Ngandu gets marathon career off to a winning start

"I am surprised! The marathon is not an easy journey but I have been training for about six months and while I can say I was ready I did not know that I was going to win." 

An elated James Ngandu offered after clocking 2:11:03 to claim victory on his marathon debut at the Houston Marathon held on Sunday. 

The 31-year old progressed from his ninth and 18th-place finishes in the half marathon in Houston to win the marathon on his debut at the distance.

Ngandu, who ran for Tiffin University in Ohio, was part of an eight-strong group, led by the USA’s Frank Lara, that went through half way in 1:05:29, and that pack remained through 30km in 1:33:57.

He later admitted that being part of a large group until the closing stages had made him nervous, but he stuck to his plan of kicking over the final kilometre and it paid off.

He made a move after 41km and crossed the finish line in 2:11:03 to win by seven seconds ahead of Bahrain’s Abdi Abdo. Kenya’s Elisha Barno claimed third place in 2:11:16, with Japan’s Kenta Uchida two seconds back and Ethiopia’s defending champion Kelkile Gezahegn a further second behind in fifth. Lara went on to secure sixth in 2:11:32.

“It was tough to make a decision to break away during the race because I think there was seven of us together half way and I knew I could easily finish eighth or even tenth. 

I didn’t want to make a move and my body fail on me but when we got to 30km, I felt strong and that is when I felt like I will be on the podium. I waited until the last kilometre or so before kicking and it paid off," said Ngandu. 

Meanwhile, the women's race was won by Keira D'Amato, breaking the long-standing US women’s marathon record in the process. The 37-year old became the first US woman to win the Houston Marathon since 2005 and she did so in a national record time of 2:19:12. She broke Deena Kastor’s US marathon record of 2:19:36, set in London in 2006.