Mutinda claims second-chance victory

Disappointment overshadowed Joseph Mutinda's efforts to conquer the Salt Lake City Marathon only a year ago. Mutinda led for much of the race, but he was slowed down when a hamstring flared up and had to settle for a third-place finish.

This time around, Mutinda focused on earning the finish he originally envisioned when he came to Utah last spring.

"I was fully prepared," the Kenyan runner said. "I tried to see what went wrong when I was running last year. So I tried to concentrate and see if I could maybe do better than last year."

Extra preparation paid off for Mutinda. This time he claimed victory, finishing in 2:16:39 to win the 2009 Salt Lake City Marathon on Saturday morning.

After making some alterations to his offseason training, Mutinda came in feeling like he was a much stronger runner in his return trip to Utah than last time out. He specifically worked on pacing himself better after hamstring issues cropped up when he pushed himself too hard in last year's race.

"I tried to make myself comfortable and listen to my body," Mutinda said.

Getting a breakthrough victory on a course that winds from the University of Utah campus down through the heart of Salt Lake County and up to the Gateway feels like a tremendous accomplishment for the 34-year-old runner.

"I like the Salt Lake course," Mutinda said. "It's good. It's one of the good courses here in America."

Fellow Kenyans Moses Kororia and Ezeuiel Ruto finished second and third respectively. Seth Wold, a Salt Lake City resident, was the top local finisher after coming in fourth place.

Wold realized a goal of a top-five finish that he set for himself coming into the race. He posted a personal best time of 2:27:12 — less than 11 minutes behind first-place finisher Mutinda.

A strong showing here has Wold entertaining high hopes for when he competes in the St. George Marathon later this fall.

"That's the marathon I'm really training for," Wold said. "Hopefully, I'll wind up on top there or at least in the top three."

Russian runner Nadezda Tuptova was the top finisher in the women's marathon. Tuptova crossed the line in 2:47:51. Polish runner Wioletta Kryza finished second, coming in at 2:53:05. Provo resident Lisa Boshard was the top local runner with a time of 3:15:10.