Pachev, Sarikova win TOU marathon
Alexander Pachev and Zuzana Sarikova came a lot farther than 26.2 miles to win the men’s and women’s divisions of the Top of Utah Marathon Saturday morning.
Pachev, originally from Russia, won for the first time after finishing second or third each time in the four year existence of the Cache Valley race. His time of 2:27:46 was a personal best by five minutes.
Sarikova, originally from Slovakia, broke the women’s course record by 10 minutes with a time of 2:47:33 in her first ever marathon. She took the lead with a half a mile to go.
Paul Peterson of Logan finished second in the men’s division with 2:35:20. Jeremy Tolman of Ogden came in third at 2:37:50.
Tracy Stewart of Colorado Springs finished second to Sarikova in the women’s division, but still came in well under the previous course record of 2:55.
In the wheelchair division, Geoffrey Tolman of Wilmington, Calif. won with a time of 1:56:31.
In a photo finish for second place, Nathan Crowton of Ogden beat John Breamer of Kaysville by three-10ths of a second at 2:01:56.6 to 2:01:56.9.
“I’m speechless, really happy,” Sarikova said. “I was hoping I could get top three. It was a nice surprise [to win].”
While Sarikova has never run a marathon before, she has her sights set on representing her country in the Olympics.
“That’s the only goal, to make the Olympics,” she said. “I’ll just keep working to make it to my potential.”
Sarikova said she doesn’t have a lot of competition in Slovakia, so her main objective is to reach the qualifying time of 2:35.
“At the moment, there isn’t any other female [in Slovakia] that could break 2:40 so it’s kind of me against the clock,” she said. “I have a way good chance. If I don’t make it I will just keep going for the next four years.”
Sarikova is a graduate student in linguistics at the University of Utah. She is also a teaching assistant, helping international students learn English grammar.
She came to the United States because in Slovakia the colleges don’t offer sports, Sarikova said. She also lived in England for a year before coming to America, attending first Western State College in Colorado and then the University of Utah.
“I just wanted more balance,” she said.
She plans to run her next marathon in Philadelphia in November and again in Austin, Texas to try and qualify for the Olympics.
She won the Top of Utah half-marathon two weeks ago and said the race prepared her for the full-length marathon.
“I started too fast and I paid for it, but it was a good lesson,” she said.
Pachev credited his victory to a new meatless diet complemented with herbs.
“[The diet] allows you to run without breaks,” Pachev said.
While he was also aiming to beat the qualifying time for the Olympics, Pachev said he knew at the halfway point that he wasn’t going to qualify.
Pachev said his start in running coincided with the rise of Mikhail Gorbachev and fall of the Soviet Union. He eventually came to the United States to attend BYU, but did not compete in college athletics.
A lot of runners are really fast in college but then get distracted from their training, Pachev said.
“I decided that I wasn’t going to let life crush me and I kept improving,” he said.
Peterson, who recently graduated from Utah State with a master’s degree, said he achieved his goal for the race.
“I was gunning for top three,” he said.
Last year, Peterson finished in fourth place.
“The key [to distance running] is to keep your mind busy,” Peterson said.
During the early part of the race he kept his mind occupied with the beautiful scenery and conversations with other runners. The final four miles he just focused on counting down how close he was to the finish line, he said.
Peterson said he hopes to run in the Chicago Marathon before 2008.
-royburton@cc.usu.edu
Zuzana Sarikova of Slovakia crosses the finish line as the first in the women’s division at the Top of Utah Marathon. She finished with a time of 2
Alexander Pachev of Provo comes out of Blacksmith Fork Canyon early Saturday morning minutes ahead of the other runners. Pachev, who is originally from Russia crossed the finish line in first place with a time of 2 (Photos by Scott Davis)