Runners complete story line

The Deseret Morning News/KJZZ-TV Marathon has been in the news plenty the past few months — first, how the 34th annual event was on its last legs because of declining participation, followed by the recent announcement that the 26.2-mile race is being reconsidered to return again next year.

So it was refreshing that Thursday's story lines focused on the runners themselves.

And there were plenty of storylines to choose from — a men's 2003 champion who triumphed in his first attempt at the notoriously steep course, a runner-up whose real marathon might have been the two-day bus journey to Utah, a women's repeat winner who was worried she might be mistaken for a very slow 10-kilometer runner and a wheelchair victor who asked to be held back by a volunteer.

All this in the supposed final chapter of the Marathon That Would Not Die.

Jonathan Ndambuki won the men's overall, clocking in at two hours, 24 minutes and 49 seconds, more than seven minutes ahead of runner-up Shingirai Badza (2:31.53). Official race results had Alexander Pachev (2:34.49) third; however, some at the finish line reported another apparent male marathon runner finished ahead of Pachev; however, the runner's entry number was among official results reviewed later Thursday.

Admitting that she ran to win rather than post a top-10 time, Salt Lake City's Michelle Simonaitis (3:04:49) won her second women's marathon in seven years, well ahead of Kerilyn Hatch (3:12.18) and Lorie Hutchison (3:15.58). Simontaitis has two of the top 10 all-time marks in Deseret News marathon history, including her 2:51:59 in 1997.

Based in Farmington, N.M., the 26-year-old Ndambuki is part of a strong contingent of Kenyan distance runners who live and train there — and who have found their way to dominate the Salt Lake races for several years now. He had run locally in the July 24th 10K twice before, finishing sixth in 1998 and fifth the following year.

A two-time winner of the Big Sur International Marathon, Ndambuki made his maiden trek Thursday on the Wasatch Front course a victorious one. And he spent most of the 26.2 miles out in front of the pack.

"When I slow down early, I sometimes develop cramps," said Ndambuki of his all-out-from-the-start strategy.

Badza was worried about his own physical discomfort Thursday after making his own cross-continent trek to run in Utah's Pioneer Day race. The Zimbabwe native arrived at 4:15 p.m. Wednesday — less than 13 hours before the 5 a.m. marathon start — after a 48-hour bus ride from his Toronto-area residence.

The 29-year-old had discovered Thursday's marathon last month while surfing the Internet, looking for a mid-summer distance race to enter. Saying he felt like his legs never really loosened up from the long bus ride, Badza vowed to return to Utah with a stronger showing.

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