LIZ ROBBINS' MEN'S MARATHON PREVIEW

But here’s the thing about the Olympic marathon – rarely does the gold medalist come from the list of favorites, and rarely are times even close to world record pace. 

It is safe to say, then, that Haile Gebrselassie’s record of 2:04:26 is not in any danger of being broken Sunday.

            Why? Ethiopia’s Gebrselassie is not here, choosing to save himself for another record-breaking fall marathon rather than run in the heat, humidity and pollution of Beijing. Conditions are far better than anyone expected, however, with the race time weather hitting a sunny 74 degrees and 66 percent humidity at 9 a.m., 90 minutes after the start in Tiananmen Square.

            Still, summer marathons are never conducive to fast times, no matter how flat the course is (Beijing is practically level). And the Olympic marathon prohibits official pacesetters unlike the big-city marathons like Berlin, London and Chicago.

            All of this only builds the drama for Sunday. The 26.2 mile distance, chewing up the body and the mind, is already unpredictable, the Olympics especially so.

            The women’s race had a 38-year-old winner, Constantina Tomescu-Dita, of Romania, who trains in Boulder, Colo. She broke early and never lost her lead. Catherine Ndereba, 36, finished second one-hundredths of a second in front of China’s Zhou Chunxiu.

The defending bronze medalist, Deena Kastor, of the U.S. broke her foot after the third mile. The world-record holder, Paula Radcliffe, finished 22^nd in excruciating leg pain, the first marathon of her career she finished in which she did not win.            

Look for the men’s race to come down to the final mile, as most of the major city marathons this past year have featured duels to the finish line. Martin Lel has won his last three races that way, including posting a world’s best time of 2:05.15 in London. His countryman, 21-year-old Sammy Wanjiru, was nine seconds behind him in that race.

Murbarak Hassan Shami will likely be in the lead pack, having run for Qatar since 2005 because he realized he wouldn’t make the team for his native Kenya. He finished second at the 2007 Osaka world championships last year.

Marilson Gomes dos Santos, of Brazil, is an excellent heat runner, earning national fame for winning the 2006 New York City Marathon.

            The defending Olympic champion, 36-year-old Stefano Baldini is battling a hamstring injury, but he nears the end of his career anyway. So is 36-year-old Hendrick Ramaala, who will be competing in his 24^th marathon. He won the 2004 New York City Marathon, but no major marathon since.

            Hall is not a one-man hope for the resurgent U.S. marathon running, which looks to follow Meb Keflezighi’s silver medal from Athens. Dathan Ritzenhein, plagued by injuries throughout his career, contends he is healthy and ready to battle in the lead pack. And Brian Sell, the least known of the U.S. trio who delayed dental school to make the Olympic team, has exactly the kind of grinding style the Olympic marathon rewards.

             If life is a marathon, as the cliché goes, then the true celebration is in the journey, as three marathoners know. Bunting Hem lives in the decrepit Phnom Penh stadium in Cambodia as part of a national training program. His best time is more than 22 minutes slower than Lel’s.

Arjun Basnet, from the troubled nation of Nepal, works a desk job for the army so he can have a small salary to train amid poor conditions. He won the Kathmandu Marathon, at 4,500 feet.

            And Ayele Seteng, an Ethiopian-born Israeli, is 53 years old, the oldest competitor in Olympic marathon history. He finished 19^th at the world championships last year, ahead of better-known runners.