Defending Champions Return to New York City Marathon

By Adam Kopet

Sunday's TCS New York City Marathon closes out the fall season of Abbott World Marathon Majors with strong international and American fields.

Champions Return to New York City

Defending champions Mary Keitany of Kenya and Lelisa Desisa of Ethiopia return to the New York City Marathon and they enter the race among the favorites to win this year.

Keitany has won four of the past five years. Her one loss came in 2017 when Shalane Flanagan became the first American to win the New York City Marathon in 40 years. She recently announced her retirement from racing as she completes her transition into coaching with the Bowerman Track Club. Flanagan will be a commentator for Sunday's race broadcast.

During the span of dominance by Keitany in New York, she has also been one of the best marathoners in the world. She owns the women's only world record at 2:17:01 from the 2017 London Marathon. That time currently ranks her third on the all-time list after Brigid Kosgei broke the overall world record at last month's Chicago Marathon when she ran 2:14:04.

The men's race features the past two champions. Desisa won last year and Kenya's Geoffrey Kamworor won in 2017. Both runners have seen success this fall in other races and could be formidable in in New York.

New York City Marathon Course Records in Jeopardy

The 2018 race saw the second-fastest men's and women's times on the New York City Marathon course. Those course records are held by Geoffrey Mutai's 2:05:06 in 2013 and Margaret Okayo's 2:22:31 in 2003.

There are no pacemakers in the New York City Marathon. The pace is up to the racers. That generally makes the chance of course records small. However, Keitany's 2:22:48 from 2018 puts her 17 seconds off the course record. It is conceivable to see her shaving a second per mile off her time to further cement herself in the record books of the New York City Marathon.

On the men's side, Desisa ran 2:05:59 last year to become the second man to break 2:06 in New York City. It would be a bigger jump for the men to break Mutai's mark, but again, it is not inconceivable that it could happen. It is certainly something to pay attention to if the early pace is fast.

Half Marathon World Record Holders Featured in New York

Sunday's race will feature the men's and women's half marathon world record holders. For the men, that is Kamworor, who ran 58:01 at the Copenhagen Half Marathon in September. The half marathon has been his best event over the years, as he has won the IAAF World Half Marathon Championships three times, but his 2017 New York City Marathon win was no fluke.

The women's race features the marathon debut of Joyciline Jepkosgei. She has been unable to recently find the form that twice carried her to the world record in 2017, taking the record down to 1:04:51.

Jepkosgei had been scheduled to make her marathon debut at the Hamburg Marathon in April, however, she elected to pace the women's race at the London Marathon on the same day instead. That makes Sunday's race her marathon debut. Despite not running fast over the half marathon this year, Jepkosgei has still been formidable. She won the NYC Half in March and Beach to Beacon 10K in August. She ran 31:05 for the latter.

Fall Marathon Doubles

At least three athletes in the elite field Sunday will already have run a marathon this fall. Chief among them is the defending champion, Desisa. He won the marathon at the IAAF World Outdoor Championships four weeks ago. His 2:10:40 was run in high heat and humidity, although in better conditions than the women's marathon was held in the week before.

Recovery remains the big question for Desisa as he enters Sunday's race. How much did that heat and humidity take out of him? What is for sure, the race conditions on Sunday morning are not going to have much resemblance to what he saw in Doha.

Also making the World Championships and New York City Marathon double is Roberta Groner. The 41-year old finished sixth in Doha, running 2:38:44. She is a full-time nurse and mother of three, making her 2019 season all the more impressive. She ran a personal best 2:29:09 in April's Rotterdam Marathon.

Sara Hall did not run at the World Championships. She ran the Berlin Marathon where she finished fifth in a personal best 2:22:16. That is the fastest time by an American this year. Hall is known for her fast recovery, which she has already demonstrated this fall when she won the USATF 10 Mile Championships a week after Berlin.

Americans to Watch

With the U.S. Olympic Trials marathon in February, there are fewer elite Americans running the New York City Marathon this year. Due to the schedule and the initial need to get a fast time this year, the Chicago Marathon was one of the preferred fall marathons for Americans. However, there are still some fantastic American athletes racing Sunday.

Jared Ward was sixth in last year's New York City Marathon and the top-American finisher. He also finished sixth in the marathon at the 2016 Olympics. Ward set a personal best at April's Boston Marathon, running 2:09:25, which ranks him third among Americans in the marathon this year.

The women's race is a bit deeper for Americans. In addition to Groner and Hall, three women have already achieved the Olympic standard, including Des Linden, Kellyn Taylor and Aliphine Tuliamuk. Linden won the 2018 Boston Marathon and has a best of 2:22:28. She is racing in New York before she decides whether she will race the Olympic Trials marathon.

Taylor and Tuliamuk are training partners with the HOKA ONE ONE Northern Arizona Elite. Taylor owns a personal best of 2:24:29 from the 2018 Grandma's Marathon. Earlier this year she ran 2:26:27 to finish fourth at the Prague Marathon. Tuliamuk was a late addition to the New York field after she struggled with injury after she ran 2:26:50 for third at the Rotterdam Marathon in April. Both women will be expecting to toe the line in Atlanta in February.

Allie Kieffer is another woman to watch Sunday. She has raced well in New York in the past and owns a personal best of 2:28:12.