Regasa finds Pune hotter than Addis Ababa,says training kept him going

Later,through his coach and interpreter T Tesfaye,an exuberant figure clad in a jacket that said ‘The Lion of Judas’,Regasa said he had found Pune hotter than Addis Ababa,where maximum temperatures at this time of year don’t cross 23°C or 24°C. Also,assistant coach Johannes Zewede complained that athletes receive virtually no support from the Ethiopian government.

Despite all this,Regasa’s training regime,a gruelling 78 km a day in two installments,stood him in good stead. Even as the top three kept changing identity,Regasa maintained a steady pace. It was only near City Pride theatre in Kothrud,some 7 km from Nehru Stadium,that he came into the metaphorical rearview mirrors of Hussein Rutto and Soy Kipsang,both Kenyans,who were to finish fourth and sixth respectively.

By the time the marathon’s lead group had reached Senadatta Police Chowky in Sadashiv Peth,3 km from the finish line,those two had dropped off the pace,with Regasa now in pursuit of Rotich and Ethiopian Abdela Hulchfo,who would end up fifth.

Meanwhile,in the women’s half marathon,it was third time lucky for Thitu Mutwa,who won with a timing of 1 hour,12 minutes and 29 seconds.

Mutwa,hailing from the town of Machakos in Kenya’s Eastern Province,had finished third in 2006. In her previous attempt in 2009,Mutwa had finished nearly two minutes quicker (1:10:40s) than on Sunday,but came second in a Kenyan 1-2-3.

This time,she finished 26 seconds ahead of runner-up Zenebu Abay,and was the only Kenyan in the top six,with Ethiopia claiming the other five spots.