American Ben Hoffman Runs a Steady Pace to Podium

Although Ben Hoffman is fast, he was not on the short list of favorites to win or even post a top three time. But, he did it. He took 2nd. He came out of the water about one minute behind the leaders, but dropped back to a 12 minute deficit behind the new leader and soon to be champ Sebastian Kienle on the bike course.

He managed to crawl back into the top 5 in the first 13 miles of the run. Then he began playing a cat and mouse game with Frederick van Lierde from Belgium throughout the marathon. Van Leirde and Hoffman exchanged positions for a while then van Leirde put on pressure and surged. Hoffman gambled and decided to let him go. Hoffman continued to run his steady pace and his gamble paid off as van Lierde fell apart while Hoffman passed him.

Ben’s run was fast enough for 2nd overall with a 2:51 time and he actually ran a faster marathon than winner Kienle, but it was not enough to overcome the 12 minute lead that Kienle put on on him during the bike.