Grandma's Past: The 2005 Champions

As part of our Grandma's Marathon coverage this week, Down the Backstretch is remembering recent Grandma's champions and the races they won.

Today, the champions of 2005:

Wesly Ngetich -- Like 2004 champion Vladimir Tsiamchyk, Kenya's Ngetich, who was killed in Kenya's tribal, post-election violence in 2008, used patience to win the first of his two Grandma's titles. The 28-year-old didn't catch race leader Pavel Andreev of Russian until after the 23-mile mark, en route to a close 2:13:18 win. Compatriot Simon Sawe finished just 13 seconds behind Ngetich; Andreev was 12 seconds behind Sawe.

Halina Karnatsevich -- Karnatsevich of Belarus won the first of what appeared to be two Grandma's titles in '05 by pushing the pace from the start. She led from the 10K mark on, winning in 2:28:43, the second-fastest women's mark ever on the course. In '06, Karnatsevich would cross the Canal Park finish line first again, but be stripped of her title after testing positive for the steroid stanozolol.

Results of the 2005 Grandma's Marathon are HERE.

Photos by Jeff Frey & Associates, courtesy of Grandma’s Marathon.