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A Race Like No Other
The 2023 New York City Marathon - The Women's Race
by Aimee Berg
On a clear, 50-degree Sunday morning, Hellen Obiri of Kenya won the slowest women’s New York City Marathon since 2010, finishing in 2:27:23, just six seconds ahead of Ethiopia’s Letesenbet Gidey, and 10 ahead of the 2022 New York City champion Sharon Lokedi who placed third.
The men’s race was just the opposite. Tamirat Tola was running so fast that 19 miles into the 26.2-mile course, there was a chance he would be the first pro to break the finish tape despite starting 25 minutes after the women.
How it unfolded:
Americans Kellyn Taylor and Molly Huddle traded leads through the first half of the race as an 11-woman pack crossed the midpoint in 1 hour, 14 minutes, 21 seconds. To put that in context, the pace was two minutes and 14 seconds slower than Margaret Okayo’s split when she set the course record in 2003, yet Okayo wasn’t racing in the modern super-shoe era that enabled Tigst Assefa to crush the women’s world record by more than two minutes in September in Berlin.
Around mile 20, Taylor had enough. She laid down a 5:34 mile, and three women fell off the back, including Huddle.
In the 22nd mile, Viola Cheptoo of Kenya made an even more decisive move. Cheptoo, the 2021 New York City Marathon runner-up, strung out the eight-pack with a 5:04 mile. Quickly, Kenya’s Hellen Obiri reeled her in with Gidey in tow. Lokedi caught the trio around the 2:12 mark, and soon, former marathon world-record holder Brigid Kosgei joined them on the outside, surging like a flying traffic cone in her bright orange top.
The four Kenyans and lone Ethiopian led through mile 24.
At Mile 25, the marathon became a track race as Gidey, Lokedi, and Obiri fired off a 5:02 mile as Kosgei gave a valiant chase.
In the final mile along Central Park South, Lokedi fought Obiri elbow-to-elbow and Gidey drafted.
Rounding into Central Park, the 33-year-old Obiri opened her gait and nearly knocked Gidey off her tangent.
With 600 meters to go, Obiri was in full stride, her hunger palpable, as she repeatedly looked over her shoulder for Gidey, the half-marathon world-record holder who by then had dropped Lokedi. In the end, it was all Obiri, winning her second major title of 2023 to match her spring victory in Boston.
Gidey, 25, of Ethiopia, placed second in 2:27:29. Lokedi, 29, finished four seconds behind the runner-up.
Kellyn Taylor, 37, was the top American, placing eighth (2:29:48) in her fourth New York City Marathon. Her result and the US bonus earned her $30,000.
Afterwards, Taylor said of the pace: "It was one of the weirdest races I’ve ever ran," she said, "especially with the caliber of the field. For the first 20 miles, I was wondering what the heck we were doing. We were running six-minute pace for no good reason, but sometimes that’s how races play out. You have to either jump on board or do your own thing. Today, I decided to jump on board and try to hang on."
Obiri had considered making a move at 25K but decided against it. "In a marathon, it's about patience," she explained. "In New York [it’s not] about the time, it's all about winning. So I said let me be patient up until the last few miles." Her strategy paid off and she claimed $100,000 for the victory.
Runner-up Gidey, who was making her New York City Marathon debut, didn’t mind the wait. "I was thinking, let me just learn the New York course and then tackle the race again at the end. I was just focusing on mastering the course."
Third-place Lokedi knew the end would be fast. Until then, she said, "You just prepare your mind. Once that move is made, just be ready to go with everyone."
Also of note: the 2021 New York City Marathon champion Peres Jepchirchir, 30, decided to scratch on Saturday, citing a left calf injury she sustained eight days before the race while doing Fartlek interval training back home in Kenya. The uncoached Tokyo Olympic gold medalist is the only person to win the Olympic, Boston, and New York City marathons in her career. Sunday marked the second year in a row that she was unable to defend her title. In 2022, Jepchirchir injured her left gluteus muscle and watched the race on TV with her then-5-year-old daughter, Natalya.
"I still hope to defend my Olympic title in Paris next year and do not want to do anything that might put that in jeopardy," she said.
Edna Kiplagat, 43, of Kenya, won the Masters division with seventh place overall (2:29:40). She was the 2010 New York City Marathon winner.
Meanwhile Huddle, 39, was aiming to run under 2:29:30, in her first marathon as a mother. But the third-place finisher in 2016 finished ninth on Sunday (the second-fastest American), in 2:32:02, as her 1½-year-old daughter Josephine rested.
FUN FACT: 28 women’s New York City Marathons have been faster than the 2023 edition, and 22 have been slower.
Top Finishers
1. Hellen Obiri (KEN) 2:27:34 - $100,000
2. Letesenbet Gidey (ETH) 2:27:35 - $60,000
3. Sharon Lokedi (KEN) 2:27:39 - $40,000
4. Brigid Kosgei (KEN) 2:27:51 - $25,000
5. Mary Ngugi (KEN) 2:27:57 - $15,000
6. Viola Cheptoo (KEN) 2:28:08 - $10,000
7. Edna Kiplagat (KEN) 2:29:40 - $7,500 + $3,000
8. Kellyn Taylor (USA) 2:29:48 - $5,000 + $25,000
9. Molly Huddle (USA) 2:32:01 - $2,500 + $15,000
10. Fantu Zewude Jifar (ETH) 2:34:00 - $2,000
...
12. Sydney Devore (USA) 2:35:54 - $10,000
...
14. Meriah Earle (USA) 2:44:11 - $5,000
Coverage Homepage
Post Race:
Men's Post-Race (coming soon) |
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Race Day: As It Happens - Live Coverage
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Extras:
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A Race Like No Other
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