New York City Marathon 2019 - The Women's Race

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The 49th Running of the New York City Marathon - The Women's Race
by Star Blackford

Overview

photo: Victah Sailer/PhotoRun Desiree Linden Sets the Pace from the Start

The 2019 TCS New York City Marathon stepped off the Verrazzano 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."

The race to 10K
The early miles through Brooklyn saw the pack of twelve working together well and sharing the lead, with Linden most often running out front and setting the pace. Their elapsed time for the early miles was quicker than past years, with the 4-mile split more than two minutes faster than last year's race. The same pack stayed together and on pace for a 2:24 finish until well past the 10K mark, reaching the 7-mile mark three minutes faster than last year.

Des Pushes the Pace
Around mile 8, Linden began running away from the field, building a six second lead on the pack and increasing the pace to a finish faster than 2:23 by the 15K mark. She continued in the lead for almost five miles – with the chase pack beginning to shake out behind her – and hit the 12-mile mark twelve seconds ahead of six other women, including Keitany, Jepkosgei, Aga and Kiprop. That group of four reeled her in shortly before she reached the halfway point, with Belaynesh Fikadu and Sinead Diver trailing. This new lead pack of five would eventually make up the podium.

Shaking out the Pack to the 59th Street Bridge
The five women in the lead pack hit the halfway point in 1:11:39, on pace for a 2:23:18 finish. By mile 14, as the group approached the famed 59th Street bridge, the trio of Keitany, Aga, and Jepkosgei – the eventual top three - had dropped Kiprop and Linden, who continued to work together. The three increased the pace to a sub-2:23 finish time, and all had the ability to speed up even more.

As the leaders ran up the hill that is the 59th Street Bridge, they had amassed a 20-second lead on Kiprop and Linden. Descending the bridge and turning onto the four-mile stretch up First Avenue, their lead would grow to 35 seconds over the two women, who continued to work together in 4th and 5th place. Linden would later confess to struggling with cramping in her calves and feet during this time. By the 30K mark – at which point American Sara Hall, likely still recovering from her four-minute 2:22 PR in Berlin, dropped out – the women had run the first 19 miles ninety seconds faster than Keitany's 2018 run of 2:22:48.

photo: Victah Sailer/PhotoRun Jepkosgei and Keitany

The Final Countdown: World Record Holders Face Off
By mile 20, Aga – who, with a 2:18:34 PR, was the fastest woman in the field - was beginning to drop back from Keitany and Jepkosgei, leaving the last 10K of the race to be decided between Keitany, the women's-only World Record holder in the marathon and Jepkosgei, the Half Marathon World Record holder running her debut marathon. As the race for the victory came down to a competition between veteran and novice, their time at mile 20 was thirty seconds faster than Margaret Okayo's time at the same spot in 2003 - when she set the course record.

photo: Victah Sailer/PhotoRun Jepkosgei Runs Away from Keitany

The two women ran virtually stride-for-stride with each other for the next four miles, with Jepkosgei occasionally a step or two ahead. While much was made of Keitany's familiarity with the course and distance as compared to Jepkosgei's naivete about the challenges facing her in the final miles, it was indeed Jepkosgei that made a hard move at mile 24 and began pulling ahead. Keitany, who would later say that "anything can happen" in the marathon, either didn't or couldn't answer, with the final two miles becoming a solo run for the triumphant debutante. While Jepkosgei's final splits weren't quite fast enough to maintain course record pace, she was victorious in 2:22:38, missing Okayo's course record time (2:22:31) by just seven seconds while still running the second fastest time ever on the NYC course. Jepkosgei, in her debut marathon, bested defending champion Mary Keitany (2:23:32) by nearly a full minute. Ruti Aga was third in 2:25:51, more than three minutes behind.

