When you wake up in a city that never sleeps, who is the king of the hill, top of the heap?
The New York Marathon Overview
Running through the heart of The Big Apple, the TCS New York City Marathon is the largest marathon in the world with nearly 50,000 people running it annually and close to 100,000 applicants who try to enter. However, the most impressive figures come from the spectators, where a supposed 2 million people line the streets of New York to cheer on the runners as they run the 26.2 miles to the finish line. Also, 30,000 bagels were served at the start line this year!
Previous runners of note to have won the race are Paula Radcliffe, Geoffrey Mutai, and Mary Keitany.
Specs:
Weight in Altra’s sample size: 240g (8.5oz)
Stack height: 32mm heel and 28mm forefoot for a 4mm drop
MSRP: €150/$140
New York Marathon Men’s Race Recap
The male winner of the 52nd edition of the New York City Marathon is Tamirat Tola. He crossed the line in 2:04:58. This is a new course record, breaking the 12 year old previous record of 2:05:06 held by Geoffrey Mutais.
Although Tola was world champion in the men’s marathon in 2022, upon arriving in New York many people were questioning his fitness after he dropped out of the marathon distance at the Budapest World Championships earlier this year. However, as the race started he left any doubts behind him as he was dominating the lead pack. As the miles ticked by, the lead pack began to thin around him. Furthermore, by the 20th mile he left the final runner behind – Jemal Yimer – as Tola only got faster and faster.
The most observant amongst you will notice that Tola was sporting a pair of Adidas’ latest Adios Pro Evo 1 today.
New York Marathon Women’s Race Recap
Beating the rest of the women’s field, Hellen Obiri is the first woman to cross the finish line and break the tape this year in New York. The final few miles of the race had us sitting on the edge of our seats. Tension rose between Letesenbet Gidey, Sharon Lokedi and Helen Obiri. These were the three contenders for first. You don’t often see a sprint finish in a marathon major! But, today, with all three running side by side into the final mile we were promised an amazing spectacle. The group kept shifting as the three leaders fought for space and positioning. It was anyone’s race. It was only in the last 400m that Obiri managed to distance herself from Gidey. This move came after the two had already created some space between them and Lokedi.
Finishing in 2:27:23, Obiri was 6 seconds ahead of Gidey who just didn’t seem to have a sprint finish to match Obiri’s. Having finished in 6th last year in New York for her marathon debut, she knew what to expect from Obiri, the two time Olympic medalist, especially when she was racing against such an experienced field. Of which, most notably was Gidey who holds both the 10,000m and the half marathon world record.
Running in full On kit today it was no surprise that Obiri finished the New York Marathon in a pair of On Cloudtri.
