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≡ 54th NYC MARATHON ≡
Sunday’s New York City Marathon started in cool, 50 F temperatures on Staten Island, but the running was hot, especially by Kenyan star Hellen Obiri.
The women’s race started first and a group of 14 had separated by the 10 km mark, led by defending champion Sheila Chepkirui (KEN), 2023 winner Obiri, 2022 champ Sharon Lokedi (KEN) and 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials winner Fiona O’Keeffe at 33:53.
But the pace increased and just six were in the front group at 20 km, with Obiri, Chepkirui and O’Keeffe in the lead. At the half, it was down to four, with Chepkirui, Lokedi and Obiri at 1:11:01 and O’Keeffe at 1:11:02. Paris Olympic marathon winner Sifan Hassan (NED) was fifth at 1:11:06 and was working to move up to the leaders. She regained contract in another half-mile, but those five had separated.
Chepkirui kept pushing and dropped Hassan again by 23 km and then dropped O’Keeffe by 25 km. O’Keeffe was three seconds back and Hassan, 17 seconds behind. O’Keeffe worked her way back into the front group by 27 km and Hassan was closing her gap from fifth.
Hassan had caught up by the 18-mile mark with a 5:10 mile to get back with the leaders and they were through 30 km in 1:40:11. Chepkirui went back to the front and started a surge, with Obiri and Lokedi that dropped O’Keeffe and Hassan again.
By 35 km, it was the three prior champs running in front at 1:56:48 and now O’Keefe (1:57:27) and Hassan (1:57:56) comprehensively dropped from contention.
Lokedi – in just her seventh career marathon and fourth in New York – surged after 24 miles and Obiri followed, but Chepkirui fell back, down seven seconds by 40 km (24.9 miles). They were together coming into Central Park and then Obiri put the hammer down with about three-quarters of a mile to go and ran away to win in a course record of 2:19:51! That shattered the 2:22:31 mark from 2003 by Kenyan Margaret Okayo.
Lokedi was second in 2:20:07 and Chepkirui finished third in 2:20:24.
This was Obiri’s eighth career marathon; at 35, she has won four of them, finished second twice and third once. After a sixth in New York in her 2022 debut, she has never finished lower than third, at the Paris Olympic marathon last year. Lokedi completed her seventh career marathon, with five top-three finishes; she has been 1-3-9-2 in New York in the last four.
O’Keeffe, in just her third career marathon, was the top American in fourth in 2:22:49, followed by Annie Frisbie (2:24:12) and then Hassan in sixth (2:24:43). Two more U.S. finishers were in the top 10, with Emily Sisson eighth (2:25:05) and Amanda Vestri ninth (2:25:40).
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The men started at 9:06 a.m. local time, 30 minutes behind the women, with 21 in contact through 10 km and Britain’s Paris 5,000 m Olympian Patrick Dever – in his marathon debut – in the lead.
At the half, 21 were still in the lead pack, with Japan’s Yudai Fukuda – running his sixth marathon of the year – in front at 1:05:18. American steeple star Hillary Bor was in front by 25 km as the race narrowed to about 15 challengers. Bor’s pace cut the lead pack to eight, with Kenyan superstar Eliud Kipchoge and defending champ Abdi Nageeye (BEL) both falling back.
By 30 km, eight were in the front, led by 2021 winner Albert Korir (KEN) in 1:32:21, who finished 1-7-2-3 in New York in the past four races. But the race broke up with Kenyan stars Benson Kipruto and Alexander Mutiso, Bor and Dever in front.
By 23 1/2 miles (38 km), Kipruto and Mutiso – the 2024 London winner – had broken away, dropping Bor and Dever. Kipruto, the winner in Boston in 2021, Chicago in 2022 and Tokyo in 2024, kept surging and Mutiso kept coming back.
Kipruto and Mutiso passed 40 km in 1:58:58, with Korir up to third and Dever fourth, both in 2:02:23. In Central Park, Kipruto had the lead, and was 3 m up with 300 m to go.
Mutiso made a final dash in the final 100 m and almost got even, but Kipruto had it on the lean at the line, reported on ESPN2 as 2:08.530 to 2:08.690! Both were 2:08:09 officially.
It’s Kipruto’s fourth World Marathon Major win and 13th top-three finish in 18 career marathons. He’s been in the top three in nine of his last 10 marathons. This was Mutiso’s eighth career marathon, with six medals.
The U.S. had two in the top 10, with Joel Reichow sixth in 2:09:56 and Charles Hicks seventh in 2:09:59. Bor finished 12th (2:10:47) and Kipchoge, possibly in his last competitive marathon – but his first NYC Marathon – was 17th in 2:14:36.
Prize money was $100,000-60,000-40,000-25,000-15,000-10,000-7,500-5,000-2,500-2,000 for men and women for a total of $534,000 combined. An additional prize pool for U.S. finishers was $25,000-15,000-10,000-5,000-3,000 for the top five.
Obiri collected an added $50,000 for destroying the course record.
This was the final World Marathon Majors event of 2025, but the marathon season isn’t over. Of note, the ultra-fast Maraton Valencia Trinidad Alfonso Zurich in Spain comes on 7 December.
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