Near-record finishes highlight Marathon
By the time Mary Keitany was pacing her way up First Avenue on the Upper East Side, she had no reason to look back for challengers. The Kenyan’s lead was growing over the strong women’s field with every stride, and all she thought about was the finish line.
Lelisa Desisa of Ethiopia didn’t break out into a big grin until he pulled away from two opponents late in the race.
In perfect crisp autumn weather for distance runners, Keitany and Desisa won the New York City Marathon on Sunday in near record times.
Keitany, 36, became the second woman to win the marathon four times. She ran the race in 2 hours, 22 minutes, 48 seconds, the second fastest time for the course in history. Margaret Okayo of Kenya set the record of 2:22:31 in 2003.
“I can say the course record was not in my mind,” Keitany said. “For me, winning was the most important.”
Desisa, 28, held off countryman Shura Kitata by 1.99 seconds for his first win in New York, joining victories at the Boston Marathon in 2013 and 2015. He finished second in New York in 2014 and third in 2015 and 2017.
“This is my dream,” Desisa said. “To be a champion.”
Desisa f inished in 2 hours, 5 minutes, 59 seconds, the second fastest time for the course. Geoffrey Mutai of Kenya set the record of 2:05:05 in 2011. Last year’s winner, Geoffrey Kamworor of Kenya, f inished third.
Keitany won in 2014, 2015 and 2016 before coming in second last year to Shalane Flanagan, the first American woman in 40 years to win the New York City Marathon. She joined Grete Waitz, the Norwegian who won the marathon nine times between 1978-1988, as the only women to win the marathon four times.
The United States had four women finish in the top 10: Molly Huddle was fourth, Desiree Linden was sixth and Allie Kieffer was seventh.
Four American men also finished in the top 10: Jared Ward was sixth, Scott Fauble was seventh, Shadrack Biwott was ninth and Chris Derrick was tenth.
Retired Giants running back Tiki Barber finished the race in 4:44:47. He has run the marathon every year since 2014, with his best time being 4:28:26 in 2016.