Chicago Marathon — Kiplimo Takes Charge, Mantz Scores AR

In just his second marathon, Jacob Kiplimo (drinking) ran with defending champ John Korir and others early, then broke the race open with 8M to run. (KEVIN MORRIS)

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, October 12 — It took only 2:02:23 for Jacob Kiplimo to demonstrate that he is making great progress in his transition up to 42K as he cruised to a comfortable win in the Windy City.

As if his 2:03:37 debut and 2nd-place finish last April in London left much doubt, the 24-year-old Ugandan secured his first win and became the 7th-fastest all-time, running the 11th-fastest time. More impressive was the ease with which Kiplimo moved down the road in a stride smoother than his more experienced rivals.

“Iâ€m so happy for the results I have today,†he beamed. “I came here to win the race and it is a big achievement for me.â€

Kenyans Amos Kipruto (2:03:54) and Alex Masai (2:04:37) finished 2nd and 3rd. American Conner Mantz crossed 6 seconds later, just missing the podium, but nailing the American Record with an even-paced 2:04:43.

For the 28-year-old BYU grad, “It was a great day! I have been eyeing this record for a very long time, maybe even when it was not a realistic goal. To actually hit the goal, it feels real good.â€

Itâ€s hard to believe that Kiplimo will celebrate just his 25th birthday in November as he has been world-class since competing in the 5000 at the â€16 Olympics.

Very accomplished on the track with 7:26.64/12:40.96/26:33.93 PRs, the â€21 Olympic bronze medalist in the 10,000 has taken a back seat to fellow Ugandan Joshua Cheptegei. He has fared better on the grass taking home three World Cross titles, and even better in the half-marathon where he has a stellar competitive record and ran a staggering 56:42 WR this past February in Barcelona.

Kiplimo embarked on his marathon career with a very strong showing in London where he chose not to play with fire as Sabastian Sawe surged away midrace.

In marathon No. 2, Kiplimo was more than ready to play with any fire including the scorching 8:17 opening 3K and 13:58 5K — sub-1:58 pace. Kiplimo ran next to defending champ John Korir, with Korirâ€s fellow Kenyans Kipruto, Timothy Kiplagat and Philemon Kiplimo ready to ramble.

Mantz also started fast, running in a large chase pack that split 14:23 — a ripe 2:01:23 tempo for starters.

Riding a light tailwind, the high pace continued over the northward opening 15K leg with the lead quintet splitting 42:41 — 2:00:04 pace. Mantz and the second group followed in 44:04 — 2:03:58 rhythm.

Tacking back into the wind, the pace slowed a tad and after the leaders crossed the halfway mat in 60:16, the final pacers stepped aside and the race was on — almost immediately.

Korir hit the front, throwing a serious pace punch in defense of his title with only Kiplimo and Kipruto able to give chase. Surging off WR pace, Korir looked to better last yearâ€s 2:02:44 winning clocking.

“I was in good shape, my body was feeling good, and I was ready to go,†he said.

Korir stretched his lead to 20m in the 23rd K before Kiplimo closed the gap and the two passed 25K together in 1:11:12. That 14:05 5K segment had dropped the cadence to 2:00:10.

Taking on fluids, Kiplimo took stock of his more experienced competitor. “To me, I knew that the guy was a little bit pushing too fast, so I decided to wait until 30km,†he said.

Korir made the next move, edging ahead in the 28th K only to give out as his stomach reacted badly to the surge. “My legs were good,†Korir lamented. “The only thing that let me down was my stomach and I had to slow†and eventually drop out.

Kiplimo sensed his competitorâ€s duress and moved quickly to open a 12-second lead at 30K.

“I knew that Chicago was going to be a strong field and coming here I was just preparing to run a good race. I knew that in the last 10K I can push the pace.â€

Running solo, the smooth-striding Ugandan strung together sub-2:54 Ks, but began to struggle with a 2:59 kilometer 35 after turning into the southernmost leg of the course and a freshening headwind.

