COLUMBUS, OHIO (10/17/04) - Michiganians enter the heart of Buckeyeland warily. Blink and Ohioans steal Toledo. Lost in a Woody haze, they may tear down the sideline markers.

As you tear down the streets of Columbus amid the scarlet and maize of maples, the gray and blue of fall skies, you"ll become aware Buckeyes put on a marathon that can carry away your heart.

The 25th annual Columbus Marathon drew a record 6,700 runners - including Kenyans from John Bingham's Racing Team who were new to the land of ice and snow, and a Wolverine stater who was not.

John Bingham's Racing Team? Yes, the Runner's World "Penguin" - who preaches "No Need for Speed" - brought his new squad of Kenyans, along with his clothing line, books and so on, to the capital of Ohio. They didn't exactly, "Waddle on, friends."

Eliud Kering, 30, found the starting pace too pedestrian, took off and ran solo to the finish, completing the cloverleaf course through five neighborhoods and the Ohio State University campus in 2:18:39.

Easy? It was 70 to 80 degrees, Kering said through a translator, when he left Kenya, in the Old World, to arrive in the New on Thursday. He had hoped to run 2:13, but found the gales of October chilling.

What was it like? "Too wind," Kering said.

Women's champ Emily Chepkomi Samoei, 24, also spoke most fluently with her feet, prevailing in 2:38:39. Russian Tatiana Belovel (2:43:38) finished nearly five minutes back.

Both winners earned $5,000 for their efforts. A $25,000 bonus offered men for a sub-2:10 and women for a sub-2:27 went unchallenged. As Kering said, it was just "too wind."

The Penguin's warmth-loving speedsters were not the only surprise. A bird of a different feather - Paul Aufdemberge, 39 - blew down from Michigan to claim second in the men's race.

Aufdemberge, an Olympic Trials qualifier and three-time Michigan Runner magazine Runner of the Year, decided to enter too late to receive elite-runner status.

Press-truck riders were mystified, as a result, when bib No. 4168 joined elite Nos. 2 and 3 in the pack trying to track down Kering. When the truck slowed to check their faces, the writer from Michigan Runner exclaimed, "That's Paul!"

By 16 miles, the chase pack was down to two: hometown favorite Jim Jurcevich, 28, runnerup here the last two years; and Aufdemberge. The crowds cheered for Jurcevich, No. 2. The MR writer yelled, "Go, Paul!" objectively as he could.

As the truck tracked Kering, one sage noted, "Look how little his ankles are. Everyone who runs fast has little ankles."

At last, the answer: Put your ankles on a diet, you'll run fast too.

At mile 21 the course turned onto Woody Hayes Street, which passes the Buckeyes' "Horseshoe" football stadium. "I fell off around there," said Jurcevich after finishing.

Not Aufdem-berge. No. 4168, who will enter the masters ranks turning 40 Dec. 30, stormed to the finish in a personal-record 2:20:03.

"Cold and windy?" said Aufdemberge. "I'm from Michigan.

"I ran my first marathon in Columbus in 1990," he remembered. "It's a great race and course, but I didn't do well that day: a 2:30 something.

"Today was my 16th marathon, but the first time that I've been back here. I'm learning to train for the distance better.

"I'm looking forward to being a master. I'm having fun."

"Fun" is earned in marathons. Ask the thousands who streamed in after the winners finished. Many achieved Boston Marathon-qualifying times on the flat course. Others proved, as the sun rose and flame fall colors sung, they could go the distance.

Hail to the victors, ankles big or small, runners all. For complete results see runohio.com. MR