Six Takeaways from the 2013 ING New York City Women’s Marathon
by LetsRun.com
November 3, 2013
New York, NY – Here are six takeaways from the 2013 ING NYC Marathon won in impressive come from behind style by Priscah Jeptoo.
If you want just facts: *Women’s race recap
*Women’s Race results
1) Priscah Jeptoo confirmed she’s the best female distance runner on the planet currently competing.
If smashing Tirunesh Dibaba and Meseret Defar in a half-marathon in September where she ran 65:45 wasn’t enough to impress you, then we hope today’s performance did.
Jeptoo spotted a very good runner- Buzunesh Deba – 3:24 seconds at mile 15 (it actually was 3:28 at mile 14) and then gunner her down in the next nine miles. How is that possible? Well it’s easy when you run five miles during that span under 5:10.
Jeptoo is certainly on top right now – there is no doubt about that. But things will get interesting real soon when the great Mary Keitany returns from maternity leave and if Dibaba and/or Defar move up to the marathon.
2) Did a Mysterious Guy on a Bike Save Jeptoo $625,000
One question a lot of people after the race wondered was did Jeptoo realize how far behind she was? The answer was no, until a guy on a bike told her. She wasn’t sure who the person was, or whether he was an official with the race, but if he hadn’t spoken up and told her she was 3 minutes down, she might have left with $540,000 less dollars. (2nd place paid $60,000 versus $100,000 for first). Jeptoo said, “I didn’t know the gap was, but there was a guy who was riding a bicycle. He came and told me that you are behind three minutes. I realized that three minutes is almost one kilometer. So I started to push the pace. I knew, and I was having confidence that I will make it.”
Priscah Jeptoo Catches Buzenesh Deba (Click for photo gallery)
Jeptoo is so good she figured she could spot a former NYC runner-up a kilometer and still win. Impressive. Jeptoo said of the win, “This is a great moment for me, and this is a day I will not forget forthe rest of my life.”
3) Not a good day for the American women.
America’s Adriana Nelson was the top American finisher in 13th in 2:35:05, one spot ahead of defending champion Firehiwot Dado. Nelson, who was the 2007 Chicago Marathon runner-up while competing for Romania in her marathon debut, was pretty happy to get to enjoy the experience running New York as the top American.
“This has been a dream race. I’m so grateful to be able to experience this race,” said Nelson on ESPN2 after the race. “I trained for this course but I wasn’t ready for this win.
While happy to be the first American, Nelson had mixed feelings about the time as she was really hoping to run under 2:28 in this race.
You can watch our interview with Nelson on the right, but not on tape was a conversation with her husband who explained to us that if you break 2:28 in the marathon as an American you can basically run any race in the world as the IAAF Gold Level races need so many people at that level from different countries to qualify for the gold label.
So Nelson’s day wasn’t too shabby but the rest of the American women were quite frankly pretty awful. On a very difficult day to run, one woman American broke 2:40 as the wind really impacted the lighter women in their race.
Top 10 Americans at 2013 Ing New York City Marathon
1) Adriana Nelson 2:35:05
2) Katie Dicamillo – 2:40:03
3) Mattie Suver – 2:42:50
4) Amy Hastings – 2:44:19
5) Danna Kelly Herrick – 2:44:19
6) Julia Mallon – 2:45:36
7) Alisha Williams – 2:47:04
8) Alexnadra Cadicamo – 2:51:33
9) Delilah Dicrescenzo – 2:53:40
10) Pamela Manley – 2:55:20
4) Big props to 2011 and 2013 New York Runner-up Buzunesh Deba
Pre-race Deba told us she really wanted to run under 2:23 and she’d try to do that no matter what the others were running. What she didn’t mention was she’d try to do it even if Mother Nature tried her very best to make it impossible for anyone to run that fast.
Deba led for 23 miles and ended up with a much deserved second-place showing in 2:25:56. Do we think she can break 2:23 on a flat course, with little wind where she doesn’t have to lead every step for 23 miles? Absolutely.
5) Long and Emotional Road Back for 2005 and 2006 Jelena Prokupcuka
Prokupcuka won in NYC in 2005 and 2006 and then was third in 2007. The next spring she ran Boston and then took time off to try and have a baby. It was a difficult progress. She got pregnant, but lost the baby. Eventually she got pregnant again in 2010 and had a son in 2011, who is 2 years and 6 months old. She then resumed training.
It was a long and well earned road back to the podium in NYC.
6) Not having rabbits makes races much more interesting.
If this race had rabbits, it wouldn’t have had half the drama it did today.
*Women’s race recap
*Women’s Race results
*Men’s race analysis
Priscah Jeptoo After Winning 2013 ING NYC Marathon (Click for photo gallery)