Tuesday, Dec. 5, 2006 | 7:10 a.m.
By the numbers
Race director Terry Collier tells us what it takes, in part, to host 25,000 runners for the New Las Vegas Marathon and Half Marathon:
3,500 volunteers
900,000 paper cups
41,000 gallons of water
31 water stations
9,500 gallons of Gatorade
475 portable toilets
10 trash containers
10-15 tons trash and clothing picked up along the course
4,053 barricades
16,000 servings of GU Energy Gel
18,000 Marathon Energy Bars
300 tubes of petroleum jelly
16,000 Mylar blankets
18,000 bananas
12,000 apple bites
16,000 units of frozen smoothies
185,000 safety pins
365 days to plan the 2006 New Las Vegas Marathon
Famous runners
Some famous marathon men (and women):
Pheidippides: The man who started it all. According to the myth, Pheidippides, an Athenian herald, was sent to Sparta to request help when the Persians landed at Marathon to fight the Greeks. He ran 150 miles in two days. He then ran another 34.5 kilometers (21.4 miles) from the battlefield near the town of Marathon to Athens, to announce the Greek victory in the Battle of Marathon. Then he died on the spot. Makes you wonder if a can of Red Bull might have changed history.
Bill Rodgers: A four-time winner of both the Boston and New York Marathons in the late 1970s, Rodgers co-authored "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Running." If the shoe fits, put it on and start running ... and running ... and running ...
Frank Shorter: Most people remember Shorter for winning the marathon gold medal in the 1972 Summer Olympics. I remember him for the startled look on his face when an imposter entered the stadium in front.
Haile Gebrselassie: The native of Ethiopia switched from the 10,000 meters to the half-marathon late in his career - and broke the world record by a whopping 21 seconds in Arizona. As a child growing up on a farm, Gebrselassie used to run 10 kilometers to school every morning. This led to a distinctive running style, with his left arm crooked as if holding schoolbooks.
Spiridon Louis: After becoming the first Olympic gold medalist in the marathon, the king of Greece offered Louis the gift of his choice. All Louis could think of was a donkey-drawn carriage to help him in his water-carrying business. He also received a lifetime of free shaves from an Athens barber shop. So he had that going for him.
Alberto Salazar: Born in Cuba, but raised in the United States, Salazar is best known for his performances in the New York City Marathon in the early 1980s. Earlier this year he ran New York at age 48, serving as a pacesetter for retired cyclist Lance Armstrong, the seven-time winner of the Tour de France.
Paul Kibii Tergat: Regarded as one of the pre-eminent distance runners of the past decade, along with his rival Gebrselassie, Tergat holds the marathon world record of 2:04:55, set in 2003 in Berlin.
Emil Zatopek: A long-distance running hero best known for winning three gold medals at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, Zatopek won gold in the 5000- and 10,000-meter runs and decided at the last minute to compete in the marathon for the first time - and won. Zatopek often wheezed and panted audibly while running, earning him the nickname of "The Czech Locomotive."
Joan Benoit Samuelson: The first woman to win Olympic gold in the marathon, in the 1984 Summer Games in Los Angeles.
Grete Waitz: The Norwegian runner won nine New York City marathons between 1978 and 1988. In Norway, she is a sporting legend. There is also a statue of her outside the Bislett Stadium in Oslo, and she also has been featured on a set of stamps.
Rosa Mota: The Portuguese runner was one of her country's foremost athletes, ranking alongside soccer legends such as Eusebio and Luis Figo. Her kick was every bit as strong as theirs.
Thomas Levy: That was the character portrayed by Dustin Hoffman in the 1976 thriller "Marathon Man." And no, it wasn't safe.
- Ron Kantowski
Kenyans dominate at distance
Once the Las Vegas Marathon became big time a year ago, with the Strip finally being included in the route and sponsors sweetening the prize-money pot, it was no coincidence that Kenyans flocked to the event or that one won.
Stephen Kiogora crossed the finish line first, in 2 hours, 11 minutes and 58 seconds.
Kenyans own 13 of the top 20 all-time marathon marks, and 32 of the top 50. Paul Tergat set the current record, of 2:04:55, in Berlin on Sept. 28, 2003. They've won 15 of the past 20 Boston Marathons, including 10 in a row from 1991-2000. Led by Catherine Ndereba's four, Kenyan women have won six of the past seven marathons in Boston.
In New York, men from Kenya have won six of the past 10 marathons and women three of the past six.
Kenyans typically hit their stride at 800 meters and thrive through 10,000 meters, which includes the 3,000-meter steeplechase.
The best runners in Kenya are members of the Kalenjin tribe, which lives in the Nandi District in the highlands of the Great Rift Valley. University of California, Berkeley anthropologist Vincent Sarich, the co-founder of the field of genetic anthropology, estimated that the average Kalenjin could outrun 90 percent of the rest of the human race.
"We are natural athletes," Kip Keino, who trounced American miler Jim Ryun in the 1,500 meters in the 1968 Olympics to introduce the world to Kenyan runners, told United Press International in 2000. "We feel that running is our blood."
Why are Kenyans so good?
Sports scientists, other experts and several world-class runners try to explain why Kenyans fare well at distance running:
- Rob Miech
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