Ayalew outlasts pack

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A couple of years ago, Tamrat Ayalew escaped his native country after he had been shot in the leg, imprisoned and tortured by the Ethiopian government. Yesterday the 33-year-old, now seeking political asylum and citizenship in the United States, ran away with a victory in the nation's capital.

Ayalew's perseverance paid off at the 32nd Marine Corps Marathon as he finished ahead of 21,226 starters on a sunny day. The second Ethiopian champion in Marine Corps history sped through the course around Arlington and the District in 2 hours, 22 minutes, 20 seconds. Retta Feyissa won in 2004.

"I didn't do well last year," said Ayalew, a member of the Atlanta-based Foot Solutions racing team that finished eighth in 2006. "I decided after that race that I wanted to win."

No such thoughts crossed the mind of rookie marathoner Kristen Henehan, a three-time All-American distance runner at Georgetown under her maiden name of Gordon. Racing for the first time farther than 13.1 miles, the 28-year-old from Silver Spring entered the race as a fun run.

It didn't end up that way. Running with the leaders for nearly the entire race, she passed Lisa Thomas of Alexandria at a turnaround in the last half-mile to take top honors among the women in 2:51:14. Thomas followed her across the finish line 26 seconds later in a personal-best performance by more than three minutes.

Ayalew's triumph came at the expense of Ruben Garcia of Mexico City and Carl Rundell of Birmingham, Mich. While Ayalew came back from last year's disappointment hungry for victory, Garcia returned trying to make history as the first three-time champion, having earned the winner's trophy in 2005 and 2006.

Rundell declined next week's Olympic marathon trials to come to Marine Corps so he could try to shed his growing reputation of perpetual runner-up after placing second to Garcia the last two years.

Ayalew, Garcia and Rundell all were in the mix through a fairly slow first half. The first few miles in Arlington were filled with tough hills preceding a trip over the windy Key Bridge and around the Georgetown Reservoir before arriving at the Mall. The large pack, cautious with the strong winds, winnowed to just seven by the halfway mark in front of the Smithsonian with the leader at 1:12:39.

Rundell said he lost touch with the leaders as Ayalew and Garcia's teammate from the Mexican Navy, Jose Miranda, surged. Once out of the park and on the ramp to the 14th Street Bridge, only Miranda and Garcia could match Ayalew's pace. On the Virginia side of the bridge, down the ramp into Crystal City, Ayalew quickly pounced.

"At 21 miles, I looked back, and then I went," said Ayalew, who won the Potomac River Run Half-Marathon in Alexandria last year and made top five at the Army Ten-Miler the past two years. "I felt good. I picked up the pace."

Garcia, 36, said he had to let go of Ayalew when his hamstrings began cramping, the same problem that nearly cost him the 2005 race to Rundell.

A mile later, Ayalew was 20 seconds ahead of Garcia and a mile after that was 42 seconds ahead, leaving Garcia to fight for second place, which he nabbed in 2:24:20. Rundell was fifth as he was in 2004, running 2:26:28 and vowing, "I'll be back again until I win this race."

Garcia said he was "sad and frustrated." Henehan, meanwhile, was more than elated.

"My goal was to finish and want to run another marathon," said Henehan, a California state champion at Carondelet High School in Concord who earned a full scholarship to Georgetown, which she passed five miles into the race. "The wind was pretty brutal."

After graduating from Georgetown in 2001, the English major stayed in the District to work as a lobbyist. She said she took time off from her competitive running career before deciding in July to start training for a marathon.

"When I signed up for this, I just wanted to do it for fun," she said. "I didn't know what to expect."

Her longest race had been the Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon in Virginia Beach eight weeks ago and before that a 10-miler.

Will she try to qualify for next year's Olympic marathon trials, needing only to run four minutes faster?

"I'll see how I feel when I wake up tomorrow morning," she replied.