NEW YORK, NY – NOVEMBER 03: Geoffrey Mutai of Kenya celebrates after he won the 2013 ING New York City Marathon on November 3, 2013, in New York City. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
Kenyan runner, Geoffrey Mutai, defended his title for the men’s category and fellow Kenyan Priscah Jeptoo gave a last minute kick to claim the women’s in the New York City Marathon on Sunday.
Mutai was all by himself by mile 22, beating Ethiopia’s Tsegaye Kebede by 52 seconds in the end. Mutai’s final run time was 2:08:52. That’s a big difference from the course record of 2:05:06 he set two years ago. He’s the first man to repeat in New York since Kenya’s John Kagwe back in 1997-98.
Jeptoo surged from behind to beat out Bronx resident, Buzunes Deba, who finished second for the second time in the marathon. Jeptoo was behind Deba by nearly 3½ minutes midway in the race, but she made a move when the race entered Manhattan, passing the Deba with just over 2 miles to go.
Jeptoo, who was also the 2012 Olympic silver medalist and the 2013 London Marathon Champion, clocked in at 2:25:07 to clinch the $500,000 World Marathon Majors bonus.
Fans lined up for the whole 26.2-mile course, not worried about the events that occurred last year. The 2012 NYC Marathon was canceled due to the devastation of Superstorm Sandy, but only after many New Yorkers protested the initial plans to continue the race.
Security was on high alert after the bombings at April’s Boston Marathon. Bomb-sniffing dogs traced the course, and barricades blocked off key access points to Central Park.
