|
Coverage Homepage
Post Race:
Men's Post-Race |
Women's Post-Race |
Complete Searchable Results
Pre-Race:
Men:
Men's Preview & Starter List
|
Men's Athlete Bios
Women:
Women's Preview & Starter List
|
Women's Athlete Bios |
Head-to-Heads: Elite Athlete Past Matchups
Extras:
Pace Calculator/Pace Guide/Viewing |
Videos (Athletes/Archival/More...)
More News:
Press Releases |
News (other sources)
Featured Book/Movie:
Run For Your Life |
A Race Like No Other
The 43rd Running of the New York City Marathon - The Men's Race
Two Champions + Others
The 2013 New York City Marathon brought together a great field of runners - as always - but at the end there were two who stood above all others and the results at the top of the final standings tell us as much about politics in the sport, the state of international competition, the selection and recruitment of athletes to a race, and the dominance of certain runners and training groups as anything else - but we get ahead of ourselves...
photo: Victah Sailer/PhotoRun
|
Pulling Together the Athlete Field
Part of the game in international marathoning is to build a field that, pre-race, can claim to be the best and can be filled with superlatives. The XXX Olympic Medalists, the YYY reigning Marathon Majors Champions, ZZZ men who have run faster than some standard, etc. These facts are what fill the pre-race press releases and in theory create a strong field - but with limited funds and the preference for the superlatives, some better competitors may be left out of the race. We write these words - knowing we may upset the status quo - because at the 2013 NYC Marathon, we felt that two men stood too far above the others and the race was not as interesting or nailbiting as it should. And knowing that a third runner who would have made the race a duel wanted to run New York could not get into the field... Emmanuel Mutai was the runner-up from previous edition of the marathon (2011), but did not sign up for the canceled 2012 marathon because he was going to the Olympics and could not do both. As the incumbent runner-up, and one of the fastest men in the world, but without a recent superlative to his name (his last win was the 2011 London Marathon and he was "only" runner-up in London in 2013), Emmanuel Mutai went to his second choice marathon: the 2013 Chicago Marathon. In Chicago, Emmanuel Mutai pushed his competition hard and ran the sixth fastest marathon of all time (2:03:52), losing by only a few seconds, but making the race great... New York's loss was Chicago's gain. But we digress....
photo: Victah Sailer/PhotoRun
|
The Top Two
Even without a crystal ball, the two men to beat could easily be named: Geoffrey Mutai and Tsegaye Kebede. Both men were on fire: Mutai had won the 2011 Boston Marathon in the fastest time ever clocked in a marathon (2:03:02) and won the 2012 Berlin Marathon in 2:04:15 (a failed world record attempt) and because the 2012 NYC Marathon did not take place, he was also the defending champion for this race with his course record-setting 2:05:05 win. Tsegaye Kebede was the winner of the 2013 London Marathon and in 2012 set the then-course record at the Chicago Marathon. Kebede had a mediocre fourth place finish at the 2013 World Championships, but over the years Kebede had shown that he was one of the most consistent performers in the sport.
The Race
Some top-level marathons employ pacers to ensure that the runners head out at a pace to challenge the existing standards - course or world records. With a course that is more difficult than some, New York did away with chasing records and offers a race that has no pacesetters, the race will fall as it might.
photo: Victah Sailer/PhotoRun
|
With a strong headwind, the runners began at a more conservative pace than they might in other years - and through the halfway mark, the average pace was 4:58/mile suggesting a 2:10+ marathon finish. A pack of 18 men hung together through Brooklyn and Queens, indicative of the easy pace and the wind... One of the biggest hills on the New York City Marathon course is the Queensboro Bridge (59th St. Bridge) from Queens into Manhattan and usually the race begins in earnest after the runners cross that bridge. Going up to the bridge, Geoffrey Mutai began to push the pace with a 4:47 mile (the fastest so far for the run), and then he pushed the pace again on the way down the bridge and onto 1st Avenue and the group settled to nine competitors. After mile 20, Geoffrey Mutai again pushed the pace and broke away from the pack. Only Stanley Biwott - the 2012 Paris Marathon champion (2:05:11) could stay with Mutai for even a short while, but by mile 22.5, Mutai was alone and the victory was clearly to be his.
