Runners in the men’s elite division make their way from the start line during the New York City Marathon on Nov 3. — AP
SHEILA Chepkirui of Kenya was well aware of the esteemed company that she was keeping in the late stages of the New York City Marathon on Sunday morning.
To her right was Hellen Obiri, the defending women’s champion and a two-time Boston Marathon winner. And then there was Vivian Cheruiyot, one of Kenya’s most decorated distance runners and a four-time world champion on the track.
Chepkirui’s resume was comparatively modest. But that began to change once a three-woman race turned into a duel as Chepkirui and Obiri reached Central Park together, the finish line nearly within sight.
Obiri, who tends to energetically swing her arms with every stride, equal parts metronome and prizefighter, is known for her closing kick.
But on this day, Chepkirui seemed to diminish Obiri’s powers by systematically ratcheting up the pace, gaining enough separation to leave Obiri in her wake.
“I said to myself, ‘Let me give it my best,’” Chepkirui said.
Chepkirui, 33, led a Kenyan sweep in the women’s race, winning her first major marathon title in 2’24:35. Obiri, 34, finished 14 seconds behind, while Cheruiyot, 41, was third. It was the first time that one country took all three podium spots since 1976, when American women did it.
Three American women finished among the top 10: Sara Vaughn in sixth, Jessica McClain in eighth and Kellyn Taylor in 10th.
Kenya’s Sheila Chepkirui celebrates after winning the women’s title. — NYT
The men’s race was just as riveting. Much like the competition between Chepkirui and Obiri, Abdi Nageeye of Holland and Evans Chebet of Kenya were shoulder-to-shoulder, elbow-to-elbow entering Central Park. But Nageeye did not want to leave anything to chance.
With one final burst of speed, Nageeye, 35, outsprinted Chebet, one of the sport’s fiercest competitors, to win in 2’07:39.
Chebet, 35, who had won the race in 2022, finished six seconds behind. Albert Korir of Kenya was third, while Tamirat Tola of Ethiopia, the defending champion, placed fourth after a long, successful season that included his winning gold in the men’s marathon at the Paris Olympics.
In ideal marathon conditions – clear skies and temperatures in the low 40s – more than 50,000 participants gathered in waves on the start line at the foot of the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge. Just getting a bib was a competitive process that proved, once again, that people will pay for the unique privilege of suffering for 42km.
The marathon remains one of the city’s most cherished rites of fall, a communal celebration that on Sunday played out across all five boroughs, the streets brimming with moms and dads, age-group contenders and weekend warriors, the fleet of foot and the hobby joggers.
Abdi Nageeye of Holland crosses the finish line to win the men’s division. — NYT
The elites, though, are a different breed, and Conner Mantz, nearly three months removed from his eighth-place finish representing the United States at the Olympics, took an early turn near the front of the men’s race, his loping, bouncy stride easily identifiable to scores of spectators in Brooklyn.
But it was not until around Mile 16, when Chebet surged coming off the Queensboro Bridge, that the race reached another level – one that splintered a field full of world-class athletes.
“I kind of got destroyed when Evans made his move,” Mantz said, “and I knew that that was too fast for me.”
Descending from the bridge, Chebet glanced around to see if he had made any of his rivals suffer. But he could not shake the likes of Korir, Tola and Geoffrey Kamworor, all former champions.
Lurking in the shadows, though, was Nageeye, an Olympic silver medallist in Tokyo.
And he was among the leaders who continued to hammer the tempo, covering Mile 17 in a lung-searing 4:27, as huge crowds that lined First Avenue on the Upper East Side of Manhattan urged them on.
Competitors in Brooklyn during the men’s wheelchair event. — NYT
Finally, with about a mile to go, the stage belonged to Nageeye and Chebet, who, even in defeat, showed his mettle after being left off Kenya’s Olympic team.
For Nageeye, it was a victory to savour after he had dropped out of the men’s marathon at the Paris Olympics with hip pain.
“It was one of my biggest disappointments ever,” Nageeye said of the Olympics.
“So I went back to training and I told myself, ‘You will never get it back. It is done. Paris is over. You can only do one thing: In less than two months, you can do something great at the greatest marathon in the world, so focus on that.”
Mantz was the top American man, finishing sixth in 2:09.
Through the early miles of the women’s race, a couple of Americans made cameos near the front.
Jenny Simpson, the former track star who had announced that the marathon would be her final race as a pro, briefly led around Mile 8. And then it was Dakotah Popehn, formerly Lindwurm, coming off her 12th-place finish at the Paris Olympics, who nudged out toward the lead.
But the race began in earnest around Mile 18, which is when a group of about 10 runners broke free from the rest of the field.
By Mile 22, that group had thinned to five: Obiri, Chepkirui, Cheruiyot, Senbere Teferi of Ethiopia and Eunice Chumba of Bahrain. And then there were just two.
“New York needs a lot of strength,” Chepkirui said, adding: “Here, it’s not about time. Here, it’s about winning.” — NYT
