Radcliffe and Lel repel challengers

After shaking Gete Wami in the final half mile, Paula Radcliffe breaks the tape for her second New York win in four years. (KATHY WILLENS/ASSOCIATED PRESS)

NEW YORK - It had been more than two years since Paula Radcliffe had run a marathon. She'd given birth to a daughter in January and missed two months of training with a stress fracture of the sacrum at the base of her spine. So, was Radcliffe going to run cautiously in her re-entry race? "I doubt it," she'd said Friday.

The world's best female road racer knows only one way to run - from the front, wire-to-wire. So Radcliffe took off at the gun like a thoroughbred out of the gate yesterday morning, shook relentless Ethiopian pursuer Gete Wami in the final half mile, and went on to win the New York City Marathon for the second time in four years.

"Even 50 meters from the line, I was thinking, don't even think about it until you cross that line," the 33-year-old Briton said, after she'd outkicked her 32-year-old nemesis to win by 23 seconds in 2 hours 23 minutes 9 seconds in one of the greatest duels in road racing history.

Not until they passed Columbus Circle (less than half a mile from the finish) did Radcliffe lose Wami, who dogged her like a terrier all the way from Staten Island despite running her second major marathon in 35 days after winning Berlin Sept. 30.

"Coming in second I feel was quite an achievement for me," said Wami, who earned a $500,000 consolation prize by claiming the two-year World Marathon Majors title ahead of Latvia's Jelena Prokopcuka, the two-time defending champion who placed third in 2:26:13.

The men's race, which was a Sunday fun run for 16 miles, came down to a showdown between Kenya's Martin Lel and Morocco's Abderrahim Goumri, who reprised their London finish in April, with Lel again outkicking Goumri down the final stretch to win by 12 seconds in 2:09:04, the fastest men's time here in five years.

"To be a champion, you have to be a champion fighting with the man," said Lel, who prevailed here in 2003 by 41 seconds over defending champion Rodgers Rop.

The women's field was the best outside of an Olympics or world championships. Besides Radcliffe, Wami, and Prokopcuka, there were two-time world champion Catherine Ndereba of Kenya and Boston victor Lidiya Grigoryeva of Russia.

But except for Wami, who has been knocking heads with her on roads, tracks, and open country for 15 years, Radcliffe ran away from all of them. "I was just out there having fun today," said the world record-holder, who has failed to win only one of the eight marathons she's started - the 2004 Olympics, where she dropped out with 4 miles to go in the brutal Athenian heat. "But it was very important for me to win the race. I'm not going to lie about that."

Yesterday the weather was perfect for a fast run - 51 degrees, sunny skies, a 10-mile-an-hour breeze - and Radcliffe took off at a gallop, with the diminutive Wami on her shoulder. After 3 miles, they had a 4-second lead on their pursuers. After 6, they were all by themselves, 46 seconds ahead of Grigoryeva, Ndereba, and Prokopcuka.

"In principle, it did not surprise me when she took off right away," said Grigoryeva, who finished fourth (2:28:37) ahead of Ndereba (2:29:08). "I guess I was a little afraid of catching up, of going ahead and joining them."

Through Brooklyn and Queens, into Manhattan and through the Bronx, Wami was nipping at Radcliffe's heels. Three times after they'd re-entered Manhattan, Radcliffe surged. Each time, Wami closed. Then, for the first time, the Ethiopian sprinted ahead on Central Park South, startling Radcliffe, who promptly countered and busted the race open.

"I've been there so many, many times with Gete on my shoulder coming into the final 400 meters," mused Radcliffe, who earned $170,000 with a time bonus. "And I was thinking that this was my turn."

The men's race, by contrast, was a cautious, even plodding affair for 16 miles, with six different leaders at the mile markers. "Nobody wanted to go in front," said South Africa's Hendrick Ramaala, who won here three years ago.

So as soon as the 10-man pack came off the Queensboro Bridge and into Manhattan, Ramaala decided to up the ante and busted up the lollygagging fraternity with a bold move. "I think most of the guys forgot that there were rewards for running fast today," said Ramaala, who's known as a racemaker. "Somehow, I had to do it."

Two miles later, the contenders were down to five - Ramaala, Lel, Goumri, Rop, and Kenyan countryman James Kwambai, the Boston runner-up. With 5 miles to go, Rop had vanished. By the time they came into the park, it was down to Lel and Goumri.

In London, Lel had made his sprint with 200 yards to go and won by 3 seconds. Yesterday, he took off with 400 yards left and won going away. "There is many ways of killing a rat," mused the 29-year-old Lel, who won $160,000 for his trouble.

Had Goumri not run the world championships in an Osaka sauna in August, he might have had fresher legs. "I think that I get some cramps in my legs and I lose," said the 31-year-old Moroccan, who was running in only his third 26-miler. "That's sport, you know. One loser, one winner, it's OK."