American athlete hopes to lift nation’s spirits

New York: Veteran athlete Meb Keflezighi wants to win this year’s New York City Marathon and dedicate victory to the people of the United States after making his comeback at Saturday’s UAE Healthy Kidney 10k here.

The Eritrea-born American, who is recovering from a calf injury, ran competitively for the first time since finishing fourth in the London 2012 Olympic Games marathon event last summer, claiming ninth place in the Central Park race in a time of 28 minutes 57 seconds.

That may be just under a minute slower than his road 10k best, but Keflezighi, who turned 38 last week, said he was ‘satisfied’ with his first race in nine months.

And now he hopes to build his form and fitness ahead of the New York City Marathon in November, which he wants to win in a bid to lift the city’s and nation’s spirits after the Boston Marathon bombings and Hurricane Sandy, which caused the cancellation of last year’s NYC Marathon.

“This was my first competitive race since the Olympics so I’m happy to be here. It was nice to get that competitive edge on you again,” the 2009 NYC Marathon winner told Gulf News after Saturday’s race.

“November 3rd I want to win it, I really do. Especially after what happened last year with Hurricane Sandy, and then at Boston, I want to win it for the people of the United States.

“I was scheduled to run in Boston. My heart goes out to the people affected by it. I was there just five minutes before the explosions — I watched the race there for four hours because I like to watch what other people do because we’re all a family. But I had an appointment an hour later so I left early and then five minutes later the explosions happened.”

This was Keflezighi’s third appearance at the UAE-backed Healthy Kidney 10k after finishing third in the inaugural race in 2005 and seventh last year. The 2004 Olympic marathon silver medallist was slightly disappointed he couldn’t challenge the front of the field — Kenya’s Leonard Patrick Komon won the race in 27:58 ahead of Uganda’s Moses Kipsiro and another Kenyan in Stephen Sambu (both 28:02) — but admitted it’s still early days in his comeback.

“It’s a good start for me. You always want to win but after the training I’ve been doing it gives me a good pointer about where I am and what I need to do over the summer and the fall,” the three-time USA cross country champion said.

“I ran 29:08 last year and to run faster a year later is good, especially as I turned 38 just five days ago. I’m happy with it — it’s not my best but for today I’m satisfied.

“Those guys [the top three] ran well and looked strong — 27:58 is solid here on this course. It’s very challenging with the hills and it was a little bit wet, so you have to be cautious because of the paint. It’s a fast time. It was very humid here.

“I’m healthy now, but I’ve not run more than 90 [training] miles — I’ve done 70-75, which isn’t a lot, I’d like to be at 100 or 120. It’s a work in progress.

“It’s always a thrill running here [New York]. It’s a treat and I’m happy to be here supporting the healthy kidney. I was scheduled to do the half-marathon but I was injured so I couldn’t. It’s a great honour competing here.”