Emily Samoei was running alone, right where she wanted to be.

Twenty-three miles into Sunday's women's marathon, the 26-year-old Kenyan had broken clear of the pack and was on pace for a personal best, perhaps even to run faster than her goal of 2 hours, 30 minutes.

Then she felt a stabbing pain in her right calf, and suddenly her only goal was to finish.

She managed that, limping past the line in 2 hours, 35 minutes, 25 seconds – still a personal best – to win by more than two minutes over Russian Firaya Sultanova, who finished in 2:37:44. Samoei, whose previous best was 2:38:39, was in no mood to celebrate, nearly collapsing as she finished. She was taken by wheelchair to the medical area and to warm up and have her cramp massaged out.

"On Mile 23, I started feeling it," said Samoei, who earned $10,000 with the victory. "Then I had to struggle through the rest. I wanted to finish. I just kept going and going. I was relieved to get to the finish."

By the time the cramp hit, Samoei had already put away her female competition and was working on the men. The elite women were given a head start of 18:35, and a check for $25,000 was awarded to the first runner across the line. With a big lead and a strong pace, Samoei thought she had a shot.

That, she said, was her motivation for surging away from Sultanova 15 miles into the race.

"I was checking my watch, thinking about where [the men] were, and I said, 'Oh, my God,' and thought I'd better go," Samoei said. "Let me try my best."

Her best was too much for Sultanova, who at 46 ranks among the world's fastest runners for her age. Sultanova had forced the pace early, trying to separate from the pack, but Samoei caught her at Mile 13.

When Samoei decided to make her move two miles later, Sultanova had no answer.

ELIZABETH M. CLAFFEY/DMN

Kenyan Emily Samoei won the women's division of the Wellstone's White Rock Marathon.

"I tried to stay with her for a couple of miles and let her go," Sultanova said through an interpreter. "At my age, you learn to let the younger ones go."

Both runners said they were affected by the cold temperatures and strong winds on the course. Samoei said the conditions kept her from breaking 2:30, and Sultanova said the cold and wind wouldn't allow her to get comfortable.

"We started very slowly and then I went and tried to find my own pace," Sultanova said, "but it was impossible with the wind."