Nyamongo Wins Cape Cod Marathon

By: Rich Maclone
Published: 11/03/10

Sammy Nyamongo thought that he would be in for a tough challenge on Sunday at the Cape Cod Marathon, but ended up able to run at a leisurely, for him, pace as he won the race by more than two full minutes on Sunday morning.

The Greely, Colorado, resident, who is originally from Kenya, broke away from the lead pack near mile six and ran unchallenged the rest of the way as he crossed the finish line in two hours, 28 minutes, and 56 seconds. Nyamongo, who had never been to the Cape before, said that the course set up well for him, although he said some of the hills in the middle of the race were a bit of a struggle. With last year’s champion, Joseph Ekuom, forced to withdraw around mile 15, his lead was safe all the way.

“I pushed a little bit around mile 10, to get a lead, and I felt good from there,” he said.

Nyamongo said that he would love to come back to the Cape next fall to defend his title.

Defending that championship won’t be easy, though, if Tom Davis of Newton has anything to say about it. The 23-year-old had never run a marathon before, and only came to the Cape out of obligation, since he had paid for the entry and didn’t want to see it go to waste. Injuries had been a concern for Davis throughout the last several years and his training for the race had not gone as smoothly as he had hoped it might.

Davis’s plans were not to race, but to simply run and see what kind of time he could garner. Little did he know that if he had really tried he would have challenged for the crown.

Despite his plan to “just run,” the Massachusetts native, who ran cross-country at the University of Richmond, which is where his injury issues began, took second overall with a time of 2:31:05. “This was by far the longest I’ve run ever, by far,” Davis said. “Since I’ve been injured (which occurred at Richmond) I haven’t really done anything...I was looking to come in here and look at it as a hard run, and run a six-minute (per mile) pace, but I was running 5:30s throughout and I had a 5:08 in there, and I felt fantastic, I was just running,” he said.

Davis might have won the title if not for a poor meal choice before the race. He said that he actually covered the course in about 2:27, which would have been at least a minute faster than Nyamongo, but he had to stop during the race to make a pit stop.

“Absolutely. I have not doubt that I can run 2:20 after today. I was just running, I wasn’t racing, and I had bathroom problems, which is embarrassing to say, but it’s true. I was stupid. I haven’t eaten oatmeal before running before and I did today, it was stupid,” he said.

The third place male finisher was Paul Reilly, 31, from Northbridge, who finished with a time of 2:33:07.

In the women’s race, Mary-Lynn Currier, 46, from Canton, Connecticut, came in first for her fourth Cape Cod Marathon win, and second in a row. Currier previously won the CCM in 2009, 1996, and 1997. She also came in second in 2008.

Currier’s time of 2:59:14 was almost three minutes slower than last year. According to Currier, “It’s getting tougher as I get older.” Currier was in the lead the entire race. She said that she had a great race on a great course and always looks forward to seeing Nobska Lighthouse, which she calls a “beacon of hope,” because she knows that she only has a few more miles to go once she crests the hill there.

The veteran runner earned her win after having taken fourth at the Hartford Marathon just three weeks before. In total, it was her 103rd marathon.

Helen Dinan, 30, of Bellingham was the second woman to cross the finish line with a time of 3:02:39. Seventeen seconds later, with a time of 3:02:56, Amanda Daws, 23, from Milford, Connecticut, placed third.

In the simultaneous Staples Marathon Relay CCAC Team 1 won the men’s race in a time of 2:27:39. The women’s winning relay team was Eliot Loungers Mimi’s Masters finishing in 2:51:32, while the mixed relay champion was GBTC Margaret’s Mixed Up Fish which clocked a time of 2:46:26.

In the men’s Master’s race Michael Slinskey, 41, from Hopewell Junction, New York, took first (4th overall male) in 2:33:10, followed by Keven O’Neil, 40, from North Kingston, Rhode Island, in 2:35:27 for second (5th overall male), and Sadik Tokgoz, 42, from Waltham, with 2:53:24 for third place (18th overall male).

The women’s Master’s race was won by Currier, 46. The second place was Jennifer C. Davis, 40, from Princeton, New Jersey, in 3:16:35 (10th overall female); and in third place Yukiko Oba, 44, from Weymouth, in 3:24:02 (16th overall female).

Top three in the men’s senior division were Steven B. Andrews, 51, from Etna, New Hampshire, in 2:51:48; Bill Knott, 52, from Brookline in 2:56:20; and Guy Gadomski, 54, from Kirtland, Ohio, in 3:06:24.

First women’s senior was Theresa Burst, 52, from Birmingham, Alabama, who finished in 3:36:53. Second place was Elizabeth K. Nelson, 56, from East Harwich in 3:52:38. Third women’s senior was Shauna Heisler, 59, from Salt Lake City, Utah, in 3:53:12.

In the men’s veteran’s division Hassan Haydar, 60, from Quincy finished first in 3:16:02. Second male veteran was Dale Heisler, 60, from Salt Lake City, Utah, in 3:29:06. Third was Joe McCarthy, 60, from Dorchester in 3:42:20.

The first place women’s veteran was Holly Vogel, 63, from Rochester in 4:25:26. Rosemary Rusin, 67, from Florence, Vermont, was the second veteran with a time of 5:02:16. Rusin holds the record for the most Cape Cod Marathons runs, having completed 24. Third women’s veteran was Karen Rogers, 60, from Clinton, Connecticut, in 5:25:16.

Top Cape and Islands finisher for the men was Paul Wagner, 26, from Woods Hole, who finished 31st overall with a time of 3:00:40. Top Cape and Islands finisher for women was Paula Healey, 29, from Pocasset, who ran in 3:31:03 and finished 133rd overall.

The Cape Cod Marathon is hosted by the Falmouth Track Club and supported by more than 800 volunteers from the community. This is Staples’ first year as sponsor of the Marathon Relay.

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