Linden and Taylor Lead American Women
Desiree Linden (2:26:46) and Kellyn Taylor (2:26:52) turned in terrific performances for the American women, finishing 6th and 7th respectively and establishing themselves as top contenders for the 2020 Olympic team. Kellyn Taylor, confident in pre-race press conferences and even hopeful for a podium spot, is sure to be focused on making the team in the months ahead; Linden, who has been hesitant to commit the Trials thus far, chose to deflect questions about February in the post-race press conference. Aliphine Tuliamuk, another notable Trials contender, ran 2:28:12 for a 12th place finish; after coming back from summer injuries, she is inching ever closer to her 2:26:50 PR run earlier this year at Rotterdam. Sara Hall, though she dropped at mile 18, remains a top contender for the 2020 Olympic team as well; Allie Kieffer, who entered the race less fit than prior years and dropped in the early miles is likely a long shot.

Post-Race Thoughts from the Top Three
Keitany, who entered this year's race hoping for a record fifth victory in six years – which would have made her one of only two women to have the NYC Marathon five or more times – said that she was happy with the results of the race having tried her best, and that she didn't have any specific reason for why she didn't win. Jepkosgei, for her part, didn't know she had won the race until she crossed the finish line, saying that she stayed focused on finishing the race strong and knew that her friend Mary had much more experience than her. Ruti Aga, third place finisher just a month after winning the World Championships Marathon in Doha, said that running the last three miles of the course alone was a struggle, as she had used up all her strength at the hot race in Doha.

Will We See Linden in the February Trials or Not?
Linden has been candid in recent interviews that she knows her career is coming to a close but has also stressed that she doesn't want to stop if "the legs still have it." Interestingly, she ran a much faster first half (1:11) than second (1:14) at this year's race – an atypical strategy as she normally focuses on even splits. When asked why she ran this way today, Linden simply replied that she "tried something new" and that you can't have a breakthrough being conservative and cautious all the time. Stressing that her strategy was not to run "stupid or dumb" but to try just going with the conditions, she suggested some tweaks she may make in her training – particularly because of her late race cramping – but felt that she had held it together well, pushed hard through some distress, and tested her mental toughness well.

One would hope that the intent to "tweak" her training suggests a run at the 2020 Trials, but Linden, for now, is focused on food and perhaps a wee bit of bourbon. She did mention that she needs to "recover responsibly" – we'll hope that that "responsible recovery" is the beginning of one last Olympic bid.

Top Finishers
1. Joyciline Jepkosgei  (KEN) 2:22:38 - $100,000 + $45,000
2. Mary Keitany  (KEN) 2:23:32 - $60,000 + $30,000
3. Ruti Aga  (ETH) 2:25:51 - $40,000 + $15,000
4. Nancy Kiprop  (KEN) 2:26:21 - $25,000 + $13,000
5. Sinead Diver  (AUS) 2:26:23 - $15,000 + $12,000
6. Desiree Linden  (USA) 2:26:46 - $10,000 + $35,000
7. Kellyn Taylor  (USA) 2:26:52 - $7,500 + $25,000
8. Ellie Pashley  (AUS) 2:27:07 - $5,000
9. Belaynesh Fikadu  (ETH) 2:27:27 - $2,500
10. Mary Ngugi  (KEN) 2:27:36 - $2,000
11. Gerda Steyn  (RSA) 2:27:48
12. Aliphine Tuliamuk  (USA) 2:28:12 - $10,000
13. Roberta Groner  (USA) 2:30:12 - $6,000
14. Katy Jermann  (USA) 2:31:55 - $3,000
15. Kate Landau  (USA) 2:33:04
16. Yinli He  (CHN) 2:34:43
17. Danna Herrick  (USA) 2:36:00
18. Alia Gray  (USA) 2:37:09
19. Bizuwork Getahun Kasaye  (ETH) 2:37:38
20. Paula Pridgen  (USA) 2:40:04
21. Bose Gemeda Assefa  (ETH) 2:42:21
22. Lauren Perkins  (USA) 2:43:40
23. Megan Foster  (USA) 2:44:01
24. Ana Johnson  (USA) 2:44:40
25. Kaitlin Goodman  (USA) 2:45:27

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
Women: Women's Preview & Starter List | Women's Athlete Bios
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