Kosgei wins women’s title in marathon debut

Salome Kosgei required less than three hours to travel from chacteristically late to stunningly early.

Kosgei, a 29-year-old Kenyan, won the women's portion of yesterday's SunTrust Richmond Marathon in 2:40:51, the fastest time in six years and the third-fastest in the event's 32-year history. Her triumph, which occurred in her marathon debut, surprised, well, everyone.

"I didn't expect this. I didn't expect anything," said Kosgei, who defeated runner-up Divina Jepkogei of Kenya by 3½ minutes. "For sure, I didn't expect to win. Just finish well, that's all I wanted."

Kosgei's arrival at the finish line was considerably smoother than her arrival at the start. Thom Suddeth, the event's coordinator of elite athletes, said he had "no clue" that Kosgei intended to compete until he received a phone call Friday night informing him that three runners -- one of whom was Kosgei -- had arrived at the bus station.

"Apparently she does it all the time -- just shows up and runs," Suddeth said. Suddeth said Kosgei appeared "from out of nowhere. I mean, right out of the blue," prior to the most recent Ukrop's Monument Avenue 10K. She finished sixth in 34:23.

Kosgei's performance once yesterday's race began was all but seamless. She found a pace with which she was comfortable and consumed the first two-thirds of the 26.2-mile course with relentless efficiency. She said she was "afraid, a little bit," when she still had company at the 17-mile mark. "I wasn't sure" at that point. "I knew there was still a long way to go."

Consistency proved to be her most valuable ally. She gradually increased her pace over the next six miles, in the process forcing the lead pack to disintegrate. Then, around mile 23, she began to push.

"At that point, I still felt good. I still felt strong," she said. "I thought, 'Maybe I can finish this.'"

Her late surge crushed whatever slim hopes Jepkogei (2:44:25) and third-place finisher Ilona Barvanova of Russia (2:47.04) might have been nursing.

Kosgei, as candid as she is swift, used four words -- "a very big surprise" -- to describe her day. Suddeth agreed. Kosgei, he said, typically specializes in shorter races. She won last year's Veteran's Day 10K in Washington in 33:19, a course record.

Said Suddeth: "I asked her [on Friday] what time she thought she could run. She told me she didn't know. 'Maybe 2:50,' she said."

Former University of Richmond cross country and track athlete Emily Ward placed fourth in 2:58:48.

Kosgei's compensation included not only a crystal trophy but also a first-place check for $2,500.