Boen edges Chebet in thrilling finish to Prairie Fire Marathon (+video)
Crossing the Lewis Street Bridge, marking the final 500 feet of the 26.2-mile Prairie Fire Marathon, Stanley Boen and Peter Chebet were running side-by-side.
One hundred feet left, still neck-and-neck. Fifty feet left and they were still locked in a foot race.
This whole time, however, in each runner’s mind, the race was already decided. Boen knew his conditioning would allow him to prevail and Chebet knew a left leg injury would prevent him from holding off his training partner.
Sure enough, in the final 10 feet, Boen surged past Chebet to finish a step ahead of Chebet to win the Prairie Fire Marathon. Both officially finished with the same time — 2 hours, 20 minutes, 47 seconds — with Boen winning by tenths of a second.
“I knew I was going to win because I’m very good in the last 50 meters,” Boen said. “It was fantastic for me because I’m very comfortable with that part of the race. Very confident and very comfortable.”
It was one of the fastest races in Kansas history, as Boen and Chebet finished with the fifth- and sixth-fastest times all-time and the race in total produced 5 of the fastest 13 times ever.
But the finish is what had race director Bob Hanson the most excited. The atmosphere around the finish line was electric, as the crowd cheered on the most entertaining finish in the event’s six-year history.
“You’ve probably never seen a finish that close in a marathon,” Hanson said. “I know I never have. You didn’t know who was going to win 15 feet out. They were shoulder to shoulder. It was just a great, great finish.”
At the mile-22 marker, the race featured a pack of Boen, Chebet, Abraham Chelanga, and Joseph Amenya all running together. Chebet had already begun to feel his left leg give him problems and worried that it may be too much to overcome.
When Chebet tried to take off and see if he couldn’t bury his competition in enough of a gap to coast to a win, Boen had enough endurance left to follow him.
“I didn’t want to burn myself up, I wanted to stay with whoever was in front,” Boen said. “I was waiting to see all 26 miles, and then in the final 200 meters there was no question that I was going to win. I was definitely going to win.”
Even Chebet, who tried valiantly to battle through, knew the ending was inevitable.
“I had a problem with my left leg,” Chebet said. “It wasn’t that the pace was too bad. I ran a 2:19 in my last marathon, but with my leg that is why I did not make that today.”
For Boen, who finished runner-up in last fall’s marathon, the redemption was sweet.
“I’m very happy to win this race,” Boen said. “I was sick last year, so that’s why I didn’t win. This year I wanted to come back and I wanted to get the win.”
Glass wins women’s marathon — Madeline Glass is a 25-year-old runner from Colorado Springs who has intentions of running a race in all 50 states.
Consider Kansas checked off that list, as Glass easily won the women’s marathon in 2:59:11. She became the 12th woman to break three hours in a marathon in Kansas, but actually wanted more.
“I was on track for about a 2:50 and I’ve had really great training coming in, but then I got to mile 20 and I started to cramp,” Glass said. “So I had a few miles in there where I was dealing with that. I still finished smiling, which is always my goal. And it’s nice to take home the win.”
Glass won by over 10 minutes over the women’s field and came away raving about Prairie Fire’s staff and the course. The lone complaint of the day was the weather, which warmed to nearly 70 degrees by the time the runners were crossing the finish line.
“It was an awesome race and the people were so nice,” Glass said. “Kansas is a great state and it’s a lot flatter, which is nice. I wish I would have had a better time, but you can’t have everything you want. It was a fun day.”
Men’s half-marathon record nearly falls — It appeared when Nicholas Kipngetich crossed the finish line first in the men’s half-marathon that Kansas had a new state record.
But after the race it was determined that the course was about a quarter-mile short, so race officials determined the official results would add the additional time based on the runner’s average pace.
So Kipngetich went from a record-breaker to owning the second-fastest time in state history with his winning time of 1:05:21. Wichita State graduate Chris Burnett, the defending champion, finished fourth in 1:08:26, while Jebichi Yator won the women’s half-marathon in the fourth-fastest time ever in 1:16:55.
Wichita’s Tomas Cotter repeated his title in the 5-kilometer race in a time of 14:45, while 50-year-old Cindy Blakeley-Camero won the women’s race in 19:13.
