New Delhi, Oct 12 (PTI) Kenya’s Alex Matata, who clinched the men’s title in the Vedanta Delhi Half Marathon on Sunday, said he kept pushing himself throughout the race to bring joy to his brother, who could not travel with him due to illness.
Matata, who finished runner-up here last year, ran a perfectly-timed race to cross the line in 59:50:00 seconds and pocket USD 27,000 for his efforts.
“The celebration… I do it for myself and my brother. I feel my brother was representing me here. He (brother) was unwell, so I though ‘let me push myself to my level best and see what I can achieve’,” the 27-year-old told PTI Videos.
He left behind Ethiopia’s Boyelign Teshager (1:00:22 seconds) and compatriot James Kipkogei (1:00:25 seconds) to seal victory with a sub-60 minute timing.
The Kenyan, who had recorded his personal best time of 59:20:00 seconds in the Ras Al Khaimah Half Marathon in UAE earlier this year added that his blazing run was aided by less humidity compared to last year.
“It was a nice experience, I knew the course well so I told myself ‘let me push, let me push till the end’ and I did it systematically to win the race.
“This time it’s quite nice because there was not much humidity like last year. Last year, I had some pressure but today I had no such pressure,” said Matata.
Asked if he had set his sights on a Commonwealth Games gold medal next year in Glasgow, the champion runner said he would skip the showpiece.
“My target is not to run the Commonwealth (Games) for now. I am preparing for the World Cross Country (Championships) next year (in Florida),” said Matata as he collected the winner’s cheque of USD 27,000.
It was too hot: Rengeruk
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While Matata felt the humidity was manageable, Ethiopia’s Lilian Rengeruk, who won the women’s race in 1:07.20 seconds, said the conditions made it tough to get a better timing. In a fiercely-contested race, the Ethiopian duo of Melal Siyoum Biratu (1:07:21 seconds) and Mulat Tekle (1:07:29 seconds) finished second and third respectively.
Rengeruk, the reigning Prague half marathon champion and winner of the Bengaluru World 10K crown last year, said, “The humidity… it was too hot. I had to hold myself so that I do not (exhaust myself),” said the Ethiopian, whose best this season has been 1:05:27 seconds in the Generali Prague Half Marathon in Praha in April.
The 28-year-old former World Cross Country Championships bronze medallist she has not yet decided on the events she would compete in the remaining part of the year.
“I don’t have any plans right now. I am going back to Kenya, will sit down with my coach and discuss everything about what we follow and how we train.”