Kiplimo hit 35K still at 2:00:25 pace, but the tempo slowed to over 3:00 Ks, now on schedule for a 2:01:02 finish at 38K. Content with just finishing off his first win Kiplimo sat up in his saddle and ran cautiously to the finish.

“I was not thinking about the World Record,†he admitted. “I was a little bit tired, so I was just keeping up, doing my best to finish the race well.â€

“This is my second marathon, and I think today I learned a lot about myself. In marathon you just need to be patient and itâ€s about how you prepare yourself, how you prepare your mind and your body. This is the second one and I know the third one will be different again. I will do more, better than this one.â€

Mantz fared better over his second half after crossing the midpoint in 62:19 still ensconced in a 13-man chase pack. After Geoffrey Kamworor pulled 10 seconds clear of the group at 35K, Mantz and Hofstra alum Masai teamed up for the stretch run.

The duo caught Kamworor and the fast-fading Philemon Kiplimo, then took off in a sprint for the final podium spot. Mantz conceded, “My final gear was a lot slower than his final gear.â€

Wesley Kiptoo celebrated his recent U.S. citizenship as the Iowa State grad finished 14th in 2:09:02, followed by Ryan Ford 15th at 2:09:37, Galen Rupp 16th in 2:09:41 and Andrew Colley 17th in 2:09:43.

The 39-year-old Rupp was “happy just to be out racing again.†The â€17 Chicago champ added, “I still have something in me.â€

CHICAGO MENâ€S RESULTS

1. Jacob Kiplimo (Uga) 2:02:23 (7, 11 W) (13:58, 14:27 [28:25], 14:16 [42:41], 14:25 [57:06], 14:06 [1:11:12], 14:19 [1:25:31], 14:22 [1:39:53], 15:17 [1:55:10], 7:13) (1:00:16/1:02:07);

2. Amos Kipruto (Ken) 2:03:54; 3. Alex Masai (Ken) 2:04:37;

4. Conner Mantz (US) 2:04:43 AR (old AR—2:05:38 Khalid Khannouchi [NBal] â€02) (14:23, 14:57 [29:20], 14:44 [44:04], 14:56 [59:00], 14:40 [1:13:40], 14:44 [1:28:24], 14:51 [1:43:15], 14:57 [1:58:12], 6:31) (1:02:19/1:02:24);

5. Mohamed Esa (Eth) 2:04:49; 6. Seifu Tura (Eth) 2:05:17; 7. Geoffrey Kamworor (Ken) 2:05:31; 8. Philemon Kiplimo (Ken) 2:06:14; 9. Rory Linkletter (Can) 2:06:49; 10. Bashir Abdi (Bel) 2:07:08; 11. Zouhair Talbi (Mor) 2:07:27; 12. Timothy Kiplagat (Ken) 2:07:42; 13. Daniel Ebenyo (Ken) 2:07:52; 14. Wesley Kiptoo (US) 2:09:02;

15. Ryan Ford (US) 2:09:37; 16. Galen Rupp (US) 2:09:41; 17. Andrew Colley (US) 2:09:43; 18. Aidan Troutner (US) 2:10:23; 19. CJ Albertson (US) 2:10:38; 20. Colin Mickow (US) 2:11:24; 21. Haftu Knight (US) 2:11:39; 22. Hiroto Inoue (Jpn) 2:12:26; 23. Afewerki Zeru (US) 2:13:23; 24. Cody Sedbrook (US) 2:15:53; 25. Casey Clinger (US) 2:16:05;… dnf—John Korir (Ken).

Sieg Lindstrom is Track & Field News‘s Editor. He fell in love with the sport as a high school distance runner, and has covered 9 editions of the Olympics and 16 outdoor World Championships. In a feverish effort to brush up his résumé before he was hired, he also attended the â€84 Olympics and â€87 Worlds as a fan.

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