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Krista DuChene wins masters race at Berlin Marathon

DuChene was 12th overall and first masters woman today in her fastest race in four years

Canada’s Krista DuChene had a very strong run on Sunday morning in Berlin. The 2018 Boston third-place finisher came up with a performance of 2:32:27 for 12th place and the first masters woman in a competitive field.

Scotiabank Ottawa Marathon 2019. Photo: Maxine Gravina

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DuChene said that she was coming into today’s race well prepared. DuChene achieved the World Championship marathon standard of 2:37:00 at the 2018 Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon. There she ran a 2:36:46 for 10th place and put herself in the running for the 2019 championship.

Pictured: Krista DuChene. Photo: Maxine Gravina

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While DuChene admits that making the team was a long shot (nine Canadian women achieved marathon standard, more than any other running event, and no more than three could go), she still needed to be prepared in case she was named. “There was a very slight chance I might race at the World Championships in Doha, so it made sense to pick Berlin and make the end of September my fall race weekend. Additionally, that weekend was ideal because of my commitment to coach my daughter’s hockey team.” Sunday’s race in Berlin was just 48 hours after the women’s world championship marathon.

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But DuChene’s plan paid off. Her time on Sunday morning was her fastest marathon result in four years. The 42-year-old marathoner hasn’t broken 2:34 since her 2:29:38 from Rotterdam in 2015. The runner said post-race that she’s pleased with her time. “At this point in my career, I’m grateful for every marathon I can finish standing up. Everyone who comes to Berlin expects to conditions to be perfect. The conditions weren’t perfect today. But in all of the 19 marathons that I’ve done, the only day that was perfect was when I ran 2:28 in Toronto.”

DuChene says that the first half of her race was perfect. “I knew it would be tight to try and hit Olympic standard (2:29:30). In the first half I was right on pace, but in the second half I was riding the line between running hard and blowing up. It was windy, the roads were a little slippery and it was humid. These aren’t excuses, they’re just facts. Since Rio, everything in my running career has been icing on the cake. Right now I’m still enjoying running and when it stops being fun I’m reassess my goals.”

Ashete Bekere of Ethiopia ran a personal best 2:20:14 to win today’s marathon, Mare Dibaba, also of Ethiopia, finished eight seconds behind Bekere for second place, in 2:20:22, and Sally Chepyego of Kenya was third in an almost two-minute personal best, in 2:21:06.

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