Oswego’s Colin Mickow runs Boston Marathon, says ‘wheels fell off at end’

Collin Mickow knew all about the Boston Marathon.

He knew all about the many steep hills of the legendary course.

And it still got the best of him.

Mickow, who is a financial analyst living in Oswego, made his Boston debut Monday, finishing 21st overall, the ninth fastest American with a time of 2 hours, 14 minutes, 37 seconds.

Always a competitor, he would have liked to have done better.

“It was a little bit of a disappointment. I went for it, so I’m not too upset,” he said. “The wheels kind of came off at the end. .... If I did it again, I think I’d run it different. Sometimes, it’s not your day.”

Mickow, 33, said this year’s marathon was a loaded field. Evans Chebet, 34, of Kenya, repeated as race winner with a time of 2:05:54.

Scott Fauble, 31, of Colorado, was the top-finishing American, placing seventh with a time of 2:09:44.

“There were more East Africans in this world major than the other US marathons have. Even the American field was extremely deep with a lot of tough Americans in that race,” he said. “But I still wanted to do better. At this point, If I’m in one of these marathons. I want to be one of the top Americans, if not the top.”

In the early stages of the race, Mickow said he was about where he wanted to be running in the chase pack.

“I led a lot of that (chase pack), which might have been kind of my downfall,” he said. “People warned me about this course. ... The hills were no joke. If I did it again, I’d probably have a different strategy. But I didn’t want to be too conservative. That’s not my style.”

He said he fell off about the 18-mile mark, and it became a struggle to finish.

“I went from running sub-five minute miles to the last mile and was above six and that was a flat mile. That’s how bad it got,” said Mickow, a 2008 Princeton High School graduate. “I was lucky to finish by the end. Running a six-minute mile, I was a pretty easy target to pick off.”

Not finishing was never an option for the former University of Illinois standout.

“The only way I wouldn’t have finished would’ve been if I passed out or something, which I have never done,” he said. “But it was tough to finish.”

When asked if he’d like to run Boston again, he laughed.

“Right after, I said, ‘I’m never going to do it that again.’ How it ended up, I’m telling myself, ‘I’ve got to stay on a flat course like Chicago,’” he said. “But it’s kind of a challenge now. I want to kind of do it and finish strong and not fall apart like I did. We’ll see. Maybe, I’ll do it again. Got to redeem myself.”

Still, Mickow said the experience of running the Boston was everything he thought it would be with the large crowds cheering on the runners all the way to the finish line on Boylston Street at Copley Square in Boston.

“It was a great experience,” he said. “We’re running through the suburbs of Boston. You’re not even in the city until the end and it just seemed the course was lined with people the entire way. It’s very loud the entire time.

“It was very impressive. They really support that marathon. And the Boston Marathon Association put us up in nice hotels.”

Mickow finished 48th in the Worlds Championship Marathon in Eugene, Ore. last July when he took a nasty spill and wound up tearing his meniscus in his knee. He had surgery in August and was unable to run in any fall marathons.

The former BCR Cross Country Runner of the Year has his eyes on the Olympic Trials in February for the US Paris Team. He said he’ll do a fall marathon, most likely at Chicago.

“I like racing here. It’s my home marathon,” he said. “Then I’ll run some stuff this summer. Some tune-ups, some half marathons or something just to stay in shape and keep racing.”

Kevin Hieronymus is the BCR Sports Editor. Contact him at khieronymus@bcrnews.com