Kenyans win 3 top spots in July 24 races

Men's marathon

Johnathon Ndambuki took home another first-place finish at the Deseret Morning News/KJZZ TV Marathon, with a time of 2:22:22. It was the fourth time Ndambuki has won the event; and after a second-place finish last year he was back in the winners circle.

"It was good," said the course record holder about his time, "It was hard because it was humid." Ndambuki set the 2:16:08 record in 2004.

The humidity wasn't the only hurdle for Ndambuki. The Kenyan said his stomach began to hurt and he even had to stop for a bit. The brief rest may have hurt his time a little; however; it did not prevent him from beating second-place, and fellow Kenyan, Paul Rugut. who posted a time of 2:23:33.

Sasha Pachev was third to cross the finish line with a time of 2:32:56. He was the first Utahn to finish, meaning he took home $500. "It's been a goal of mine for a long time," said Pachev, about his top-three finish and local bragging rights.

Ndambuki received $2,007 for his first-place finish, a dollar more than last year's pot.

Women's marathon

Carol Cabanaillas hit the wall at the 16-mile mark of the Deseret Morning News marathon, and even contemplated quitting, but after assessing her situation, she pressed forward, eventually winning the event in a time of 2:53:24.

"I just crashed at 16, and just figured I was running so slow I should just drop out, but there was no one else there," said Cabanaillas shortly after crossing the finish line. She wanted to go under 2:47 but was satisfied with her six-minute slower time after cramping for the final 10 miles.

She had only trained for eight weeks for this particular marathon, and with all of the hills on the course it just wasn't quite long enough for her liking, as the ups and downs in elevation eventually wore her down.

"Finishing was the best part. I'm just glad it's over," said the Murray resident, who was trying to catch her breath 10 minutes after the finish.

It wasn't until 15 minutes later that Cabanaillas was joined at the finish line by another woman, as Lorie Hutchison crossed the line in 3:08:01 to capture second place.

It was another 11 minutes before Genevieve Keogh crossed the line in third, and then the woman the crowd had been waiting for appeared at 3:24:24, as Miss Utah 2007 Jill Stevens ran through the finish.

Women's 10K