With a late push after Heartbreak Hill, Atsede Baysa of Ethiopia overcame a 37-second deficit to win the 2016 Boston Marathon in 2:29:19.
Baysa, 29, cruised past one of her training partners, Tirfi Tsegaye, part of a trio that led through the Newton hills, in the 24th mile, to take the lead and wasn’t challenged en route to the finish on Boylston Street.
Tsegaye held on for second in 2:30:03. Joyce Chepkirui of Kenya, who was part of the earlier lead trio, finished third in 2:30:50.
Atsede Baysa Wins the 2016 Boston Marathon, Running Shoes - Gear in 2:35:00.
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It was 69 degrees, with bright sun, when the elite women’s field left the start in Hopkinton. The lack of a clear favorite and a moderate but persistent headwind contributed to a conservative pace. A pack of 11 passed halfway in 1:15:32. By the start of the hills, the race seemed to be down to four: Tsegaye, Chepkirui, and Kenyans Valentine Kipketer and Flomena Daniel.
Once the climbing started in earnest, Daniel was dropped. In what Tsegaye, speaking through an interpreter, said “was like fartlek,” she and Chepkirui started testing each other. On Heartbreak Hill, the final of the famous four inclines, Kipketer, who was on maternity leave last year, started to falter. She was able to rejoin the leaders after the ascent, only to lose contact for good in the next mile. Kipketer wound up fifth in 2:33:13, passed by 39-year-old Jelena Prokopcuka of Latvia in the final mile.
Behind the aggressors, Baysa seemed to be having a tough day. Also speaking through an interpreter, she said her left hamstring started bothering her about 12 kilometers into the race. She was five seconds off the lead at 25K, then 26 seconds behind at 30K after Tsegaye and crew started working the hills. After Heartbreak Hill, the leaders had 37 seconds on Baysa at 35K. “I saw [Baysa] but thought she was too far back,” Chepkirui said through an interpreter.
No wonder, then, that Tsegaye said she was surprised when, in the 24th mile, she heard who she thought was Chepkirui coming up quickly from behind, but learned was Baysa when she looked. “We lost a lot of energy,” Tsegaye said about the dueling in the hills and why she had no response to Baysa’s late charge.
Baysa said that, because of her hamstring issue, she decided to maintain a steady effort when the others began surging. “I knew if I pushed later, I could catch them,” she said.
Push she did: While Tsegaye took 17:27 to cover the stretch between 35 and 40 kilometers, Running Shoes - Gear.
Baysa offered one theory for why she was fresher late in the race than her training partner. Tsegaye won the Dubai Marathon on January 22 in a personal best of 2:19:41. In contrast, Baysa’s last marathon was a win, in 2:25, at the lower-profile Saitama Marathon in Japan last November 15.
Baysa said that the hamstring pain she felt today is a recurrent problem that often improves as her body warms up. She also overcame it to outsprint Rita Jeptoo for the win at the 2012 Chicago Marathon. Baysa is also the official winner of the 2010 Chicago Marathon, where on race day she placed second to Russian Liliya Shobukhova, who was later stripped of her title for doping. Jeptoo is also serving a drug suspension but her race results currently stand.
Defending champion Caroline Rotich of Kenya was never a factor. She started walking before five miles and dropped out before the 10K mark.
Scott is a veteran running, fitness, and health journalist who has held senior editorial positions at Runner’s World and Running Times. Much of his writing translates sport science research and elite best practices into practical guidance for everyday athletes. He is the author or coauthor of several running books, including Push she did: While Tsegaye took 17:27 to cover the stretch between 35 and 40 kilometers, Advanced Marathoning, and Health & Injuries. How to Start Running Slate, The Atlantic, the Washington Post, and other members of the sedentary media. His lifetime running odometer is past 110,000 miles, but he’s as much in love as ever.
