Getty Mary Keitany of Kenya crosses the finish line to finish first in the Professional Women's Division during the 2016 TCS New York City Marathon.
According to the TCS NYC Marathon app, Mary Keitany of Kenya crossed the New York City Marathon finish line with a time of 02:22:48, taking the women’s title back from defending champion (and first U.S. woman to win the New York City Marathon), Shalane Flanagan. This year, Flanagan finished 3rd with a time of 02:26:22; Vivian Cheruiyot, also from Kenya, finished 2nd with a time of 02:26:02.
This is Keitany’s fourth New York Marathon win; she won three consecutive times from 2014-2016, before falling runner-up to Flanagan last year. According to New York Road Runners, she was “the first open division runner since Grete Waitz to win the event three years in a row.”
Though her marathon time today was enough to win her the top spot in the women’s division, it was not her personal best. She ran a 2:17:01 marathon at the Virgin Money London Marathon in 2017, setting the record time for an all-women marathon. This year, she placed second in that race, and was unsuccessful in her attempt to beat Paula Radcliffe’s 2:15:25 world record for female time in a mixed-gender marathon. Her finish time today did not beat that record, nor did it surpass her previously set best time; however, she was a mere 17 seconds from beating the New York City Marathon women’s course record.
A few days ago, Mary told Lets Run that she was “running her own race” this time. It appears that she recognized the pressure of trying to beat someone else’s previously-set best score, and would not be approaching the 2018 New York City Marathon with that goal in mind. When asked about her top competitors (namely, Flanagan and Cheruiyot), she said “I don’t worry about anybody, I just focus on myself and the training that I’ve done.”