20 FEBUARY 2009: RAK HALF MARATHON, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

For the third consecutive year in its short life the Ras Al Khaimah Half Marathon produced some astoundingly fast performances which leap straight to the top of the world half marathon rankings. A world record and world bests en route were only denied by unseasonably strong winds. Packed elite fields on this pancake flat course promised great things, but the wind refused to abate and while brave running in both men's and women's races produced breathtakingly quick times, world records remained just out of reach. Deriba Merga passed 5km in 13:41 and 10km in 27:42 but the headwind worsened the effects of a slightly over-ambitious opening 5km, for which Merga paid in the final quarter of the race. He had continually surged ahead of Patrick Makau after 10km but the Kenyan had repeatedly pegged him back. Into the headwind betweem 16-18km, Makau closed the gap and eased past, piling on the pressure over the last 3km to such effect that Wilson Kipsang Kiprotich, never far adrift, passed Merga as well to grab second. Storming home in 58:52, the crowds around the finish were left wondering what might have been had the wind eased. Kipsang was seven seconds down in 58:59 and a tired looking Merga, only five weeks past his debut Marathon, loped home in 59:18. He is overdue for a rest, but plans to run Boston in just eight weeks' time. Merga missed Haile Gebrselassie's 2005 world best for 15km by just seven seconds (41:29 to 41:22) while Patrick Makau roared past 20km in 55:38, against Wanjiru's 55:31 during his world record for the half marathon

The women's race looked like following the tactical pattern of the last two years with a slow opening 5km of 16:12 holding a pack of fifteen athletes together. At 10km (32:14) the pack was down to ten, but a quartet comprising Dire Tune, Asefelech Mergia Abebu Gelan and last year's world leader Philes Ongori flew through the next 5km in 15:39 (15km: 47:53).
Dire Tune ran the next 5km in 15:49 to go clear and held on to win in a new personal best by almost four minutes. Mergia took second a full 30 seconds behind, although she too was 29 seconds faster than ever before, while Ongori in third also broached new territory with 1:07:50, another personal best, this time by 7 seconds. Five men broke the one hour barrier, and ten women broke 70 minutes.

MEN:
1 Patrick MAKAU ------------------KEN 0:58:52
2 Wilson K KIPROTICH -----------KEN 0:58:59
3 Deriba MERGA-------------------ETH 0:59:18
4 Wilson CHEBET------------------KEN 0:59:32
5 Matthew KOECH-----------------KEN 0:59:54
6 Joseph MAREGU-----------------KEN 1:00:02
7 Charles MUNYEKI---------------KEN 1:00:11
8 Tujuba MEGERSA--------------- ETH 1:00:16
9 Chele DECHASA----------------- ETH 1:00:19
10 Abel KIRUI---------------------KEN 1:00:27

WOMEN:

1 Dire TUNE ----------------------ETH 1:07:18

2 Aselefech MERGIA--------------ETH 1:07:48

3 Philes ONGORI -----------------KEN 1:07:50

4 Abebu GELAN ------------------ETH 1:07:57

5 Lydia CHEROMEI---------------KEN 1:08:14

6 Amane GOBENA ----------------ETH 1:08:16

7 Salina KOSGEI-------------------KEN 1:09:06

8 Rose KOSGEI--------------------KEN 1:09:14

9 Teyiba ERKESSO----------------ETH 1:09:37

10 Julia M MURAGA---------------KEN 1:09:40