Men’s results
Marathon
Overall— 1. Stanley Boen, Grand Prairie, Kenya, 2:20:47; 2. Peter Chebet, Hebron, Ky., 2:20:47; 3. Abraham Chelanga, Coon Rapids, Minn., 2:22:08; 4. Joseph Amenya, Grand Prairie, Kenya, 2:24:07; 5. Mario Macias, Boulder, Colo., 2:24:42. Age-graded Masters— 1. Kurt Aiken, Wichita, 2:49:53; 2. Dave Medicus, Littleton, Colo., 2:58:56; 3. Steven Hill, Hector, Ark., 3:04:11. 1-19— Joel Roberts, Wichita, 3:17:18; 20-24— Maverick Horsch, El Dorado, 3:39:00; 25-29— Derek Emmert, Maize, 3:06:57; 30-34— Mario Macias, Boulder, Colo., 2:24:42; 35-39— Scott Haug, Elkhorn, Neb., 2:51:56; 40-44— Kurt Aiken, Wichita, 2:49:53; 45-49— Steven Hill, Hector, Ark., 3:04:11; 50-54— Mark Carver, Mulvane, 3:14:05; 55-59— Jim Griffin, Joplin, Mo., 3:40:19; 60-64— Brad Rhoden, Topeka, 3:38:17; 65-69— Edson Sanches, New York City, 4:34:45; 70-74— Chuck Curnutt, El Dorado, 4:38:12; 75-79— Tom Billings, McPherson, 7:00:34; 80-98— Ralph Riddick, Spokane, Wash., 6:50:07.
Half-Marathon
Overall— 1. Nicholas Kipngetich, Grand Prairie, Kenya, 1:05:21; 2. Peter Chebii, Grand Prairie, Kenya, 1:05:37; 3. Sammy Rotich, Coon Rapids, Minn., 1:08:22; 4. Chris Burnett, Wichita, 1:08:26. Age-graded Masters— 1. Keith Long, Beaumont, 1:22:20; 2. Randy Wasinger, Overland Park, 1:12:25; 3. Tom Snook, Cheney, 1:40:18. 1-15— Patrick Harris, Bartlesville, Okla., 1:54:06; 16-19— Caden Luper, Stillwater, Okla., 1:34:57; 20-24— Ricardo Sanchez, Wichita, 1:32:36; 25-29— Jacob Benteman, Wichita, 1:26:35; 30-34— Andrew Bird, Park City, 1:19:59; 35-39— Martin Osborne, Wichita, 1:25:58; 40-44— Randy Wasinger, Overland Park, 1:12:25; 45-49— Mark Jennings, Oswego, Ill., 1:35:32; 50-54— Vince Blocker, Jenks, Okla., 1:27:39; 55-59— Keith Long, Beaumont, 1:22:20; 60-64— Kent Bradford, Wichita, 1:40:49; 65-69— Tom Snook, Cheney, 1:40:18; 70-74— Leon Mattocks, Wichita, 2:08:43; 75-79— Conrad Graber, Wichita, 2:21:01; 80-98— Samuel Logan, Winfield, 3:51:10
5-kilometer
Overall—1. Tomas Cotter, Wichita, 14:45; 2. Solomon Kipkorir, Coon Rapids, Minn., 15:05; 3. Daniel Yoder, Peabody, 15:20; 4. Julio Martinez, Newton, 17:32. 1-12— Zach Johnson, Wichita, 19:25; 13-15— Jacob Smith, Bel Aire, 26:33; 16-19— John Paul George, Park City, 19:29; 20-24— John Cloud, Wichita, 19:03; 25-29— Cody Fitch, Wichita, 18:26; 30-34— Michael Fowler, Wichita, 18:43; 35-39— Gerry Marsh, Wichita, 18:56; 40-44— Craig Russell, Wichita, 22:20; 45-49— Scott Toom, Andover, 21:36; 50-54— Scott Young, Russell, 18:05; 55-59— Gary Wood, Wichita, 25:01; 60-64— Andrew Hutton, Wichita, 21:40; 65-69— Larry Schmidt, Wichita, 25:17; 75-79— Jim Christensen, Marion, 26:48; 80-98— David Arst, Wichita, 34:54.
