Mike Sayenko finishes 37th at Daegu World Championships marathon...
Sayenko crossed the line in a time of 2:22:49, well below his personal best of 2:14:27 set last October at the Bank of America Chicago Marathon.
Kenya's Abel Kirui successfully defended his world marathon title from Berlin, winning in a time of 2:07.38.
Mike Morgan was the top American, placing 31st in 2:18:30. Other Americans included Jeff Eggleston in 39th at 2:23:33, Nick Arciniaga in 41st at 2:24:06, and Sergio Reyes in 45th at 2:29:15.
Afterwards, Sayenko said, "Coming into the race, I was battling plantar fascia problems (on the left foot) ever since the Chicago Marathon. Through the first kilometer, I could already feel it. It got pretty rough around 6k, and I wasn't sure I'd actually finish the race."
The Sammamish HS product had taped his left foot, a practice that he'd done since picking up the plantar fascia problem.
"I was running with some Spaniards up until 15k, when I got dropped. At that point, the pain got pretty rough, and all the negative thoughts started popping up. Then I started getting into a zone; running by myself helped, then I got into a groove, running 3:25 kilos. I ran like that the rest of the way, and started picking people off. The pain in the foot calmed down, though it never got worse, but I felt it the rest of the way."
"My goal was to finish in the top 20-25, and it wasn't exactly the race I was looking for."
With the US Olympic Marathon trials coming up in January, he is going to take some time off, and visit the UW Medical Center for some shock wave therapy on the foot.
Later this evening, Washington State University grad Bernard Lagat will run in the finals of the men's 5000 meters as the IAAF world track & field championships concludes its nine-day run at Daegu Stadium.
Complete results of the men's marathon are available here.
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