A second story for the New York City Marathon is that it is the final scoring leg of the World Marathon Majors Series and its $500K bonus was to be determined on the day. There were scenarios where Stephen Kiprotich could gain the bonus ahead of Tsegaye Kebede, but they all required Kiprotich to finish first or second and ahead of Kebede - but by mile 21 Kiprotich was already falling back... Watching Kebede running strong, it was almost possible to see a smile on his face as he knew he would be getting a huge pay day - and redemption after having been runner-up in the series twice before. Kebede, even if he was no match for Mutai, looked strong and moved up to second place as he passed Lusapho April just past the 40K mark - and continuing on to finish as the runner-up.
photo: Victah Sailer/PhotoRun
|
The Winners / The Future
With the run, Geoffrey Mutai won his second consecutive New York City Marathon. His 2013 time, 2:08:24 - while far slower than his course record time of 2011 - was impressive given the headwind and by easily running away from the rest of the field he showed that he is in a class apart from the others. As impressive as his win is that he is a training partner with two other men and between the three of them they make up, arguably, the best three marathoners in the world. It will be interesting to see how this trio - Mutai, Dennis Kimetto and Wilson Kipsang - will push each other to break barriers in the next two years. Wilson Kipsang set the world record at the 2013 Berlin Marathon, Geoffrey Mutai currently holds the time for the fastest marathon ever run, and we are certain that Kimetto is capable of crushing the current world record in the next year given the right conditions.
Kebede is impressive for his consistency over the years. Since he was the bronze medalist at the 2008 Olympics and 2009 World Championships marathons, he has been top-three at 10 World Marathon Majors events and is always competitive. His marathon running began at 20 years old and he has been excelling for the last six years (he is only 26) - it will be interesting to see how much more he can do in his career.
Top Finishers
1. Geoffrey Mutai (KEN) 2:08:24 - $100,000 + $20,000
2. Tsegaye Kebede (ETH) 2:09:16 - $60,000 + $15,000
3. Lusapho April (RSA) 2:09:45 - $40,000 + $10,000
4. Julius Arile (KEN) 2:10:03 - $25,000
5. Stanley Biwott (KEN) 2:10:41 - $15,000
6. Masato Imai (JPN) 2:10:45 - $12,500
7. Jackson Kiprop (UGA) 2:10:56 - $10,000
8. Peter Cheruiyot Kirui (KEN) 2:11:23 - $5,000
9. Wesley Korir (KEN) 2:11:34 - $3,000
10. Daniele Meucci (ITA) 2:12:03 - $2,000
11. Yuki Kawauchi (JPN) 2:12:29 - $1,500
12. Stephen Kiprotich (UGA) 2:13:05 - $1,000
13. Ryan Vail (OR/USA) 2:13:23
14. Jeffrey Eggleston (CO/USA) 2:16:35
15. Bob Tahri (FRA) 2:18:16
16. Radoslaw Dudycz (POL) 2:22:07
17. Christian Thompson (PA/USA) 2:22:48
18. Danilo Goffi (ITA) 2:23:22
19. Michael Cassidy (NY/USA) 2:23:46
20. Meb Keflezighi (CA/USA) 2:23:47
21. Kevin Pool (CA/USA) 2:24:03
22. Paolo Natali (ITA) 2:26:00
23. Chema Martinez (ESP) 2:28:21
24. Harbert Okuti (UGA) 2:29:39
25. Guor Maker (SDN) 2:30:13
Coverage Homepage
Post Race:
Men's Post-Race |
Women's Post-Race |
Complete Searchable Results
Pre-Race:
Men:
Men's Preview & Starter List
|
Men's Athlete Bios
Women:
Women's Preview & Starter List
|
Women's Athlete Bios |
Head-to-Heads: Elite Athlete Past Matchups
Extras:
Pace Calculator/Pace Guide/Viewing |
Videos (Athletes/Archival/More...)
More News:
Press Releases |
News (other sources)
Featured Book/Movie:
Run For Your Life |
A Race Like No Other
|
