Roberta Groner Conquers ‘Brutal’ Marathon at World Championships – Runner’s World

• American Roberta Groner finished sixth in the marathon at the 2019 IAAF World Championships to conclude Day 1 of competition in Doha, Qatar.
• Kenya’s Ruth Chepngetich won in 2:32:43, with Bahrain’s Rose Chelimo second and Namibia’s Helalia Johannes finishing third.
• The race happened at midnight local time in brutal conditions. Temperatures were just over 90 degrees Fahrenheit with 73.3 percent humidity.

Deep in the middle of the Doha night, Roberta Groner felt like she was dreaming.

It was close to 3 a.m. in the capital city of Qatar when the 41-year-old American made it across the line, 26.2 of the most grueling miles of her life finally behind her.

The full-time nurse and mother of three from Randolph, New Jersey, had just finished a superb sixth in 2:38:44 in the world championships marathon, a race staged in brutally hot and humid conditions around a 7-kilometer course by the city’s waterfront.

At the finish, the starting field of 68 was reduced to 40 women, and a pop-up medical center near the finish was receiving new patients every few minutes. Some athletes were helped in on their feet by volunteers, others arrived in wheelchairs, while the less lucky ones arrived on stretchers.

It was a race that wrecked many world-class athletes. Italy’s Giovanna Epis was one of many who ran herself to a mid-race collapse.

The race was won by Kenya’s Ruth Chepngetich in 2:32:43, with Bahrain’s Rose Chelimo second in 2:33:46, and Namibia’s Helalia Johannes third in 2:34:15.

Groner was one of the few to thrive in the conditions, and she was followed home by her U.S. teammate Carrie Dimoff, who was 13th in 2:44:35. Kelsey Bruce completed the U.S. trio, finishing 38th in 3:09:37.

Groner and Dimoff ran much of the race together, and when they embraced after the finish, the pair shed some tears, both bringing up those close to them who had been on their mind during the race.

For Groner, it was her three boys, ages 12, 13 and 14. “This is a dream,” she said. “I’ve worked really hard and this is for them, to show them you can do things with hard work so just never give up. It doesn’t matter how old you are, what you’re doing, as long as you put your mind to it.”

For Dimoff, it was her late father Joe, who died earlier this year. “He was my biggest running fan,” she said. “He didn’t get to know that I was here, so the first lap was for him, for being here and making it and achieving that dream.”

The field covered six 7K laps alongside Doha’s waterfront promenade, and at the start the temperature was just over 90 degrees Fahrenheit with 73.3 percent humidity.

Both Groner and Dimoff chose to participate in a study being undertaken by the IAAF (International Association of Athletics Federations), and they swallowed electronic pills that measured their core temperature during the race, an effort by by the sport’s governing body to understand more about the condition of competitors racing in extreme heat.

“It’s good data for the sport,” Groner said. “I’ll do anything for research. I’m a nurse!”

Groner had prepared for the conditions and unusual start time, 11:59 p.m. Since arriving in Doha on Tuesday, she remained on eastern time, staying awake until at least 2 a.m. each night in Doha and sleeping in until 2 p.m.

She paid special attention to hydration, taking on large amounts of water and electrolyte drinks in the days before and running most of the race with an eight-ounce bottle of water in one hand.

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As a nurse, she combines her 40 hours of work each week with about 100 miles of running, her mileage peaking at 106 in the build-up to worlds.

She and Dimoff began conservatively, passing 10K together in 36:58 and just inside the top 20, and at halfway (which they reached in 1:19:00), they were in 29th and 30th. They knew things would get tough soon after, and Dimoff had a strategy to cope, thinking of a different loved one on each lap. It was her father on the first lap, her mother on the second, her kids on the third, her husband on the fourth, and her coach on the fifth.

The final lap, she said, “was for my Dad, again, and for me.”

By then she was in a world of hurt, losing some places and trying her best to keep moving. “It was so sudden and it was just gone,” she said. “At some point it was like, ‘I literally can’t respond. I’m just going to finish and run my best.’”

Dimoff trained in a heat chamber in the build-up to the race, running as much as 90 minutes with the heat and humidity set to the levels she encountered here, but even then nothing could prepare her for going to the limit in such extreme heat. “It was hard, so hard,” she said.

Did she ever think about quitting? “Never. I’d look over at the skyline and be like, ‘I’m at the world championships in Doha, and I’m going to finish this race if I have to walk it.’”

She never did, crossing the line a satisfied 13th. Groner had powered up the home stretch a few minutes earlier and let out a delighted roar. Having given up running at the age of 21 for almost 10 years, it was an astonishing feat for the 41-year-old, who said she rejoined running to inspire her children.

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In the last two years she took things to a new level, enlisting coach Steve Magness and running her PR of 2:29:09 in Rotterdam earlier this year. “Since then, it’s just going for it,” she said. “Trying to be one of the top in the country. Why not?”

Groner said she will now take a few days of rest and a week of light jogging before building up for the New York City Marathon in five weeks. “I can do anything at this rate,” she laughed.

Where did it rank on the toughest races of her life? “Absolutely the most brutal marathon I’ve ever done,” she said.

It was a common theme among the finishers.

“I cannot say I enjoyed the event,” said bronze medalist Helalia Johannes. “I just tried my best because in my mind there was something that says I must keep going until I finish.”

Even the winner, Ruth Chepngetich, had it hard. “It was hot, really hot and very tough,” she said. “Dropping out came into my mind, but I keep going and prayed to finish the race.”

Back in sixth, there might have been no medal for Groner on this day, but she was ecstatic with her achievement, hoping it would send a message to other women like her.

“You can do it,” she said. “Whatever you want to do just try, put your mind to it, and just go for it. You just don’t know.”

Contributing Writer Cathal Dennehy is a freelance writer based in Dublin, Ireland, who covers the sport for multiple outlets from Irish newspapers to international track websites.