ATHLETICS/DUBLIN CITY MARATHON: THERE COMES a point in the marathon where caution surrenders to ambition, and if you're one of the elite, it's not just about finishing but about winning. Deciding on that point is the tricky part, and Andriy Naumov judged it perfectly yesterday to win the 29th running of the Dublin Marathon.
For the 35-year-old from Ukraine, competing in Dublin for the first time, it was at 19 miles and the short climb up Clonskeagh Road, when he surged from the lead group and took the race by the proverbial scruff of the neck.
Britain's Tomas Abyu stayed with him for a short while, but Naumov surged again down the Stillorgan Road and didn't look back until the finish - which he reached smiling and waving in 2:11:06, the third-fastest time recorded in Dublin.
No one finishes a marathon without pain, of course, and Naumov limped onto the podium to collect his winner's cheque for €15,000. "The best win of my career," he said. "Feeling tired now, but the conditions were very good and at halfway I still felt very strong, so it was just a question of when to go for it. Maybe I could have run even faster."
Though he briefly lost touch with the lead group at 10 miles, Naumov was a class apart when the race truly began around the so-called "wall".
As Abyu faded to third, Kenya's Thomas Omwenga came through for second in 2:12:29, all of 83 seconds behind the winner.
While Kenyans still filled six of the top 10 places, they perhaps succumbed too soon to ambition, setting much of the early pace while Naumov lay in wait.
What a glorious day for distance running it was, the strong autumnal light beaming on the city, the sort of day Luke Kelly used to sing about.
The leaders didn't hang about, passing halfway in 65:40, and although there was a chilly breeze, all the winning times were impressive, particularly for Maria McCambridge, the leading Irishwoman, in 2:36:33, and thus the new national champion in her debut at the distance.
The overall women's victory went to Larissa Zousko of Russia after an immaculately judged run, her time of 2:29:55 just eight seconds clear of the long-time leader Kebebush Haile of Ethiopia.
Like Naumov, the woman from the Siberian capital of Novosibirsk earned herself a tidy €15,000.
The marathon entails countless hours of preparation, and such preparation clearly paid off for McCambridge, the freshest-looking of all crossing the finishing line. Her 2:36:33 made her the eighth-fastest Irish woman at the distance, and with nine Irish titles already to her name between track and country, the 32-year-old had every reason to be satisfied.
"Brilliant, and I really enjoyed it," said the Dubliner, who now lives in Donegal with her husband, coach and former Irish champion, Gary Crossan - who was eighth-best Irishman yesterday, clearly making them the best husband-and-wife finishers.
"My feet are on fire right now," she added, "but that was the only problem I had. I couldn't wait to get to Rathgar, because I knew all the family were there watching. That felt like a home turn.
"But then a lot of these roads I used to run on. I just wasn't expecting it to be as good as this.
"So I'll definitely go for another one in the spring now. There's still a lot of training I could do. I came here with 2:37 in mind, so there is more there.
"I really wanted to enjoy it, though, not have too-high expectations. But I think this is the event for me now, and I'm going to target a serious time in the next one. There is definitely a sub-2:35 in me."
Her time should also have qualified McCambridge for the World Championships in Berlin next summer, but Athletics Ireland has tightened the 2:43 standard to 2:35 - which doesn't make sense.
Clearly McCambridge has the potential to go faster, and given Zousko is 39, the Irishwoman obviously has time on her side as well.
Annette Kealy ran well to finish second Irishwoman, but was a long way back in 2:49:50, four seconds ahead of Raheny clubmate Barbara Sanchez.
The men's race for the national title was just as one-sided. Michael O'Connor of Galway dropped his main challenger, Brian MacMahon, shortly after halfway and arrived home in a personal best of 2:20:49, retaining his crown.
"I'm delighted to have won the national title again," said O'Connor, who is coached by a former Dublin winner, Jerry Kiernan.
"I was looking at 2:18 up until the last couple of miles, and then my legs just blew out on me. I passed a few Kenyans on the way in, and that always helps. It was a decent-enough time though, 2:20, so I'm very happy with that.
"The conditions were great: dry, not windy. Brian McMahon was going well with me, but after 15 or 16 miles I went away. I knew I was in great shape. I'd like to have gone under 2:20. But I'm getting arthritis in the feet now. Maybe it's time to go playing football with the young lad, I think. But maybe my wife will let me do one more."
No doubt O'Connor will be back in 2009 chasing the three-in-a-row. He had almost seven minutes to spare on MacMahon.
Patrick Cassidy of Glaslough was third Irishman in 2:27:55.
Armagh's Paul Hannon won the wheelchair category in 2:22:56, some four minutes clear of Spain's Joseph Villaret.
MEN: 1 A Naumov (Ukr) 2:11:06; 2 T Omwenga (Kenya) 2:12:29; 3 T Abyu (Brit) 2:13:06; 4 J Nguran (Ken) 2:13:59; 5 M Antonenko (Ukr) 2:14:40; 6 E Mutai (Ken) 2:15:54. Irish finishers (Incorporating AAI National Championships): 13 M O'Connor (Galway City Harriers) 2:20:19; 17 B MacMahon (Clonliffe) 2:27:26; 18 P Cassidy (Glaslough) 2:27:55.
WOMEN: 1 L Zousko (Rus) 2:29:55; 2 K Haile (Eth) 2:30:03; 3 H Letay Negash (Eth) 2: 31:13; 4 K Steysenko (Ukr). Irish finishers (Incorporating AAI National Championships): 6 M McCambridge (Dundrum South-Dublin) 2:36:33; 8 A Kealy (Raheny) 2:49:50; 9 B Sanchez (Raheny) 2:49:54.
WHEELCHAIR: 1 P Hannon (Ireland) 2:22:56; 2 J Villaret (Spain) 2:26:54; 3 O Gimenez (2:32:30).
