Warga and Davies stun the field to win STWM

Betona Warga became the first Ethiopian man to win a Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon on Sunday.

Warga, wearing a winter hat and a t-shirt under his singlet on a rainy yet unseasonably warm morning, took advantage of a slow second half to run to a 2:10:35 victory.

In the days leading up to Canada’s marquee fall marathon the weather was supposed to be a factor, with forecasts calling for rain, unseasonably warm temperatures and high winds. The rain and mild conditions arrived Sunday morning as promised, but the wind was not a factor.

A large lead pack, which included pre-race favourites Gilbert Yagon and John Kiprotich, went out very fast, oscillating between 2:06 and 2:07 pace. Organizers hoped that perhaps one of the two emerging Kenyan stars would break the course record of 2:07:58, set in 2010 by Kenneth Mungara.

Although the wind did not hamper the runners’ speed in the early stages, it seems as though the increasing temperature and high level of humidity played a definitive role after 21K.

In the most desolate stretch of the race the lead pack began to thin out, leaving Kiprotich, Yegon, Warga and fellow Ethiopian Botoru Tsegaye in a race of attrition out of Toronto’s Beaches community. Yegon quickly sputtered out of gas and was dropped by the remaining three just after the 35K mark. This left the two Ethiopians to work together against the lone Kenyan Kiprotich, forcing him to the front to do much of the heavy lifting as they raced towards the city centre finishing area.

With less than 2K to go there was chaos at the final fuelling table, and for some inexplicable reason Kiprotich actually reversed course after missing his bottle, going back to get it. This bizarre turn of events seemed to throw off Tsegaye, who hesitated momentarily and slowed his own pace. Warga, however, immediately took advantage and surged ahead, quickly putting a gap on the two and ran away with the victory.

Kiprotich was able to rebound and hold on to third place, but Tsegaye fell to fourth after Kenyan Kenneth Kimutai came out of no where in the last meters of the race to sneak in for second place.

The women’s race too was drama filled and offered a late surprise.

Top billed Agnes Kiprop seemed to have the race all but won when she made a decisive move at 16K, leaving Ethiopian Eyerusalem Kuma behind and running away with the two lead pacers.

Kiprop developed a huge gap of over two minutes on the nearest contender by the 30K mark and seemed quite comfortable tucked in behind her two pacers, with a smooth and even stride. But the veteran runner made a novice mistake and skipped early fuelling stations. The rising temperature and humidity as the rain died down seemed to then play a significant role in what was to happen next.

Kiprop faded quickly in the final 5K of the race, and New Zealander Mary Davies materialized as they weaved up Bay St. to the finish line. Davies, who lives and trains in Ottawa but retains New Zealand citizenship, had stated before the race that she was just hoping to break 2:30.

She did so in a big way, winning the race in a time of 2:28:56. Kiprop was forced to settle for a disappointing second place, after it looked like she had the race under her complete control. Ethiopian Radiya Adilo, who had been in the lead pack up until Kiprop made her move at 16K, took third place.

The most anticipated storyline of the day was certainly the Canadian elite women’s attempt at breaking the national marathon record. With the wind no longer an issue, Lanni Marchant and Krista DuChene set out with a fast first half, splitting the 21.1K in 1:13:39. This turned out to be an ambitious pace, well below the needed sub-2:28:36.

Davies also ran with Marchant and DuChene for much of the race before continuing on at the stronger pace to win the race. Marchant was forced out due to a lingering injury, which left DuChene to try to hang on for the record.

DuChene indicated after the race that her hip had been bothering her from the first few kilometres, and that the problem began to slow her pace in the second half. Nevertheless, DuChene just narrowly missed a PB, running 2:32:15 as the first Canadian female.

On the men’s side, Matt Loiselle of Windsor, Ont. was the top Canadian male, placing seventh overall. Loiselle’s time of 2:16:23 was slower than what he set out for, hoping that he would run a sub-2:15 in order to qualify for the world championship team that heads to Moscow next August.

Loiselle had been running with fellow Canadian Rob Watson. The native of London, Ont. had also been hoping to improve upon his 2:13 performance from Rotterdam earlier in the year. Watson, off pace at the half-way point in 1:14, did not finish the race.

Approximately 20,000 people participated in the 5K, half-marathon and full marathon at this year’s STWM. This year featured a new course that took runners through many of Toronto’s vibrant neighbourhoods. Despite the early rain, it was estimated that over 150,000 spectators lined the streets of the city to cheer on the participants.