5 Reasons to Watch the 2019 New York City Marathon – Runner’s World

On Sunday, November 3, a stacked elite field will take on New York City as the last Abbott World Marathon Major of 2019. Featuring Olympians, defending champions, and up-and-coming stars, the New York City Marathon will yet again be a race you just can’t miss. Here are five reasons to watch this year’s competition in the Big Apple.

Defending champion Lelisa Desisa returns after world championship gold.

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Last year, Lelisa Desisa of Ethiopia became a surprise winner when he dethroned defending champion Geoffrey Kamworor of Kenya. After several years of podium finishes–third in 2015 and 2017, and second in 2014–the two-time Boston Marathon victor finally tackled the demanding New York City course. And he did it in a winning time of 2:05:59, the second-fastest time in the race’s 48 years.

The momentum continued 11 months later in October at the IAAF World Championships. Desisa withstood the heat in Doha, Qatar, to become the world champion in the marathon. Less than a month later, Desisa will toe the line in New York City once again, and he will face familiar competitors looking for redemption.

Shura Kitata, the 2018 runner-up who lost by two seconds, is returning to this year’s race after earning a fourth-place finish at the London Marathon.

Kamworor, who finished third in 2018, is also scheduled to compete after achieving a breakthrough in September. In a dominant performance, the 2017 New York City Marathon champion broke the half marathon world record in a time of 58:01 in Copenhagen.

Mary Keitany will chase fifth New York City Marathon title.

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In 2018, Mary Keitany continued her winning streak and became the second woman to win the New York City marathon four times. Keitany and Grete Waitz are the only women who have earned four titles. Last year, Keitany recorded the second-fastest time in event history, when she covered the course in 2:22:48.

So far in 2019, Keitany has notched a fifth-place finish at the London Marathon (2:20:58) and a fourth-place finish in the half marathon at the Great North Run in September.

One of her biggest challengers on November 3 will be 2019 Tokyo Marathon champion Ruti Aga. Aga will return to the starting line looking for redemption after dropping out of the marathon at the IAAF World Championships due to the scorching temperatures in Doha.

Desiree Linden leads strong American female contingent.

© 2018 Kevin Morris

New York City will likely be the last major marathon before the Americans compete at the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials on February 29, 2020 in Atlanta, Georgia.

Leading the women’s field is 2018 Boston Marathon champion and two-time Olympian Desiree Linden who is returning from a fifth-place finish at the Boston Marathon in April. Last year, Linden clocked a sixth-place finish in 2:27:51 at the New York City Marathon.

Sara Hall will be making a quick turnaround after running a personal best of 2:22:16 at the Berlin Marathon on September 29. The breakthrough catapulted her to No. 6 on the U.S. all-time list and No. 3 on the list of athletes who have met the qualifying standard for the Olympic Trials. Only Jordan Hasay (2:20:57) and Amy Cragg (2:21:42) have run faster marathons so far within the qualifying window of September 1, 2017 to January 19, 2020.

Allie Kieffer is also scheduled to return to New York City. While running unsponsored in 2017, Kieffer turned heads with a fifth-place finish in a massive personal best of 2:29:39 in New York. In 2018, she ran another personal best of 2:28:12 on the course. As she’s expressed on social media, 2019 has been a challenging year with injuries that have kept her from the starting line, so the marathon on November 3 will be her first 26.2 since last year’s race.

Northern Arizona Elite standout Kellyn Taylor will be contesting her second 26.2 of the year after finishing fourth at the Prague Marathon in 2:26:27. Taylor flexed her track speed earlier in the season when she notched a 5K personal best of 15:19 at the Adrian Martinez Classic before finishing third in the 10K at the USATF Outdoor Championships.

Just over a month after tackling a brutal marathon at the IAAF World Championships, Roberta Groner will be returning to the starting line in New York City. Groner, 41, finished sixth as the first American across the finish line while battling 90-degree heat and high humidity in Doha.

Seven American women with personal bests under 2:36 are set to compete, including Nicole DiMercurio, Kaitlin Goodman, Alia Gray, Danna Herrick, Katy Jermann, Kate Landau, and Lindsey Scherf, as well as up and coming runners like Jennifer Bigham and Paula Pridgen.

Olympians Jared Ward and Abdi Abdirahman will be tested before Olympic Trials.

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In 2016, Jared Ward made his first Olympic team when he finished third at the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials in Los Angeles. In August 2016, he finished sixth in the Olympic marathon with a then-personal best of 2:11:30 in Rio de Janeiro. This year, the stats professor at Brigham Young University broke the 2:10 barrier for the first time when he ran 2:09:25 for eighth place in the 2019 Boston Marathon. Ward has also been busy off the roads, pitching the MyoStorm massage therapy ball on the television show Shark Tank.

Four-time Olympian Abdi Abdirahman will be returning to New York City after a challenging experience in the 2018 race. He dropped out past the 30K point, succumbing to a left hip injury.

Earlier this season, he ran 2:18:56 at the 2019 Boston Marathon in April and recently finished third at the Rock ’n’ Roll Philly Half Marathon on September 15.

Distance standouts Collin Bennie and John Raneri will be making their marathon debuts in New York with a strong group of U.S. competitors. Kiya Dandena, Tyler Jermann, Jarrett LeBlanc, Craig Leon, Tyler McCandless, Tyler Pennel, and Joe Whelan have all run personal bests under 2:14.

Romanchuk, McFadden, and Scaroni return to competition after qualifying for Paralympic team.

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On October 13, Daniel Romanchuk, Tatyana McFadden, and Susannah Scaroni earned their spot on Team USA headed to the 2020 Paralympics in Tokyo. In racing the Chicago Marathon, which served as the official Paralympic Marathon Trials for Team USA, men’s race-winner Romanchuk and women’s runner-up McFadden qualified to represent the U.S. next year. Susannah Scaroni also qualified by finishing fourth overall in Chicago and hitting the Paralympic A standard prior to the race.

Less than a month later, Romanchuk, McFadden, and Scaroni will return to competition in New York City. Romanchuk will be looking to defend his title after a breakthrough in 2018. At just 20 years old, he became the first American and youngest athlete ever to win the men’s wheelchair division. In the women’s race, McFadden and Scaroni will face tough competition from 2018 New York City champion and 2019 Chicago Marathon champion Manuela Schär of Switzerland. Schär has won back-to-back crowns in New York City, while McFadden is aiming to achieve her sixth title.

Taylor Dutch is a freelance writer living in Chicago.