KENYAN INFLUENCE RUNS DEEP.

Byline: Bert Rosenthal Associated Press 

The Kenyans are everywhere, dominating road racing like no other country's runners. And they'll be all over the New York City Marathon course today.

Among the approximate 29,000 entrants are 23 men listed as elite competitors, and 12 of those are Kenyans. The two-time defending women's champion, Tegla Loroupe, is a Kenyan, too.

From the great Kip Keino to Moses Tanui, the Kenyans believe in their ability to outrun athletes from any other country over middle and long distances.

This year alone, they have been overwhelming.

At the Boston Marathon, led by Tanui, they swept the first five places and seven of the first eight.

At the World Cross Country Championships in South Africa, Kenya's senior men won their 11th consecutive title and took six of the top 10 places, including first, second and fourth.

At the Stramilano Half-Marathon in Milan, Italy, they swept the first four places, and at the Sallie Mae 10-kilometer race in Washington, they took the first six places.

What's more, the first 14 finishers at the Bobby Crim 10-miler in Flint, Mich., were all from Kenya, as were the first eight in the Philadelphia Half-Marathon.

Overall, Kenya's astonishing record this year includes six victories in marathons, 21 in half-marathons and 44 in road races.

Kenyans have been winning medals since the 1964 Olympics, but their big breakthrough was the the open-door sports policy adopted in 1990 that allowed them to travel extensively.

``The incentives to run are finally available to Kenyans on a broad basis,'' said John Manners, a Kenyan historian and writer from Montclair, N.J. ``If somebody from your village is out there hauling in thousands of dollars, that's serious money.''

There is serious money on the line today. The men's and women's winners will get $30,000 each plus a new car. Time bonuses, including $65,000 for a world record and $50,000 for a course record, also are up for grabs.

``The typical Kenyan almost runs the marathon with reckless abandon,'' said Derek Froude, a former New Zealand Olympian and now a sports agent.

That's exactly the way some of them plan to run Sunday.

A group of four trained by Italian Gabriele Rosa plans to push the pace hard. Tanui, who was 10th at New York in his marathon debut in 1993 and second at Boston in 1995, is the leader of Rosa's pack.

The others are 1996 Boston runner-up Ezekiel Bitok, first-time marathoner Josephat Kiprono and Phillip Chirchir, third at Rotterdam this year.

Among the other top Kenyans are three-time Boston champion Cosmas Ndeti, 1994 Berlin Marathon runner-up Sammy Nyangincha, 1995 Pittsburgh Marathon winner John Kagwe, 1995 New York third-place finisher William Koech and Benson Masya, the world's top road runner in 1994.

Their strongest challengers are 1995 world champion Martin Fiz of Spain and former New York winners Andres Espinosa (1993) and Salvador Garcia (1991), both of Mexico.

Prominent in the Kenyan contingent is Loroupe, a prohibitive favorite to win her third straight women's title in a field that includes world record-holder Ingrid Kristiansen, 40, of Norway.

For Tanui and Ndeti, this is a grudge race.

After Ndeti handily beat Tanui at Boston last year, he was quoted as saying, ``This is not a 10,000-meter race,'' a reference to his countryman being a 10,000-meter specialist rather than a marathoner.

Irked, Tanui got his revenge in April.

``Ndeti underrates everyone,'' he said. ``That's not the way to be. You have to respect everyone.''

Tanui respects everyone, and after reluctantly switching from the 10,000 to the marathon in 1993, he is supremely confident over the 26-mile, 385-yard distance.

``Now, I know more about marathons,'' he said. ``The marathon training is easier (than for the 10,000). For the 10,000, you need much more speed.''

While Tanui is trying to downplay his rematch, Ndeti is playing it up big while trying to prove that he can win on a course other than Boston.

``It hurts when they say I can only win in Boston,'' Ndeti said. ``I could have run well in other races, but I've had problems.''

Like Tanui, Ndeti is confident heading into the New York race.

``It's important for him to get back at the guy who beat him in Boston,'' Ndeti's agent, Mark Wetmore, said. ``He wants to let people know he's still the guy.''

On a recent training run, Ndeti ran 40 kilometers (24.8 miles) in 2:13:58, nearly 3 minutes faster than he did prior to the 1994 Boston Marathon, when he set the course record of 2:07:15.

CAPTION(S):

Photo

Photo: Moses Tanui switched from the 10,000-meter race to the marathon in 1993

Associated Press