Luis Rivero Gonzalez Wins Miami Marathon

MIAMI  — Running the first marathon of his life, Guatemalan Luis Rivero Gonzalez won the 2013 ING Miami Marathon Sunday by separating himself quickly from the field and never looking back.

Rivero finished in 2 hours, 26 minutes, 14 seconds on a South Florida morning that alternated between humid and brisk, playing mind games with the 25,000 runners who participated in South Florida’s largest running event.

“It felt great to be able to represent my country and win this marathon for them,” Rivero Gonzalez said. “I had great expectations to win this race. This is what I trained for.”

The 26-year-old was two minutes faster than David Tuwei (2:28:15) and Tesfaye Bekele (2:28:22), who were among a group of five runners who ran together for nearly the entire race.

Mariska Kramer, 38, of the Netherlands won the 2013 women’s marathon title in 2:46:07 while Ethiopian Tezata Dengersa, 32, was second in 2:48:43 and Brooklyn, NY resident Kir Selert, 25, was third in 2:57:32.

The highlight of the day came when Risper Gesabwa and Moroccan Malika Mejdoub Camacho both shattered the 10-year old course record for the women in the half-marathon. Gesabwa finished in 1:14:00, 14 seconds faster than Mejdoub Camacho and 1:05 better than the old record of 1:15:05.

Robert Mbithi, 23, blew away the men’s field in the half-marathon with the fourth fastest time (1:05:44) in the 11-year history of the event.

The sellout field of 25,000 runners traveled from downtown Miami’s Biscayne Blvd. over the MacArthur Causeway to South Beach, through the Venetian Islands, Arts District, Downtown Miami, Coconut Grove, Brickell Avenue and then finished in front of Bayfront Park.

Having never run 26.2 miles in one run in his life didn’t worry Rivero Gonzalez.

“Since it was my first marathon, I went all-out from the very start like if I was running one of my 21-kilometer races,” said Rivero Gonzalez, who earned his law degree from Universidad de San Carlos in Guatemala this past November. “As the race went on, I continued to feel strong. I never saw any of the other marathon runners in front of me, only half-marathon runners.”

It was the best performance of his running career.

For Kramer, the women’s champion, the marathon win almost didn’t happen. She decided Saturday she’d switch from the half-marathon to the full race.

“My coach thought I was crazy when I said I would do that,” she said.

Mbithi, 23,was excited about his dominant performance in the Half Marathon.

“I’m upbeat. I’m very upbeat to win the race,” said Mbithi, who hopes to one day compete in the Olympics. “I figured to win this race. I felt I could win.”

He couldn’t wait to call his family in Kenya — two parents, six sisters and one brother — to let them know about his first-place finish.

“I call them [regularly],” Mbithi said. “They are very upbeat, encourage me.”

Mbithi finished nearly five minutes ahead of second-place finisher Danilo Briceno, 31, of Venezuela and third-place finisher Leo Kormanik II, 30, of Northfield, Ohio.

ING Miami Marathon
Miami, Fl., Sunday, Jan. 27

Men
1) Luis Rivero Gonzalez, Guatemala, 2:26:14, $2,000
2) David Tuwei, Coon Rapids, 2:28:15, $1,000
3) Tesfaye Girma Bekele, Fayetteville Ellicott City, 2:28:21, $500
4) Girma Assefa Gudeta,    Addis Ababa, 2:28:37
5) Alberico Di Cecco, Pescara Abruzzo, 2:28:40
6) Eyob Woldegeiorgis, Fayetteville, 2:28:45
7) Christopher Carrier, Long Island City, 2:31:04
8) Mynor Lopez Aguilon, Guatemala, 2:34:39
9) Nicolas Santos,Bogota, 2:39:41
10) Cristian Arg Ello,  San Jose, 2:40:46

Women
1) Mariska Kramer, Drachten Friesland, 2:46:07, $2,000
2) Tezata Desaign Dengersa, Ellicott City, 2:48:43, $1,000
3) Kir Selert, Brooklyn, 2:57:31, $500
4) Alyson Venti, Miami, 3:00:12
5) Ngela Brito,  Guayaquil, 3:01:01
6) Loni Smith, Lakeland, 3:02:39
7) Kelly Willis,  Atlanta,   3:09:15
8) Bouchra Franz, Miami Shores, 3:11:30
9) Maria Virasoro, Mar Del Plata, 3:13:01
10) Karen Sobrino, St Gallen, 3:14:02

11th ING Miami Half Marathon

Men
1) Robert Mbithi, Coon Rapids, 1:05:44, $1,000
2) Danilo Briceno, Caracas, 1:10:41
3) Leo Kormanik Ii, Northfield, 1:10:57
4) Fornes Jose, Pe Uelas, 1:11:04
5) Mauricio Cruz, Mexico, 1:11:38
6) Ryan Carroll, Portsmouth, 1:12:55
7) Jon Volpi, Melbourne, 1:13:11
8) Eduin Duval Cruz, Santo Domingo, 1:13:36
9) Aubrey Aldy III, Naples, 1:13:53
10) Frank Bobadilla- Polanco, Santo Domingo, 1:14:26

Women
1) Risper Gesabwa, Marietta, 1:14:00, $1,000
2) Malika Mejdoub Camacho, Albuquerque, 1:14:14
3) Bertha Oliva Rivera, Sevilla Valle, 1:18:35
4) Angela Cobb    Melbourne, 1:20:36
5) Angie Orjuela, Bogota Calle, 1:21:16
6) Norma Rodriguez Rodriguez, Santa Gertrudis, 1:22:36
7) Lindsay Willard, Somerville, 1:23:24
8) Paola Reategui, Miami, 1:25:06
9) Cynthia Jerop, Coon Rapids, 1:25:08
10) Natalie Brabner, Miami, 1:27:13