Sunday,
December 10, 2006
By BRUCE McLELLAN
Associate
Sports Editor bruce.mclellan@htimes.com
Kenyan Chirlee
finds pain, prize in initial marathon experience
Joseph Chirlee
learned to run in the Rift Valley of western
"Ups
and downs," he said.
But nothing in his hometown
of Eldoret prepared him for his first marathon.
Conquering the 26.2-mile
distance was much harder than conquering the field in Saturday's Rocket City
Marathon, which he did by a dominating margin of 2 minutes, 38 seconds over
runner-up Kevin Hill of Nashville.
"The last two miles was
not mine," Chirlee, 26, said after the race that
started with the temperature near 20. "It was very hard. I did not know
whether I would finish. I was just running.
"I was not in my head
the last two miles."
Even if he felt disoriented,
Chirlee - all of 5-foot-4 and 110 pounds - still
finished first in 2 hours, 23 minutes, 32 seconds. His blue shorts, red long
sleeves underneath a white singlet and yellow shoes that looked like spinning
lemon drops had long been out of the other contenders' sight.
"When you finish and
win, it's joyous for you," he said.
Janet Cherobon,
also running her first marathon and originally from Kapsabet,
Kenya, but now living in Norcross, Ga., won the women's division in 2:51:47.
The final miles were a grind
for all the top finishers, perhaps because their bodies had to use extra energy
just to stay warm on a cold, clear morning.
"About 13 or 14 miles,
I started noticing my hamstrings feeling a little bit tight," said
third-place finisher DeWayne Miner, 35, of
"There was no thought of picking it up."
Miner, Chirlee and
Hill were part of a five-man pack that grabbed the lead in the first three
miles and also included eventual fifth-place finisher Justin Gillette and
fourth-place Benjamin Kibui Rangu.
Shortly after the pack
passed through the 8-mile mark, Chirlee and Rangu - also a native of
"The pace was very
slow," he said. "so I had to go to push for
the pace."
Hill, 29, a pediatric
cardiologist in a training program at
"He's in a different
league from the rest of us," Hill said. "When he pushed ahead, he
opened up 20 seconds on us in the space of a mile. You're comparing one of the
best runners in the world with a bunch of guys who are pretty good but not in
the same class as him."
Hill's runner-up finish was
the second straight for his family. His brother Garick, who didn't compete in the
"It's been good to
us," Kevin Hill said.
First prize for Chirlee was $1,000. Second paid $750, with third worth $500
and fourth and fifth
each worth $250.