(Female Winner)
EL PASO -- Running a marathon is a supreme test and a surpassing accomplishment under any circumstances.
For local physical therapist Larisa Pitchkolan, running 26.2 miles faster than any other woman at the fourth annual El Paso Marathon was the second most difficult thing she did Saturday morning.
"Having all my kids bouncing around" is harder, the 40-year-old mother of three said with a big smile, shortly after she untangled her 3-year-old's leg from a microphone cord during a television interview.
Not that Pitchkolan minded the hassle. That was part of what made her day so sweet.
"With all my family here, that's what makes it very special," said the veteran of many marathons who was running the Michelob Ultra El Paso Marathon for the first time. "I'm happy, very happy, doing it in front of a hometown crowd.
"I didn't want to put pressure on myself, I just wanted to see how it felt. The last four miles or so I felt it, but other than that it felt smooth. The end was work."
Pitchkolan, who turned in a time of 3:17:36 to win by almost four and a half minutes, ran the previous three El Paso Half-Marathons but hadn't yet run the full distance here.
She has run the Boston Marathon four times, ran a time of 3 hours and 5 minutes in October's Chicago Marathon and plans to run another in May in Cincinnati.
The women's side was wide open after three-time champion and sometime Pitchkolan training partner Angie Song-Rooney decided to run the half marathon this year (she won it).
"I owe a lot to her," said Pitchkolan, whose children are 8, 6 and 3 years old.
Pitchkolan had company for 20 miles, but finally surged away from former El Pasoan Crystal Chinea, who ran a 3:23:01 in her marathon debut.
The 20-year-old Montwood grad currently lives in Arlington, Texas, but still trains under her high school coach Dean Cardon.
"I was trying to keep up with her, but at Mile 20 she sped up and I couldn't keep up," Chinea said. "At every turn she kept getting further and further away.
"I just concentrated on holding my form and kept focusing on Boston qualification."
She did that with almost 18 minutes to spare, as the qualifying time for next month's Boston Marathon for her age group is 3:40:59. If next month is too soon a turnaround, all times from this year's El Paso Marathon also qualify runners for the 2011 Boston Marathon.
"In half-marathons, I always go out harder," Chinea said. "I was trying to keep a 7 minute (per mile) pace. I was breathing easy. My only problem was my calves -- at the end they were feeling like a ton."
The other winner Saturday was the race itself.
"This race keeps getting more and more participation for El Paso," Pitchkolan said. "There are a bunch of people here who are very fit. We have a bunch of great athletes in El Paso."
The race itself drew 2,175 runners, well over the goal of 2,000 and enough to excite race director Mike Coulter about next year.
"I think 3(000) is doable," he said.
Albuquerque's Thomas Weller won men's the half-marathon.
Bret Bloomquist may be reached at bbloomquist@elpasotimes.com; 546-6359
Juárez native gives up sizable lead, but still wins
Posted: 03/07/2010 11:42:56 PM MST
(Male Winner)
EL PASO -- For 22 miles, Edgar Trillo was making easy work of the fourth annual Michelob Ultra El Paso Marathon.
The Juárez native, who now lives in Colorado Springs, Colo., was out front, pulling away from the field and running relaxed.
As the first-time marathoner soon found out, he was a little too relaxed.
Unbeknownst to him, El Pasoan Richard Gonzalez was steadily reducing his sizable lead down to nothing.
In fact, less than nothing when Gonzalez surged into the lead near the finish line.
"I was taking it easy the last four miles and it almost cost me the race," Trillo said. "I had worked too hard. I had to numb the pain and go all out."
In the end, Trillo had saved enough energy to mount a final charge, retaking the lead late and beating the local firefighter Gonzalez to the line by two seconds -- 3:07:39 to 3:07:41.
This was easily the closest and most exciting of the four El Paso Marathons.
"The was the last thing I wanted," Trillo said of the possibility of losing a race he led almost throughout. "There were a lot of half marathon runners and I was not looking back.
"The last thing I know, somebody is right on my heels. ... I'm happy it's over."
In a way, Gonzalez was almost as surprised as Trillo to be in contention.
"Almost," said Gonzalez, a mountain biker running in his second El Paso Marathon and his second marathon ever. "He had a better kick at the end. He got me. ...
"People were telling me, 'You're in fourth.' Then I passed two people. At Mile 24 I saw the pace car and I couldn't believe it."
Gonzalez easily met his goal of qualifying for the next two Boston Marathons (3:10:59 was what he needed) and tentatively wants to run in the 2011 edition next April.
Trillo said the weather was almost ideal.
"Perfect other than the wind," he said. "I was fighting that the whole race."
He was also fighting his inexperience. His longest race before Saturday was a half-marathon.
"It was tough after Mile 18," he said. "I figured I had it (won) so I slowed down and took it easy."
By the narrowest of margins, that didn't end up costing him.
Bret Bloomquist may be reached at bbloomquist@elpasotimes.com; 546-6359