New York City Marathon 2011 - The Men's Race

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The 42nd Running of the New York City Marathon - The Men's Race

A Race in Need of a Record

photo: Victah Sailer/PhotoRun Geoffrey Mutai pulls away from the lead pack

Prior to the 2011 New York City Marathon, we - MarathonGuide.com - was making a point that the course record at the New York City was too old and too slow - New York is not the course, but while the fastest marathoners were regularly running sub 2:04 in 2011, the ten year old 2:07:43 record from 2001, just had to go. To accomodate the point, race organizers brought together three of the ten fastest marathoners of all time as well as a host of others who could better the mark. The question, then, was whether they would. But some of these men had reputations to prove and incentives for running well. Geoffrey Mutai had run the fastest 26.2 miles ever run - but there was a huge tailwind at the 2011 Boston Marathon... Was G. Mutai legit, would he prove it? Emmanuel Mutai was the points leader at the World Marathon Majors series and a top three finish would give him $500,000 - that's a good incentive to run quickly. And Tsegay Kebede and Gebre Gebremariam were fast enough to beat the course record and were aggressive in the right circumstances.

The weather on the day was right for a record - 45 degrees and no wind to speak of. The women's race went off at 9:10AM and the men would start at 9:40AM - but if the men could have witnessed the women's start, they would have seen Mary Keitany running at faster than World Record pace. They couldn't have seen or known that, but perhaps there was something in the air on this day to encourage the runners to fly.

A Slow Start
Over the first few miles of the race the pace was nothing special. Three miles was passed at 15:04 - a pace that would have the runners finish in more than 2 hours 11 minutes. The pack was large, suggesting the pace was too easy; and it was left for a while to a local runner (albeit an Ethiopian who lived in New York) to take the lead and pull the runners along. By mile 5, the average pace would put the runners through in just over 2:09, but by mile 8 the average pace would have the runners run faster than the course record.

Faster than Course Record
Through 20 miles, seven men were in the front pack and the pace would have them finish in just over 2:06 - well, well under the course record. The leaders included all of the expected frontrunners: the two Mutais, Tsegay Kebede, Gebre Gebremariam; as well as Meb Keflezighi, Mathew Kisorio and Jaouad Gharib. In most years, a runner would have made a break around mile 17, but running at a 2:06 expected finish pace is fast enough and it made sense that no one would try to improve on that.

But after mile 20, Geoffrey Mutai decided that a 2:06 pace was just not fast enough and he did what few could consider - he picked up the pace and started running away from the field. Gebre Gebremariam, the defending champion, held on for a while, but could not stay with Mutai for long. Tsegaye Kebede and Emmanuel Mutai were still running strong, but were drifting back. Kisorio, Gharib and Keflezighi were mostly spent - and Keflezighi would soon stop to throw up, it was that bad...

photo: Victah Sailer/PhotoRun Geoffrey Mutai

Geoffrey Mutai - World's Best and World's Greatest
Having run 2:03:02 at the Boston Marathon, many were not sure what to make of Mutai. He was clearly a great runner, but to what extent had the tailwind and the nature of the Boston course helped him to that time. In the last six miles of the course, Mutai continued to improve his time and ultimately finished in 2:05:06 - the fastest time ever run in North America, even faster than Moses Mosop [who was also behind Mutai in Boston] would run for the course record at the fast and flat Chicago Marathon. That Geoffrey Mutai could run such a time at New York City suggests that he is the most dominant marathoner in the world bar none. The fact that he does not hold the "World Record" is solely a reflection that he has not run a course that would qualify to count as a world record course: Boston is downhill and a straight-shot point-to-point and New York is too slow. But we must believe it will be only a matter of time before Geoffrey Mutai achieves the world record to add to his "World Best."

Behind Geoffrey Mutai, the group had broken apart. Gebre Gebremariam, who had tried to stay with G. Mutai, would slow the most and ultimately fade to fourth place. Emmanuel Mutai, arguably the second fastest in the field, would finish in second place in 2:06:28 and Tsegaye Kebede would finish third in 2:07:13. After not having its course record broken for ten years, it would be bested by three men in one day. Gebre Gebremariam, would take fourth in 2:08:00; and Jaouad Gharib at 39 would finish in 2:08:27 - will a masters marathon record be far behind?

America's Favorite (plus a plug for Skechers)
In America, we like our locals, so many were watching the 2004 Silver Medalist and 2009 NYC Marathon champion Meb Keflezighi. Despite needing to stop to throw up at mile 20; Keflezighi powered on to finish sixth in a personal best time of 2:09:13 - just two seconds faster than his previous best of 2:09:15 that was run while winning the 2009 edition of the New York City Marathon. At 36, Keflezighi said he is proud that he continues to maintain and get faster - he was also quick to thank his new sponsor and shoe provider Skechers saying that the midfoot strike has allowed him to run without orthotics for the first time in years. Next up for Keflezighi will be the USA Olympic Trials Marathon, another marathon in 70 days.

photo: MarathonGuide.com The Top 3 Men

Top Finishers
1. Mutai, Geoffrey (KEN) - 2:05:06 (CR) / $200,000
2. Mutai, Emmanuel (KEN) - 2:06:28 / $135,000
3. Kebede, Tsegaye (ETH) - 2:07:13 / $110,000
4. Gebremariam, Gebre (ETH) - 2:08:00 / $75,000
5. Gharib, Jaouad (MAR) - 2:08:27 / $55,000
6. Keflezighi, Meb (CA/USA) - 2:09:13 / $40,000
7. Falil, Abdellah (MAR) - 2:10:35 / $17,000
8. Kisorio, Mathew (KEN) - 2:10:58 / $10,000
9. Sisay, Ezkyas (ETH) - 2:11:04 / $7,000
10. Moran, Ed (VA/USA) - 2:11:46 / $1,000

Coverage Homepage

Post Race: Men's Post-Race | Women's Post-Race | Complete Searchable Results

Pre-Race:
Men: Men's Preview & Starter List | Men's Athlete Bios | Men's Pre-Race Quotes
Women: Women's Preview & Starter List | Women's Athlete Bios | Women's Pre-Race Quotes
Head-to-Heads: Elite Athlete Past Matchups
Extras: Pace Calculator/Pace Guide/Viewing | Videos (Athletes/Archival/More...)
More News: Press Releases | News
Featured Book/Movie: Run For Your Life | A Race Like No Other