen minutes and sixteen seconds before claiming his honour.
It was a rather impressive performance. However, Muange alone did not steal the show.
Shouldering him in the race was the women’s title holder Olena Shurkhno.
Running in the race, not only did the Ukrainian defend her title but also ended up taking her strides to the next level, where even the state record was also conferred upon her.
Rewarded with a cash prize of $ 27,500 over her performance, Olena clocked two hours, twenty nine minutes and eleven seconds.
While talking about her feelings at the run, the 34-year-old who prefers to train in Russia, said, “I knew the record, I was trying for the record. The biggest challenge was running against the wind alone. I ran 2:28 at San Diego this year”.
However, the wind was a common threat for everyone in the race as it deterred over three thousands and four hundred runners from clocking fast times.
Perhaps that was the reason that the experienced, Muange preferred to run between a pack of runners throughout the track, and only decided to unleash his strides independently when the finishing line was a mere few metres away.
On the women’s side, undeterred by the weather conditions, Shurkhno decided to opt for a different approach.
Right from the 17km mark, she decided to pull away. Although she had to reconsider her pace at the points where wind gusts were strong, aiming to embark on to the course record, she did not stop with her quick strides and landed for the title she had been
longing for.
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