Philadelphian Dean second in women's marathon

Abby Dean made sure she didn't drink any sports drinks before the Philadelphia Marathon yesterday.

The 37-year-old had suffered an allergic reaction when racing in the New York City Marathon three weeks ago, and she believed a fluid-replenishing electrolyte was the culprit.

Dean, the highest-placing Philadelphian in either field, crossed the finish line in 2 hours, 48 minutes and 52 seconds, which earned her a career-best second place and $3,000 in prize money.

"It's so wonderful to be out there and hear my name everywhere," said Dean, who has a doctorate in physiology and conducts research at Penn. "People are out there cheering for me everywhere."

A pair of Ukrainians won the men's and women's races, each taking home $3,500. Andriy Toptun bested the men in 2:19:57; Vera Ovcharuk topped the women in 2:44:02.

Had Dean met her goal of breaking the 2:40:00 mark, she might have beaten Ovcharuk.

Dean had hoped to accomplish that in New York on Nov. 2, but the combination of her allergic reaction and an asthma attack led to a 2:51:26 mark in that race.

Knowing the Philadelphia Marathon was only a few weeks away, she decided to try for the milestone again yesterday, but fell shy.

"I knew I wasn't going to set a [personal record] today," Dean said, "because it's kind of hard to recover from a marathon three weeks beforehand."

Dean said she typically runs about 70 miles each week, but cut back after running in New York.

"Between New York and Philly, it was just basically trying to make sure I recovered," she said. "Not a lot of miles, but [I did] a few quick turnover things just to keep my legs fresh."

While Dean was racing in her second marathon this month, the marathon experience was unfamiliar to Ovcharuk.

Ovcharuk, 27, was racing in her first career marathon, and it took her some time to adjust, said Tatyana Pozdnyakova, her agent and interpreter.

"She began it slowly to see what went on," Pozdnyakova said. "Then, after the half-marathon [mark], she began to run faster and faster and faster."

At that point, Ovacharuk held third place, but around the 20th mile, she made her move.

Toptun, the men's winner, didn't wait nearly as long to break from the pack, running most of the race alone and easily beating the second-place finisher, Cleveland's Fred Kieser, whose time was 2:22:45.

For full results, go to philadelphiamarathon.com