Last year's New York City Marathon saw the closest women's race in history, this year's marathon saw the closest race in NYC Marathon history for men or women. Paul Tergat, the world record holder for the marathon, finished .32 seconds ahead of 2004 winner Hendrick Ramaala who collapsed just as he reached the finish line. Tergat's win came on his first attempt at the NYC Marathon. As we watached the men's lead pack run in Central Park, we couldn't help but marvel at the trio of runners involved. Tergat, Ramaala and Meb Keflezighi, the best runner in the US and last year's runner-up, all running side to side. That picture was only bested by the finish.
The woman's race saw last year's runner-up, Susan Chepkemei, finish 2nd again, but this time by a much wider margin to Jelena Prokopcuka of Latvia. Chepkemei, who led as late as the 26th mile, but was passed by Prokopcuka and couldn't keep up with the Latvian. Not surprising considering Chepkemei threw up several times. For winning the race, Prokopcuka won $160,000.
The men's wheelchair race was won by Ernst Van Dyk while the women's race was won by Edith Hunkeler.
The Times has a slideshow of race photos as does Newsday. Be sure to check out the "NYC Marathon" tag on Flickr for plenty more photos.
If you watched, where did you watch the marathon? If you raced, tell us how you did.
Photo by Tien Mao
