It was time to end all of this -- or at least empty the tank trying.

That was precisely the tactic employed yesterday by 25-year-old Ethiopian Kassahun Kabiso with about 1,200 meters remaining in the Pittsburgh Marathon, as he was running, stride for stride, with Jim Jurcevich.

So as the 26.2-mile trip turned toward its final three-quarters of a mile for the two men at the front of the pack, Kabiso kicked with all his might in a light drizzle, striding away from Jurcevich to a first-place finish in a time of 2:22:51.

Jurcevich, a 32-year-old former distance standout at Michigan State from Columbus, Ohio, finished just steps behind, clocking a second-place time of 2:22:54.

Of the move that proved to eventually lasso the race for good, Kabiso, who now lives in the Bronx, N.Y., said, "There wasn't any time left. I just said, 'I need to go here, I need to just give everything right here.' I knew I could do it because I was confident."

The lead pack went out slow in terms of how elite lead packs generally go out in a marathon of decent caliber. Over the first half of the race, Kabiso, Jurcevich and Jared Abuya -- who finished third (2:33:32) -- averaged in the neighborhood of 5:40 for a mile.

It wasn't so much that they couldn't run faster; they simply didn't want to.

Instead, the opening stretches of the marathon transformed into the ultimate game of cat and mouse, with none of the three wanting to be the pacesetter, rather, choosing to drift alongside the other two, not tipping their own hand.

"Nobody wanted to lead, it was that simple, that was pretty much it," Jurcevich said. "We just all kind of settled in and I think we were fine with it."

But through the last few steps of Shadyside, and turning from Baum Boulevard onto Liberty Avenue into Bloomfield, Jurcevich decided it was time to take a chance of his own.

Again, Jurcevich tried to free himself from Kabiso as the pair fleetly rolled down Liberty Avenue in their descent into the Strip District.

"I put in a couple moves at [miles] 22 and 23," Jurcevich said. "I came hard down that big hill and he stuck with me.

"I think everyone coming down was probably wide open coming back down into Downtown. We were all going as fast as end-of-marathon legs will let you go, I know I was and I couldn't pull away."

Then, down through the Strip District, at the bitter end, is when Kabiso's move came, and it was just enough.

"Give him credit, he knew when to go for it and he got ahead of me," Jurcevich said of Kabiso.

"I just couldn't cover it back up. He got out in front and I just could not cover it back up. He knew exactly when to make that move and, sometimes, the other guy just runs a better race in some spots and you have to give him credit."

In defeat, Jurcevich's credit didn't stop with the Ethiopian who outkicked him in the race's final stretches.

"... With all the hills around here, they could have set this up to be downright brutal, but they did a great job of keeping it fair," Jurcevich said.

"This was a great marathon that really showcased a wonderful city."