Deena Kastor toed the line in Philadelphia Sunday intent on breaking the masters world record in the half marathon. Instead, the 41-year-old Olympic bronze medalist and American marathon-record holder bettered four world masters marks.
Kastor crossed the finish line in 1:09:36, shaving 20 seconds off the half marathon mark set by Russia’s Irina Permitina in 2008. Along the way, she claimed the world masters titles in the 10-mile (52:41), 15K (49:03) and 20K (1:05:52). Her time also establishes a new American masters record in the half marathon, which Kastor set this spring.
“Having run faster than anyone in this age group is a good feeling,” Kastor said after the Philadelphia Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon.
Though Kastor was never once off pace for the record, she had to fight for it. “I felt the record slipping away at mile 11,” she said. “I had a side stitch and could hear my turnover was sloppy. I was glad I had contact with the leaders. They kept me focused on racing rather than on the pain.”
Kastor placed third overall and was the first American behind Aberu Kebede of Ethiopia, who won in 1:08:40, and Caroline Rotich of Kenya, who followed 41 seconds later in 1:09:21.
The accumulation of records continues a pattern for Kastor that started in 1986 when she set her first national record at age 13. Since then, over a professional career spanning nearly two decades, Kastor has set American records in every distance from 5K to the marathon. Her half marathon AR of 1:07:34 and her 2:19:36 marathon record still stand.
Kara Goucher, the other top American in the women’s race, took sixth in 1:11:40. Goucher has spent the past 18 months recovering from a broken metatarsal and a stress fracture in her sacrum and was easing back into competition. Her goal was to run controlled, which she (mostly) did.
“I got excited going through the city early on and went too fast for a few miles,” Goucher said. “It cost me, but it felt good to be back.”
Both Goucher and Kastor were using Sunday’s half marathon as part of their build up to the New York City Marathon on November 2. Goucher had hoped to run under 1:11 and said she was glad she had six more weeks to polish her fitness. Kastor put her marathon outlook at “pretty good.”
“Today just made me hungry to compete,” she said.
Kastor’s appetite was evident early on in the race. A small group of East Africans, including eventual winner Kebede, got the women off to a fast start, hitting a 1:07:45 pace through mile 3. Kastor—who smiled as the crowd chanted her name—took the lead after mile 5. The effort didn’t last. By 10K, she’d fallen back.
“During the first half I was torn between just going for the record and competing,” said Kastor. “It felt good to be in the game again. Much better than just clipping off repeats.”
As her pace slowed near the end, her friend and former training partner, Mike McKeeman—who paced Kastor during her ARs in the half and full marathon in 2006—told her she only had two more minutes to run.
“That really helped,” said Kastor. “I thought, OK, I can do anything for two minutes.”
Soaked with sweat and smiling wide, Kastor greeted the crowd at the finish line draped in an American flag.
Kastor is mum about whether the masters world or American record in the marathon is on her mind, though she indicated that making her fourth Olympic team in 2016 has strong appeal.
The men’s race unfolded in less dramatic fashion. Kenyan Bedan Karoki won in 59:22 followed by countrymen Cybrian Kotut and Geoffrey Bundi, who ran 59:58 and 1:01:25 respectively. The three ran shoulder to shoulder through 15K where Karoki surged and went unchallenged to the finish. Gabe Proctor, Kastor’s teammate in Mammoth Lakes, California, was the top American. He placed ninth in 1:03:04.
Related: A profile of Kastor from the October issue of Runner's World
