Vanegas and Solominskaia Grab Big Sur International Marathon TitlesBy Mark Winitz, Running USA wire
CARMEL, Calif.--(April 30, 2000)--The landscape of the Big Sur coastline,
where mountainous land meets deep blue ocean in a rocky and majestic
transition, is awesomely beautiful. And the terrain is so rugged and
challenging that early Spanish explorers initially gave it up as
unnegotiable
and uninhabitable. Neither Ecuador's Esterban Vanegas nor Russia's
Natalia
Solominskaia let the hilly 26.2-mile course from Big Sur to Carmel deter
them. The pair won overall titles on a picture-perfect California
morning,
topping the field of about 2,660 marathon starters.
Vanegas, 29, who lives with his American wife in Alma, Michigan, overcame
two
opponents with better running credentials to record a convincing win in 2
hours, 27 minutes, and 6 seconds. Russian Sergey Nochevny and pre-race
favorite John Kipkoskei, a Kenyan 2:09 marathoner, accompanied Vanegas in
a
three-man front pack that stuck together for much of the race. At
halfway,
after negotiating the two-mile, 500-foot climb over Hurricane Point and
back
down, they were still together. And over the roller coaster hills that
followed, they worked and waited together. When the tide turned, a
bothersome
pain developed in Nochevny's side and Kipkoskei's hamstring tightened up.
That's when Vanegas struck at about 20 miles.
"I was feeling very good and I was strong each time the other guys
pushed,"
Vanegas said. "At 20 miles I took advantage of a good downhill to push
ahead.
When they did not respond, my experience in the marathon told me that I
was
strongest today and that they probably would not come back. I am happy.
My
best marathon is 2:24, so on this course my effort was very good."
Nochevny, who ran a personal best of 2:16:01 at last year's Moscow
Marathon,
placed second, almost six minutes behind the winner. "Initially Kipkoskei
went with Vanegas, but then I passed him at about 40 kilometers, and he
wasn't quite walking," Nochevny commented. "I could tell he had some
problem." Kipkoskei held on for third place.
Solominskaia, 38, who lives and trains in the deep forests of Siberia
near
the Mongolian border, is (like Vanegas) not well known in the U.S. In
Europe,
however, she won half marathon and marathon races last year, and was the
1995
Russian national marathon champion. Solominskaia's 2:46:53 women's win
here
was well-earned. She overcame a challenge from fellow Russian Elvira
Kolpakova, the 27-year-old '99 European 100-kilometer champion who also
holds
a 2:34 marathon best. Speaking through an interpreter, Solominskaia said
she
pulled away from Kolpakova and spread a gap about four miles from the
finish
line.
Although Solominskaia remarked that her biggest challenge was the wind,
according to many runners the headwinds that often greet them on this
coastal
course were largely absent this year. Kolpakova placed second in 2:49:53.
Kari Distefano, 41, of Telluride, CO was third (2:55:02) and also earned
laurels as first female master. Jean-Marc Seguy (residence not listed)
was
first master man in 2:44:23.
Neither the remarkable men's course record (2:16:39, 1987) held by
six-time
men's winner Brad Hawthorne, nor the women's standard (2:41:34, 1996) set
by
Svetlana Vasiyeva were in jeopardy.
In the accompanying NewsChannel 46 5K race, which served as a road race
championship for the Pacific Association of USA Track & Field, Ben
Turman,
30, of Kensington, CA and Katy Spink, 25, of Palo Alto, CA were crowned
champions. Turman's winning time of 15:08 and Spink's of 17:35 were also
registered on a hilly but scenic course.
The Big Sur International Marathon is rated the number one marathon in
North
America by "The Ultimate Guide to Marathons". Its excellent race
organization, spectacular scenery, entertainment and hospitality is
respected
worldwide. In addition to the marathon and 5K, Big Sur offers a marathon
relay and power walks at two distances, attracting a total of about
10,000
participants. The 3,700 openings for this year's marathon race sold out
on
