N.Y. Its Marathon : Chicago Has Faster Fields but Is Second City in Dramas, Mercedes-Benzes

ongtime New Yorker, unswervingly loyal to his city’s marathon, recently dismissed last weekend’s upstart Chicago race with a withering appraisal.

“Chicago is a track race that’s 26.2 miles long, run in a half-empty stadium,” he said. “But New York is a 26.2-mile happening, with 2 million people in the streets.”

One could argue that Chicago did boast some of the swiftest runners in history last weekend and came breathtakingly close to producing two world records.

On the other hand, the New York City marathon always seems to produce dramatic moments, whether there is a strong field or not.

--Remember 1981, when Alberto Salazar and Allison Roe delivered world records?

--Or 1982, when Salazar, neck-and-neck with Mexican Rodolfo Gomez in Central Park, literally emerged from a cloud of dust with 600 yards to go and won the race by only 20 yards--four seconds?

--Or 1983, when Rod Dixon overtook Geoff Smith in the last 385 yards and dropped to his knees to kiss the rain-soaked ground--while the defeated Smith lay sprawled on it?

--Finally last year, with its weakest field ever, who could forget Italian Orlando Pizzolato stopping eight times in the final miles to clutch his cramping stomach in the stifling heat and high humidity--and still crossing the finish line first in 2 hours 14 minutes 53 seconds, the slowest winning time here in a decade?

“I think our record shows that, with the exception of last year, we’ve had a real race every year,” said Fred Lebow, New York Marathon director. “I don’t think Chicago will be much of a factor after this year.”

The New York Marathon, to be run Sunday through the city’s five boroughs, will have the fastest field in its history, a grand total of $273,800 in prize money and a Mercedes-Benz 190SE each for the first man and woman, as well as a few sentimental favorites.

Among those are four-time New York winner Bill Rodgers, 37, who has not competed here since 1980, and his longtime rival, Frank Shorter, 1972 Olympic marathon gold medalist, who at 36 admits, “Bill’s in better shape than I am.”

Rodgers, the first American to break 2:10, said: “I’m very happy with my training, and think I can run a sub-2:12. Some people think I can’t do that anymore. If I can, it would mean a lot to me.”

The favorite this year is Saleh Ahmed--one of the mysterious Djiboutians--who came almost out of nowhere last April to win the World Cup Marathon in Hiroshima, Japan, in 2:08:09, at the time the second-fastest marathon ever run.

Ahmed, making his first visit to New York, said: “First, I run because I like to put the name of my country on the map. After that, if I win some money, it is also a good thing for me.”

The entries also include defending champion Pizzolato, who later topped his modest New York performance with a 2:10:23, making him a real contender this year, and Smith, who followed his humbling 1983 New York finish with two consecutive Boston Marathon victories.

Smith, who tends to be a front-runner, said: “I think I can win it if I stay in control.” He added that he was not worried about Ahmed. “He’s got two legs, two arms, a mouth, a nose and lungs, same as me,” Smith said.

The field also includes Dublin elementary school teacher Jerry Kiernan, who was ninth in the Olympic marathon. “I’m running New York because there’s a huge Irish population in the city and I want to give them something to shout about,” he said.

“Also, my wife is pretty keen on the idea of driving around in a Mercedes, and it may be my only chance of getting one.”

Also entered is Ibrahim Hussein, a talented Kenyan road racer who will be running his first marathon.

Olympic marathon silver medalist Grete Waitz, winner here six times, heads an impressive list of women, most of whom have run sub-2:30 marathons.

Waitz, who last week was fighting a cold she came down with before leaving her native Norway, will face American Julie Brown, who has spent the last year recuperating from mononucleosis, which contributed to her poor 36th-place finish in the Olympic marathon.

Brown said she followed a doctor’s order to do nothing but rest, and did not begin running again until spring.

“It was very frustrating, but you have to go through it,” she said. “I found out who my real friends were. You can get treated very badly when you’re down and out. It was hard. After the Olympics there were some people who just didn’t want to be around a loser.

“It’s given me a new perspective and showed me that I can’t be sacrificing everything in my life for running. I put too much into it--and it backfired. I have other interests now.”

Brown, who said she intends to enter law school, is optimistic about her chances here. “I’d like to win it, but I don’t know if I’m at that point,” she said. “I’m still building back. But I bet I can break 2:30.”

Brown said she ran a race in early summer in which she felt horrible and considered calling it quits.

“I started thinking it must be my mind,” she said. “I thought maybe it was time to retire.” But last month she ran 1:12 in a half-marathon in Philadelphia for third place. “I’m a lot faster and stronger,” she said. “I’m finally over it.”

Others in the women’s field include New Zealand’s Lorraine Moller, who was fifth in the Olympic marathon; Britain’s Priscilla Welch, 41 next month, who ran sixth in Los Angeles; Australian Lisa Martin, who was seventh; Canadian Jacqueline Gareau, the real Boston Marathon winner in 1980, the year impostor Rosie Ruiz tried to steal the laurel wreath, and Italy’s Laura Fogli, ninth in the Olympics.

American Marianne Dickerson, who surprised the world by winning the silver medal in the 1983 World Track and Field Championships marathon at Helsinki, Finland, also plans to run. Dickerson, who has spent the last two years overcoming injuries, recently moved to Washington where she has been racing and winning local, low-key events.

“I’ve actually been enjoying my obscurity,” she said recently. “I would be very happy to break 2:40 in New York.”

Moller, who ran her fastest marathon, 2:28:34, in the Los Angeles Games, said she hopes to better that here and finish in the top three.

“I have a score to settle with New York,” she said. “I’ve bombed out twice. I dropped out once and jogged in once. I just want to put it right. I don’t want to be beaten by a course.”