Women’s results
Marathon
Overall— 1. Madeline Glass, Colorado Springs, Colo., 2:59:11; 2. Melissa Truitt, Tulsa, Okla., 3:10:33; 3. Christy Nielsen, Omaha, Neb., 3:13:08; 4. Katie Kramer-Ochoa, Broken Arrow, Okla., 3:15:52; 5. Shandra Moore, Lindale, Texas, 3:16:12. Age-graded Masters— 1. Kathy Fowler, Enid, Okla., 3:14:29; 2. Karen Kantor, Colorado Springs, Colo., 3:16:45; 3. Christy Nielsen, Omaha, Neb., 3:13:07. 1-19— Emily Yunger, Lawrence, 5:28:00; 20-24— Amy Wells, Midwest City, Okla., 4:10:02; 25-29— Shandra Moore, Lindale, Texas, 3:16:12; 30-34— Jennifer Valentine, Boulder, Colo., 3:18:19; 35-39— Amy Finke, Lenexa, 3:26:54; 40-44— Tammy Ritchie, Wichita, 3:20:10; 45-49— Karen Kantor, Colorado Springs, Colo., 3:16:45; 50-54— Diane Gerlach, Derby, 4:22:04; 55-59— Amy Jordan, Overland Park, 4:20:31; 60-64— Jennifer Black, Loveland, Ohio, 4:35:15; 65-69— Kay Herber, Fort Smith, Ark., 6:16:22.
Half-marathon
Overall— 1. Jebichi Yator, Coon Rapids, Minn., 1:16:55; 2. Sharon Ceja, Wichita, 1:24:09; 3. Annmarie Kirkpatrick, Fort Collins, Colo., 1:24:11; 4. Kelli Benton, Tulsa, Okla., 1:25:34. Age-graded Masters— 1. Terri Cassel, Tulsa, Okla., 1:32:38; 2. Carolyn Morgenstern, Derry, NH, 1:42:00; 3. Debra Chronister, The Village, Okla., 1:51:47. 1-15— Abigail Behring, Kingman, 1:50:50; 16-19— Kendra Brown, Wichita, 1:49:34; 20-24— Anastasia Diamond, Wichita, 1:29:27; 25-29— Heidi Hines, Derby, 1:35:38; 30-34— Kim Tuhro, Wichita, 1:25:42; 35-39— Jessica Jones, Tulsa, Okla., 1:25:31; 40-44— Indira Murr, Tulsa, Okla., 1:34:37; 45-49— Kathy Morris, Wichita, 1:39:59; 50-54— Terri Cassel, Tulsa, Okla., 1:32:38; 55-59— Debra Chronister, The Village, Okla., 1:51:47; 60-64— Marie Hampton, Wichita, 1:58:12; 65-69— Linda Manaugh, Oklahoma City, Okla., 2:33:36; 70-74— Sarah Johnson, Andover, 2:26:03; 75-79— Gayla Hefley, Wichita, 2:46:22; 80-98— Shirley Reimer, Wichita, 3:32:21.
5-kilometer
Overall— 1. Cindy Blakely-Camero, Westwood, 19:13; 2. Tiffany Lippoldt, Wichita, 22:31; 3. Lindsay Fosnight, Wichita, 23:23; 4. Donna Spoonemore, Hillsboro, 23:25. 1-12— Ava Beers, Wichita, 25:26; 13-15— Elizabeth George, Rose Hill, 23:23; 16-19— Sierra Molina, Wichita, 29:15; 20-24— Sandra Castillo, Wichita, 24:32; 25-29— Priscila Torres, Wichita, 24:21; 30-34— Shanda Day, Wichita, 25:26; 35-39— Jessica Asher, Wichita, 27:03; 40-44— Amanda Rockers, Wichita, 23:40; 45-49— Jennifer Goswick, Webb City, Mo., 26:36; 50-54— Lisa Decker, Wichita, 23:42; 55-59— Glenda Baker, Andover, 26:42; 60-64— Marlene Hoglund, Wichita, 27:46; 65-69— Trudy Calloway, Wichita, 26:32; 70-74— Sheryl Drevo, Goddard, 26:24; 75-79— Rowena Hinshaw, Wichita, 37:05.
This story was originally published October 11, 2015 at 10:51 PM with the headline "Boen edges Chebet in thrilling finish to Prairie Fire Marathon (+video)."