|
Coverage Homepage
Post Race:
Men's Post-Race |
Women's Post-Race
| Complete Searchable Results
Pre-Race:
Men:
Men's Preview & Starter List
Women:
Women's Preview & Starter List
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 50th Running of the New York City Marathon - The Women's Race
(photos to be added later when available)
The Premier Event of the Day - The Women
At every marathon, there are two events to cover: the men's race and the women's race. Sometimes the two generate the same level of excitement and sometimes the quality of the field is skewed to favor one gender or another. More often, it is the men's race that is pre-eminent, there just happen to be far more professional male athletes available to run a competitive marathon than female athletes - there's just more depth in men's running... But, for the 2021 New York City Marathon, the field quality and potential for excitement was wholly tilted toward the women's race and the race did not disappoint.
We were disappointed that Joyciline Jepkosgei, the winner from the previous edition of the New York City Marathon - the 2019 race - did not come to New York to defend her title, rather she went to run and win the rescheduled 2021 London Marathon. To fill the hole, the New York Road Runners recruited the gold medalist from the Tokyo Olympics as the premier draw. The field also boasted eleven women who had run sub-2:26 for the marathon distance, including seven American women - the best of this country. With these athletes in attendance, the race could be expected to be competitive.
The Race Begins
From the beginning, the Americans set the pace for what stood as a pack of about a dozen women. Kellyn Taylor and Molly Seidel were often sharing the lead, but really it was a marathon debutante, Annie Frisbie, who did much of the work of choosing the pace and leading. We reviewed Frisbie's credentials and concluded that she had the potential to run a 2:28 marathon in her debut and were surprised that she was choosing to lead all runners on pace for a 2:25 marathon, but she was. Watching Peres Jepchirchir running just two steps behind the leaders, it was easy to recognize two things: Jepchirchir was fully confident in her ability to win, and... Jepchirchir was choosing to be smart enough to let others set the pace on a course with which she was unfamiliar. From the beginning, honestly, Jepchirchir looked like she might win.
Into Mile 18 - Two Women
The New York City Marathon race and strategies generally follow the same pattern year after year. A large pack stays together up to and through the 17th mile when the course traverses the Queensborough Bridge (also known as the 59th St. Bridge and immortalized in Simon & Garfunkel's song of that name) which represents the largest hill on the course. Coming off the bridge, the course begins a long straightaway up 1st Avenue in Manhattan and it is here that the best runners attempt to run away. Whether planned or instinctual, Peres Jepchirchir adopted this strategy and pushed the pace into mile 18 and pushing to the fastest mile in the race, a 5:13 mile, and with that surge breaking away with one other runner, Ababel Yeshanah, the Ethiopian National Record holder in the Half Marathon and woman with the fourth fastest personal best in the field at 2:20:51.
Add One More Runner to Make Three...
Both Jepchirchir and Yeshanah appeared comfortable and it seemed the race would come down to a battle between one of these two when a third runner caught them: Violah Cheptoo (Lagat) in her debut marathon. Cheptoo was an unknown, but appeared comfortable running with the two leaders. In fact, Cheptoo had run only two half marathons in her career and was better known as a miler up to 10K runner - but she had speed. Continuing together from mile 18 onward the three women ran together at a rapid pace of between 5:15 to 5:29 per mile and widening a gap between themselves and any other runners behind them. And it was clear that these three women all looked as comfortable as could be and the race would come down to a sprint at some point or another.
The Sprint Finish
With 600 meters to go to the finish, Peres Jepchirchir put on a sprint and neither competitor could go with her. Viola Cheptoo gave chase and cemented her position as runner-up, but Jepchirchir was the easy winner in a time of 2:22:39 - the third fastest finish time for a woman in New York City Marathon history. Viola Cheptoo finished in 2:22:44, the fourth fastest time in New York City Marathon history. Yeshaneh, with no one near here easily took the third spot in 2:22:52, the sixth fastest time in New York City Marathon history. These were impressive finishes.
The Americans
Beyond its strong field, the New York City Marathon brought together the best American female marathoners and they performed remarkably. Molly Seidel, who three months before took the bronze medal at the Olympics, finished in fourth place in a time faster than any American woman had ever previously run at the New York City Marathon, 2:24:42, a new personal best. What makes Seidel's achievement most remarkable, however, is that just two months previous, Seidel had broken two ribs in an accident...yet she still set a personal best finish. Just behind, Kellyn Taylor finished with a time of 2:26:10, strong performance and nearly 45 seconds faster than her time in New York two years prior. Annie Frisbie, having led for much of the early race, finished in seventh place in her debut marathon with a time of 2:26:18, suggesting good future marathon potential for the 24 year old runner. Laura Thweatt rounded out the top American finishers with her time of 2:27:00 - her second fastest marathon performance.
Overview
The 2021 TCS New York City Marathon stepped off the Verrazano Narrows Bridge under perfect 40-degree temperatures and a mild tailwind. Approximately thirty women - including Mary Keitany, the defending champion; Joyciline Jepkosgei, the half marathon World Record holder; Ruti Aga, the fastest woman in the field; and American favorites Desiree Linden, Sara Hall and Kellyn Taylor – toed the line before quickly setting up a lead pack of twelve that also included Buze Diriba, Nancy Kiprop, Belaynesh Fikadu and Australian compatriots Sinead Diver and Ellie Pashley. While a few notable drops were to come, the race proceeded along the lines of Linden's post-race soundbite: "If you can't run fast on a day like this, you might as well go bowling."
Top Finishers
1. Peres Jepchirchir (KEN) 2:22:39 - $100,000
2. Viola Cheptoo (KEN) 2:22:44 - $60,000
3. Ababel Yeshaneh (ETH) 2:22:52 - $40,000
4. Molly Seidel (USA) 2:24:42 - $25,000 + $25,000
5. Helalia Johannes (NAM) 2:26:09 - $15,000
6. Kellyn Taylor (USA) 2:26:10 - $10,000 + $15,000
7. Annie Frisbie (USA) 2:26:18 - $7,500 + $10,000
8. Laura Thweatt (USA) 2:27:00 - $5,000 + $5,000
9. Grace Kahura (KEN) 2:30:32 - $2,500 + $1,000 + $5,000
10. Stephanie Bruce (USA) 2:31:05 - $2,000 + $3,000
11. Lanni Marchant (CAN) 2:32:54
12. Haruka Yamaguchi (JPN) 2:34:04
13. Andrea Ramirez Limon (MEX) 2:34:51
14. Hanna Lindholm (SWE) 2:35:54
15. Obsie Birru (USA) 2:38:54
Coverage Homepage
Post Race:
Men's Post-Race |
Women's Post-Race
| Complete Searchable Results
Pre-Race:
Men:
Men's Preview & Starter List
Women:
Women's Preview & Starter List
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
|
