NYC Marathon 2005 Marathon - Elite Runners

Elite Athletes
2005 ING New York City Marathon

The Men's Field
The 2005 New York City Marathon will feature a strong field, with a number of runners who could break into the top three. The men's race features one of the strongest international fields ever assembled - one that Paul Tergat described as comparable to an Olympic field in both caliber and international makeup. In attendance at Sunday's event will be last year's winner (Hendrick Ramaala, who was also third in London this year); last year's runner-up (Meb Keflezighi); world-record holder Paul Tergat; the 2005 London Marathon winner, Martin Lel (who also won New York in 2003); the 2005 Boston Marathon winner, Hailu Negussie; the NYC Marathon record holder (from 2001...Tesfaye Jifar); as well as another four or five that might findi it in their legs to come across the finish line in first place - this is a great field.

Can we make a prediction? Well, we shouldn't - this is too hard to call, but we always do. Paul Tergat has not put in an outstanding performance since his world record in Berlin, he's got to be hungry and New York is the perfect venue to prove his stuff - we'll go with the world record holder on Sunday... Last year the women's world record-holder beat the New York field, this year it will be the men's world-record holder...

The Women's Field
Oh, it's hard to find a strong women's field... Featuring the most handsome award for a win in marathoning history: $130,000 ($30,000 more than for the male winner!), New York has attracted a strong field, although nowhere as deep as the men's field. Unable to attract Deena Kastor who opted for a fast time at Chicago this year, New York's field will likely feature a duel between Lornah Kiplagat and the 2004 runner-up, Susan Chepkemei. Also in contention will be Jelena Prokopcuka who ran a 2:22:56 in Osaka at the beginning of the year and thus the fastest time in the field, despite finishing only fifth in New York in 2004. Our prediction: Lornah Kiplagat - ready to fight and win this one.

Elite Athlete Information follows. Click on an athlete's name to review their top all-time performances. Hover over "History" to see past NYC Marathon performances.

Blow by blow coverage of the ING NYC Marathon 2005 races:

Post-Race Writeups
NYC Marathon 2005: The Men's Race
NYC Marathon 2005: The Women's Race

As It Happened:
2005 ING NYC Marathon Live Race Coverage

Pre-Race Coverage
Marathon Elite Lists and Overview
Pre-Race Interviews with top competitors
A special interview with Grete Waitz

Also, Complete Results of the 2005 ING NYC Marathon