Frequent Racer Akor Eyes Marathon Double

If 2007 Grandma’s Marathon champion Mary Akor becomes the first woman to win Grandma’s Marathon and the Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon in the same year, it will be a double-victory to chalk up for old-school marathoning.

In an era when elite athletes carefully place their chips on only a marathon or two during a calendar year, Akor takes an “all in” approach when it comes to racing the 26.2 mile distance.

Think Bill Rodgers when he was cashing in on his greatness in the late 1970s. Or, Dick Beardsley on his way to the top.

“When I don’t compete a lot, I’m out of shape,” Akor said this morning at the TCM media conference. “When I complete a lot, I’m in shape. Other people don’t understand, when I race a lot, I get my best.”

If that’s truly the case, the Nigerian-born American could improve on her PR performance from last year’s TCM, where she ran 2:33:50 and finished second to Marla Runyan. A win would also match Andrew Musuva's same-year Minnesota Marathon double from 1999.

Akor, after all, has run a whopping six marathons in 2007 already.

Prior to her 2:35:40 victory at Grandma’s this June, Akor ran two marathons in January. The efforts were principally training runs, but California resident clocked times in the mid-2:40s in both. In March, she ran 2:37:14 at high altitude in Mexico. She also competed at Boston in April.

Since Grandma’s, where she won by more than three minutes on a sticky day, she ran at the IAAF World Championships in Osaka, Japan where intestinal problems hampered her effort. She ran 2:47:06 for 42nd place.

Since Osaka, though, Akor has gone five whole weeks without a marathon.

She took a week of recovery after Worlds and has concentrated on speed work since then. She offered 20 x 400 meters at 74-75 seconds as a representative recent speed session. Akor said she’s only done two long runs in her run-up to TCM.

Akor, contrarian that she is, is also likely one of the few runners excited about the muggy forecast for Sunday.

“The weather is good,” she said. “It’s not even that cold compared to other years I’ve been here.”

Akor does seem humbled by the challenge of the Grandma’s/Twin Cities sweep.

“That would be like, 'Whoa!'” she said. “I will try my best. It’s by the grace of God, if I do it.”

And, no matter the place she’s in when she crosses the finish line in St. Paul on Sunday, Akor will want to get a decent cool-down in.

After all, she’s planning to run the New York City Marathon in four weeks.