American Women Just Keep Being Awesome at NYC Marathon – Runner’s World
American Women Just Keep Being Awesome at NYC Marathon Runner’s World
How good were the American women today at the New York City Marathon? They took four of the top seven spots—and still felt they could have been better.
How good were the American women today at the New York City Marathon? They took four of the top seven spots—and still felt they could have been better.
It was the most dominant performance by American runners—men or women—at New York in decades, since the race became an international event. Consider:
- Defending champion Shalane Flanagan finished third in 2:26:22, 30 seconds faster than she was in winning last year.
- Molly Huddle was fourth in 2:26:44, a new PR by 1 minute and 29 seconds.
- Des Linden, who won Boston in April, was sixth in 2:27:51.
- Allie Kieffer was seventh in 2:28:12, also a new PR for her by well over a minute.
Further back, Stephanie Bruce was 11th in 2:30:59, the first of five U.S. women faster than 2:33, including the race’s masters champion, Roberta Groner, 40, who was 12th in 2:31:01.
“It’s definitely a great group of runners, and I think we’re continually pushing the bar for each other,” Linden said. “You can win a major one year and not be top American in the next race, which is insane. It’s a really exciting time.
“And it’s hopefully getting a lot of young eyeballs on the sport, getting people excited about the marathon. Hopefully that creates more depth in the future and inspires the next generation. I think that’s the goal for all of us.”
The stretch of excellence dates back to the Olympic Marathon in Rio, when all three Americans finished in the top 10. Since then, U.S. women have rewritten the country’s top 10 list of fastest performances. Huddle, who owns the American record in the 10,000 meters and half marathon, isn’t even on the list yet—although she has expressed interest in running on a flat, fast course in the spring and seeing how well she can do.
Of the top Americans, only Flanagan was unequivocally happy with her performance. She moved into third place in the final miles in Central Park. “When I finally did get to that third place, I got another level of excitement and felt really proud of myself in that moment that I kept fighting even though there were some rough patches in there,” she said.
Huddle, who was 22 seconds behind Flanagan, called her performance “a good experience for me. It was a solid race.”
Linden, who made a coaching change after 12 years with the Hansons-Brooks training group, said she was “a little disappointed” with her race. “It’s not a bad place to start with someone new, it’s been a pretty hectic year,” she said. “All things considered, it’s good. But I think there’s more.”
Kieffer said she was thrown off by surging in the first half of the race. She wanted to place better than seventh, but she was happy by how fast she ran the second half. “I’m proud of my time, but I want to race better,” she said. “I’m humbled by the people who beat me. There’s really amazing ladies ahead of me.”
Excitement is already building for the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials, to be held on February 29, 2020, in Atlanta, to pick the three marathoners who will represent the country at the next Games in Tokyo. Huddle, Linden, Kieffer, Amy Cragg, Jordan Hasay, Sara Hall, Laura Thweatt, and Kellyn Taylor are among the women to be in the hunt to make the team. (Flanagan will likely be retired and coaching by then.)
Courtesy Johanna Leverette
“For sure, it will be one of the hardest teams to make for the marathon,” Huddle said. “We’ll be sending a team that can do something at the Olympics, similar to last time. That’s exciting.”