DULUTH - To everyone else, it looked like Yihunlish Bekele Delelecha was running all by herself in the final miles of Grandma's Marathon. To Delelecha, it didn't feel that way at all.
Warm support provides push for women's winner
Yihunlish Bekele Delelecha ignored the elements and won by nearly a minute.
June 19, 2011 at 4:35AM
An enthusiastic crowd, unbowed by Saturday's unpleasant weather, accompanied Delelecha's every step as she won the women's title in 2 hours, 30 minutes, 39 seconds. The 29-year-old Ethiopian pulled away from Everlyne Lagat at the 19-mile mark to win her second marathon in 38 days, after capturing the Pittsburgh Marathon on May 15. Lagat finished second in 2:31:32, and Dot McMahan led the American women with a third-place finish in 2:31:50.
Delelecha lives in Washington, D.C., and trains among other African runners in Albuquerque, N.M. She was afraid it was going to be too cold to run a good time Saturday, but the fans kept her plenty warm.
"All the people on the side of the road were cheering for me, and that really helped," Delelecha said through an interpreter. "I really wasn't alone.
"They made me feel comfortable. I was hoping I was going to win, and I'm happy I did."
This was Delelecha's first time running in Duluth. Last year's winner, Buzunesh Diba, told her about the race and suggested she give it a try.
She was among the leaders from the start in Two Harbors to the finish in Canal Park. Running up front with Lagat, they pulled so far away from the next group -- which included McMahan and Bloomington's Jen Houck -- that McMahan said she lost sight of them.
Delelecha said Friday that she felt good heading into Grandma's, despite winning what she described as a hard race in Pittsburgh. McMahan said she felt great. Between Miles 20 and 21, she passed several runners to move into third place. McMahan's time was more than three minutes faster than her previous personal record of 2:35:02 set at the 2008 Olympic Trials.
"I had a baby since the trials, and it was a long healing process," said McMahan, 34, of Rochester Hills, Mich. "The first couple miles were a little slower than I expected, but I was happy to feel so relaxed. This is a good day for me."
Delelecha collected $12,500 for her victory. Her time, the sixth-fastest in Grandma's history, was the best mark since Halina Karnatsevich won in 2:28:43 in 2005.
Houck was the first Minnesota woman across the line, placing fifth in a personal-record 2:33:01.
“They’re nice and everything,” Sam Darnold said about Packers fans, “but when you start to talk about football, they’re not shy about speaking their mind about who they think the better team is.”
