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Pete
Clusener ran his Trials qualifier (2:19:31) at the
2003 Chicago Marathon...
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...where
he won 50 free nights at Hilton Hotels for being the
first runner to cross the finish line with a red tie
on.
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Teddy
Mitchell (left) was the only runner who went after
Clusener, he caught him about six-and-a half...
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...minutes
into the race. Once Mitchell caught and passed Clusener,
he was on his own, fighting the wind.
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Mitchell
had a marathon best of 2:16:00 and was one of the
runners in the race who would need the Olympic "A"...
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...standard
of 2:15:00 or better - in addition to a top-three
finish - to make the Olympic team.
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Though
some of the early leaders later claimed to have pushed
the pace because they were worried about the...
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...slow
pace, the pack was only seconds off 2:15 pace at the
five-mile mark and ahead of it by the 10-mile mark.
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Clusener
ran alone in second place, with Teddy Mitchell out
front and the rest of the field trailing.
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All
of the major contenders remained back in the pack.
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The
front of the pack included Brian Sell, Matt Sandercock,
Alan Culpepper...
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...Josh
Cox, Keith Dowling, Jason Lehmkuhle...
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...Weldon
Johnson, Scott Larson, and Patrick Muturi, among others.
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Just
two miles into the 26.2-mile race, almost everyone
was content to stick...
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...with
the pack. Two of the pre-race favorites, Ryan Shay
and Meb...
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...Keflezighi
ran near the front of the large pack.
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Some
of the athletes expressed their displeasure with the
IAAF
uniform rules which limited the...
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...size
and number of logos on the athletes' uniforms. Some
athletes had to use tape to cover up some of the logos.
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Weldon
Johnson came into the race with a 2:18:10 PR, which
he ran at the 2002 Chicago Marathon.
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Erik
Mack came in with a 2:12:42 PR and a 2:20:09 qualifier.
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