NEW YORK CITY, March 19 — Jacob Kiplimo and Hellen Obiri both waited until after 15K to make decisive moves that locked up wins at the United Airlines NYC Half-Marathon on a frigid and blustery morning. With temperatures hovering at freezing at the start and a stiff headwind that plagued runners nearly the entire way, conditions were less than ideal on a course that featured a series of challenging hills as it made its way from Brooklyn to Manhattan.
Obiri, defending champion Senbere Teferi of Ethiopia, Karoline Bjerkeli Grøvdal of Norway, Dian van Es of the Netherlands and Jessica Warner-Judd of Great Britain immediately separated themselves from the rest of the pro women’s field, which got a 12-minute head start on the pro men and the masses in Brooklyn. After a cautious first mile, the pace soon dipped below 5:00/mile and by 5K (15:50) Obiri and Teferi had dropped the other trio.
They continued together at 10K, with Obiri always a step ahead and Teferi trailing at her heels. As they worked their way up the FDR Drive in Manhattan, Obiri finally took control in the 8th mile, and at 15K (47:29) she had a 7-second lead. From there she continued to extend her margin, and she crossed the Central Park finishline in 67:21, breaking Teferi’s course record by 14 seconds.
“I said to myself, just be patient at least until after 10K. Because in a half-marathon if you go too early you might not be able to finish well,” said Obiri, who has a pair of WC 5000 titles to go with one in cross country. “I just wanted to wait and after 15K I made my move.”
Obiri, who is coached by Dathan Ritzenhein in Boulder, wasn’t thrilled with the weather, but knew her strength on hills would be a decisive factor. “This shows I’m in very good shape,” she noted.
Teferi (67:55) was nearly 2:00 clear of 3rd-place finisher Grøvdal (69:53), followed by van Els (70:43). Des Linden (72:21) showed her characteristic patience to move up from 10th at 15K to grab 5th at the end, ahead of Dakotah Lindwurm (72:25) and Molly Huddle (72:27).
The prerace men’s hype focused on Ugandan stars Kiplimo, the world record holder (57:31), who was fresh off a world XC title 4 weeks earlier, and Joshua Cheptegei, the 2-time world track 10,000 champ, but they were barely visible on camera in the opening miles.
At the start, Brit Chris Thompson, who turns 42 in April,…
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