By Clay Shaw
PHILADELPHIA, PA—Tadesse Yae of Ethiopia managed this effort perfectly to win the Philadelphia Marathon, held November 18, 2018, in 2:14:47. Yae a resident of New York City, had finished the NYC Marathon, just two weeks prior in 2:13:57 to place 12th overall and first among NYRR members. Yae ran comfortably the entire race, letting others lead until the final miles. Serkalem Abrha, an Ethiopian who is based in Albuquerque, NM led the women from the start and won in a new course record of 2:32:53.
As a photographer covering the event, I was moved by the sheer joy of the eleven runners who qualified for the USA Olympic Marathon Trials in Atlanta in 2020.
While Ethiopian runners took the podium spots among the men in Philadelphia, fourth place finisher Juris Silenieks of Allison Park, PA took fourth in 2:17:37. (I had him pose with Meb for a photo).
Matthew Herzig of Philadelphia finished sixth in the marathon in 2:18:36, as the only other man to qualify for the US Olympic Marathon Trials.
Anna Weber of Indianapolis ran in second place for the entire race, and finished in 2:40:12. Defending champ Sarah Kiptoo of Kenya and Santa Fe, NM was third in 2:42:42. After Weber, came eight more USA women under the 2:45:00 qualification standard. The happy runners were as follows: Margaret VIdo of Philadelphia (2:42:50), Bailey Drewes of Ithaca, NY (2:42:59), Katie Rodden of Ardmore (2:43:10), Alexandra Bernardi of New York City (2:43:43), Kayla Brown of Edwardsville, IL (2:43:57), Kaitlin Frei of Philadelphia (2:44:14), Michelle Langan of Cary, NC (2:44:39), and Gabrielle Russo of East Islip, NY (2:44:52). Russo had to push to the limit and made the cutoff by eight seconds. Congratulations to all OQ marathoners. Carly Shea of Lewisburg PA (home of RG) was first Masters and 15th overall in 2:49:19.
Top 20 Men
- 2:14:47 Tadesse Yae ETHIOPIA
- 2:14:54 Birhanu Dare ETHIOPIA
- 2:17:09 Diriba Yigezu ETHIOPIA
- 2:17:37 Juris Silenieks PA
- 2:17:56 Nelson Oyugi KENYA
- 2:18:36 Matthew Herzig PA
- 2:20:26 Enock Birir KENYA
- 2:20:49 Boniface Kongin KENYA
- 2:20:57 Sam Morse NY
- 2:22:33 Paul Matuszak PA
- 2:22:57 Joshua Hibbs PA
- 2:23:31 Philip Mburu KENYA
- 2:25:15 Michael Roda (42) NY
- 2:25:37 Matt Cheney NC
- 2:25:53 Ross MacAndrew RI
- 2:26:00 Jeffrey Costen CANADA
- 2:26:34 Jacob Andrews NY
- 2:29:12 Jesse Armijo NM
- 2:29:14 David Bedoya (41) MA
- 2:29:35 Robert Norcross MA
Top 20 Women
- 2:32:53 Serkalem Anrha ETHIOPIA
- 2:40:12 Anna Weber IN
- 2:42:42 Sarah Kiptoo KENYA
- 2:42:50 Margaret Vido PA
- 2:42:59 Bailey Drewes NY
- 2:43:10 Katie Rodden PA
- 2:43:43 Alexandra Bernardi NY
- 2:43:57 Kayla Brown IL
- 2:44:14 Kaitlin Frei PA
- 2:44:39 Michelle Langan NC
- 2:44:52 Gabrielle Russo NY
- 2:45:28 Kathryn Potter NY
- 2:45:37 Stephanie Knast PA
- 2:47:27 Rachael Brewer IL
- 2:49:19 Carly Shea (40) PA
- 2:49:28 Kinjal Parikh PA
- 2:49:56 Maura Carroll VA
- 2:50:14 Marissa Martz RI
- 2:50:50 Sara Baugh VA
- 2:51:06 Gabrielle Wheeler ME
Categories: Race Coverage