It hasn’t taken Lelisa Desisa long to get the hang of this marathon thing.Running just his second race at the 26.2-mile distance, Desisa won the men’s race at the 117th Boston Marathon Monday, winning in a time of 2 hours 10 minutes 23 seconds.

Desisa, a 23-year-old Ethiopian who won the Dubai Marathon in his debut in the event, pulled away from a three-man pack on Boylston Street to hold off Micah Kogo and Gebregziabher Gebremariam.

“The race was just fine for me,’’ said Desisa, who has specialized in the 10,000 meters and the half-marathon. “The downhill was easy, but the uphill was very hard.’’

American Jason Hartmann finished fourth for the year in a row.

http://www.boston.com/sports/marathon/20...kaJJ/story.html

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Interesting comment by the men's winner: “The downhill was easy, but the uphill was very hard.’’

Who would have thought that?

Fast long distance running is partly body type related, imo. The small thin long legged frames of East Africa seem to have a natural advantage.

Quote: ThirstyMan wrote in post #1

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Interesting comment by the men's winner: “The downhill was easy, but the uphill was very hard.’’

Who would have thought that?

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Quote: FP123 wrote in post #3

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Quote: ThirstyMan wrote in post #1

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Interesting comment by the men's winner: “The downhill was easy, but the uphill was very hard.’’

Who would have thought that?

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Based on that level and depth of analysis, this guy is likely an intellectual titan in addition to being a world class athlete!

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Quote: truth_seeker wrote in post #4

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Quote: FP123 wrote in post #3

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Quote: ThirstyMan wrote in post #1

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Interesting comment by the men's winner: “The downhill was easy, but the uphill was very hard.’’

Who would have thought that?

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Based on that level and depth of analysis, this guy is likely an intellectual titan in addition to being a world class athlete!

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It was the guy's 2nd marathon. Boston DOES have a noteworthy hill, called appropriately "Heartbreak Hill."

This youtube video is narrated by Bill Rodgers, a Boston Marathon winner from long ago.:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0yQQahUtfBA

My own experience following the several marathons I completed, was not very deeply philosophical or intellectual. More like this guy "The hill was hard."

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