Maria McCambridge ran a time of 2:36.37 this morning at the Rome Marathon – inside the A qualifying mark off 2 hours 37 minutes for London 2012. Maria becomes the third Irish women to make the marathon qualifying mark – and like Linda Byrne and Ava Hutchinson is a product of the Dundum South Dublin club, although McCambridge, currently based in Donegal with husband Gary Crossan, currently runs in the Letterkenny colours.
After giving birth to son Dylan and a disappointing run in the Dublin Marathon last October, McCambridge went back to basics and started working with a nutritionist at DCU. She fine-tuned her winter’s training with a 33 min 7 sec time behind Linda Byrne at the Enniscorthy 10km last month and then a new course record of 54 mins 48 secs at the Ballycotton ’10’.
In Rome, she stuck to a pace of around 5 mins 55 secs per mile (or 3 mins 40 per km) from the start, going through 5km in 18.23, then 10km in 36. 43 and 15km in 55.13. Her half marathon time of 1:17.37 meant she was well within her target, and she continued to churn out even paced miles until the final 10km or so when – like many others in the race – she slowed down, with her 35km split 18.51 and her next 5km slower again at 19.14.
By then, however, with only 2km to go, McCambridge knew she could break 2 hours 37 minutes as planned. This she did, finishing ninth woman and second European in a race dominated by Africans. First woman was Hellen Jemaiyo Kimutai from Kenya in 2:31.11, with Ashete D. Bekele of Ethiopia a close second; there were six Ethiopians in the top 10.
McCambridge’s time is close to the 2:36.23 run by Linda Byrne in the Dublin Marathon last October; fastest of the three qualifiers is Ava Hutchinson with a time of 2:35:33 at the Houston Marathon last January.
It will be a second Olympics for the 36-year-old Dubliner who was Irish 5000m champion in 2004 and made the Athens Olympics with a time of 15:57.42 in Heusden just before the qualification deadline.
McCambridge has now run four marathons in remarkably consistant times – Dublin 2008 in 2:36.33, Paris April 2009 in 2:35.29, Dublin 2011 in 2:40.24 and now Rome in 2:3637.
* At the Lugano Racewalking Grand Prix in Switzerland, Robert Heffernan of Togher finished 6th men’s 20km in 1:20:39. Heffernan’s ultimate target is the 50km in the London Olympics. Olive Loughnane of Loughrea clocked a time of 1:32.26 for 10th in the women’s 20km race.
World Youth Games winner Kate Veale of West Waterford won the junior women’s 10km 47.01, finishing almost three minutes ahead of France’s Mellado Coralie of France (49:55) and qualifying for the World Juniors. Emma Prendiville of Farranfore Maine Valley finished 4th in 51:32. In the junior men’s 10km, James Treanor of Shercock finished 5th in 45:08.
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