Transplant Recipient, 37, Runs Marathon

In a triumphant return to the city where she received a new liver in 1993, Dedra Croll ran the Pittsburgh Marathon on Sunday, her first since the transplant surgery.

Croll, 37, of Vernon, N.Y., finished in 3 hours, 44 minutes. By comparison, her best time in any of the previous nine marathons she had run was 3:16.

After the marathon, Croll was recognized at the awards ceremony at the Westin William Penn Hotel.

“All I want to say is don’t forget about being an organ donor,” said Croll, who underwent transplant surgery at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center after a cancerous tumor was discovered on her liver.

About halfway through the race, Croll ran through the city’s Oakland neighborhood, where the medical center is located, and was cheered by onlookers who recognized her. As she ran past, Croll raised her shirt high enough to show the crowd her scar.

Scudamore wins national championship

The Pittsburgh Marathon also gave Dave Scudamore, in his his first marathon, his ticket to this year’s World Championships.

Scudamore, a second-year medical student at U.C. California-Davis, earned a spot on the U.S. team and a trip to Athens for the championships in August.

The race doubled as the national marathon championships.

“There’s nobody more surprised than I when you consider all the world-class runners in this field,” Scudamore, 27, said. “You always imagine yourself winning a race like this, but I never seriously thought I would win.”

Scudamore took the lead at the 18-mile mark and quickly moved away from the field. He finished in 2:13:48 in ideal 50-degree temperature and low humidity.

Scudamore finished nearly three minutes in front of two-time Olympian Ed Eyestone of Layton, Utah, the runner-up in 2:16:24. Dan Held of Waukesha, Wis., was third at 2:16:52.

In the women’s division, Tatiana Ivanova of Russia won in a race in which Russian women have dominated. Ivanova finished in 2:37:41, with Ludmila Ilina, also from Russia, second in 2:42:50.

Elsewhere on the roads

Harold Sanon of Haiti won the Long Island Marathon at East Meadow, N.Y. in 2:33:38.

Lauren Kearney of New York won the women’s race in 3:03.40.

Sammy Maritim of Kenya won the men’s marathon and Tatiana Pozdniakova of Ukraine was the women’s champion in the 20th Cleveland Marathon and 10K Run.

Maritim completed the 26-mile, 385-yard race in 2:11:58 seconds. Pozdniakova won the women’s division in 2:33:27.

Joseph Kimani of Kenya won the men’s 10-kilometer run in 27:50, the second straight year he has won the race. Mexico’s Maria Luisa Servin took the women’s 10K in 33:43.

In Hong Kong, Britain’s Bashir Hussain (2:25:34) won the Tsing Ma Bridge Marathon, run over the world’s largest rail and suspension bridge.

In the women’s race, 50-year-old Australian Bev Lucas won in 2:52:07.

Kenya’s John Mwai broke away at the two-mile mark and dominated the field in winning the Broad Street Run in Philadelphia.

Mwai, who began running only three years ago and moved to the United States last month, completed the fast 10-mile course in 47:42.

Elaine Van Blunk won her second Broad Street women’s title in 54:45.

At Vancouver, British Columbia, Juan Gonzalez (2:22:53) of Mexico won the Vancouver Marathon for the second straight year, and Eniko Feher (2:49:56) of Hungary was the women’s winner for the third time.