Champions

Kirwa, Reilly, are 1999 Steamtown Champions

“Outlined against a blue, gray October sky the Four Horseman rode again. In dramatic lore they are known as famine, pestilence, destruction and death. These are only aliases. Their real names are….

…Kirwa, Cherogony, Kipkoskei and Cherop?

Legendary sports writer Grantland Rice may have been talking about the Notre Dame backfield of 1924 when he penned these legendary words but he could have just as easily been talking about the four Kenyans who made such a major impact on the 1999 Steamtown Marathon. Two of the Kenyans smashed the course record and only outstanding performances by Americans Dan Gough and Jeff Morganti prevented a top-four Kenyan sweep.

A steady rain peppered the field for most of the race but did little to slow down Jacob Kirwa and Simon Cherogony. The training partners finished one – two and traded the lead several times before Kirwa finally broke away near mile 25. He accelerated to a 2:17:40 finish and captured the $2,000 grand prize.

Cherogony did most of the hard work. He took the lead at mile one and hammered down the early hills at a 2:11 pace. Most of the runners in the elite pack held back, choosing to take it easy on the downhills. Only Jeff Morganti of Manilus, New York went after Cherogony, hanging 20 yards back all the way to Carbondale. Morganti would later finish 4^th in 2:22:05, missing the Olympic Trials “B” standard my a mere five seconds. No doubt soggy socks played an impact.

After seven miles, Kirwa was almost two minutes behind Cherogony. “Some places I couldn’t even see him,” said Kirwa about his countryman. “I didn’t know if I could catch him.”

When Kirwa finally caught Cherogony at the 17-mile mark in Mellow Park, the duel began. Kirwa surged ahead but Cherogony retook the lead just past mile 20. The two ran stride for stride until the water stop at Andy Gavin’s when Kirwa finally took control.

Cherogony finished 2^nd in 2:18:26. Haddonfield, New Jersey’s Dan Gough ran strong the whole way finishing 3^rd in 2:18:56 and earning a spot in the Trials. John Kipkoskei and Kibet Cherop took 5^th and 6^th.

On the women’s side 32-year old Lisa Reilly of Orwigsburg, PA unseated three-time defending champion Charlene Lyford of Greene, New York to capture the championship and $2,000 prize in 2:50:26. Reilly was in 6^th place at mile nine but made steady progress and slowly passed the lead women. She finally caught and passed Lyford on “Breakaway Hill” at the 15 mile mark in Archbald Borough. The hill has now decided championships in three of the first four Steamtowns.

Although happy to claim the title, Reilly was disappointed that she missed the 2:50:00 Olympic Trials qualifying time “The rain definitely slowed me down,” she said. My feet were soaked. There was nothing I could do.”

Austrailian Jackie Tarrant, a 27-year-old veterinary intern at Cornell University, finished second in just her second marathon (2:51:03) while Lyford, on the mend from a recent hip injury, took third in 2:51:30. Lyford still lays claim to the course record and four of the 10 fastest women’s times in Steamtown’s history.

The men’s Masters title was claimed by West Virginia’s Glenn Baldwin, 41, in 2:36:32.

Donna Hurley, 42, of Spruce Head, Maine was the women’s Masters champ finishing in 3:02:20. She won $300 for her efforts. Barbara Bellows, 45, of Ithaca, New York, actually finished ahead of Hurley in 2:59:17 and won $400 by finishing seventh overall in the women’s division. Because Steamtown does not duplicate awards, Hurley was awarded the Masters title. Bellows will however be listed as having posted the fastest women’s Masters time in Steamtown history.

Miguel Such won the wheelchair division in 1:44:15. Rob Loughlin finished second.