Adriana Pirtea (Romania) had a debut at The LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon she'll never forget. The 27-year-old was only 300 meters away from claiming the title but underestimated the defending champion. Ethiopia's Berhane Adere shrunk the gap on the inexperienced Pirtea and caught her at the end to win by three seconds.

Adere's finish in 2:33:49 was her second straight title in Chicago.

Pirtea began pulling away from Adere at mile 22. Her lead then increased over the noticeably tired Adere to 25 seconds.

Her gap at mile 25 started to dwindle before the runners hit the South Loop. Adere's pace increased as the Romanian's decreased considerably. Adere's fastest mile, a 5:16 at mile 24, put her back in the chase.

At the 25-mile mark Adere willed her tired body on to just 19 seconds behind Pireta.

Pireta turned the corner for the final 1.2 miles onto Columbus Drive. As she approached the last stretch of asphalt, Pirtea felt comfortable enough to wave to the excited crowds gathered along the fences at Grant Park. But that's when the champion became a repeat champion.

"She (Pirtea) got tired and I changed into track-racing mode," said Adere. "I pushed real fast."

The former track athlete used that background to her advantage. Behind by 100 meters with 300 left to the tape, Adere charged down Columbus and passed a surprised Pirtea, crossing first to a dramatic finish.

The oppressive heat was a factor, even on a leader with a 30-second advantage. "The last 4K was tough," said Pirtea. "I slowed and had to run in the shade a lot." Pirtea also admitted that the distraction of cheers from the crowd for her contributed toward her false sense of comfort and eventual loss. "I didn't actually know how close she was behind me."

Pirtea's second place finish in 2:33:52 cemented her as an up-and- coming dominant runner in the marathon world.

Kate O'Neill, of the United States, secured a third-place finish in 2:36:15. "I was surprised to come in third," O'Neill said. "I'm really excited. It was a great experience today."