Still In A New York State Of Mind ⏱️
Lap 245: Sponsored by Olipop
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Compiled by David Melly, Paul Snyder, Paul Hof-Mahoney & Jasmine Fehr
New York Is In The Books—So Who’s Number One? ☝️
The 54th New York City Marathon was a record-breaker—in many ways.
New York and its 59,000+ finishers reclaimed the title of largest marathon in the world from London, an annual back-and-forth battle between the two hugest majors. The top three finishers in the women’s race—Hellen Obiri, Sharon Lokedi, and Sheila Chepkirui—all ran faster than the course record, and for good measure, fourth-placer Fiona O’Keeffe ran the U.S. course record. The men’s race wasn’t historically fast, but the margin of victory—0.3 seconds between Benson Kipruto and Alexander Mutiso Munyao—was the smallest in the race’s history.
Note that we got through all those accolades and superlatives without mentioning arguably the three biggest names in the race: Sifan Hassan, Eliud Kipchoge, and Kenenisa Bekele. The latter two didn’t exactly have the prettiest runs, with Kipchoge finishing 17th and Bekele dropping out, but Hassan gave it a solid go, ultimately finishing sixth. That’s a great run by anyone else’s standard, but the Olympic champ was surely gunning for a victory and it seems that doubling back from Sydney two months later was simply too tall an ask.
Hassan getting soundly defeated wasn’t just the product of her training, however. She got beat because the three women that ended up on the podium are three of the greatest marathoners in the game right now, and they worked together to make the latter half of the race a slugfest from the Queensboro Bridge onward. While Chepkirui didn’t have the gears to hang with Lokedi and Obiri in the Park, she was the first and most frequent mover earlier in the race, often throwing in a surge just when Hassan or O’Keeffe would reattach or start to close in on the leaders. And Obiri ultimately got revenge on her friendly rival. While Sharon Lokedi kicked best and last in this spring’s Boston Marathon, once Obiri made her move in New York with 800m to go, there was no coming back.
With all seven World Marathon Majors, plus the World Championships, in the books, the question then becomes: who is the World #1? Since no one woman won multiple major races this year, you have to look at the four who’ve got the best second performances:
Tigst Assefa: London champ in 2:15:50, World Championship silver
Sharon Lokedi: Boston champ in 2:17:22, second in NYC
Helen Obiri: NYC champ in 2:19:51, second in Boston
Hawi Feysa: Chicago champ in 2:14:57, third in Tokyo
Feysa only finished third in Tokyo, but she’s the 2025 world leader and ran 2:17:00, giving her the best average time of the group. That being said, neither of the women who beat her in Tokyo are particularly highly credentialed. Lokedi and Obiri have very similar resumes, both breaking course records in their respective victories and beating strong fields. They also both ran under the previous course records in their runner-up performances.
Which brings us to Assefa. The 28-year-old Ethiopian, who would be the outright world record holder were it not for R*th Ch*pngetich, ran the women’s-only world record in London and beat Joyciline Jepkosgei and Sifan Hassan in the process. She also finished just steps behind Peres Jepchirchir in the World Championship marathon in Tokyo, and Jepchirchir is a three-time WMM champ as well as the 2021 Olympic champ. So as much as we’d like to keep all the focus on New York and name Obiri the year’s best runner, Assefa’s resume is probably a little better.
If we’re naming the best marathoner in the world over the last two years, Benson Kipruto might have a shot as he’s won New York, Tokyo, and Olympic bronze in that time period and ran the sixth fastest time in history. Kipruto only finished seventh in Tokyo this time around, so he was flying a bit more under the radar, but with his victory in Central Park he’s now become the first man ever to complete the career trifecta of NYC-Boston-Chicago. Throw Tokyo in the mix and he’s won four of seven World Marathon Majors—exactly as many as Kipchoge has (although Kipchoge has won 11 total with many repeat victories in London and Berlin).
Kipruto will ultimately be relegated to second-best at best, however, because the top male marathoner in the world this year is pretty clear. Sabastian Sawe is the world leader, the London and Berlin champ, and in three career marathons has run 2:02:05, 2:02:16, and 2:02:27. It would be nice to see Sawe take on a course like Boston or New York soon to see if his blistering speed in flat races translates to dominance over hills, but he’s hopefully got plenty of time to prove his versatility as he’s only 30. And let’s not forget that the runner-up in New York, Mutiso, was previously best known as a London/Valencia champ, so we can’t simply assume that Sawe’s preference for fast, rabbited races is a weakness.
The question of top American woman is also an interesting one. (The men’s question isn’t; it’s Conner Mantz.) In some ways, New York served as a bit of a referendum about the state of the U.S. scene, as many of the major contenders for that title were in the mix. O’Keeffe was the top American and broke Molly Seidel’s domestic course record. Seidel, unfortunately, only made it 18 miles into the race before dropping out with a knee issue. One of the women O’Keefe beat, Emily Sisson, is the current American record holder (O’Keeffe is 11th on the all-time list), but only finished third among the U.S. crew and eighth overall.
If you put a lot of stock into O’Keeffe’s singular performance after going 21 months between marathon finishes, it would make sense to treat NYC like a de facto national championship and crown her U.S. #1. But we’re going to use a similar methodology to the international assessment—you gotta be able to show you can get it done at least twice a year.
By that logic, there are three women worth mentioning, probably none of whom would’ve been on your list for top American at the start of 2025:
Annie Frisbie: 5th in NYC in 2:24:12, 8th in Boston in 2:23:21
Susanna Sullivan: 10th in London in 2:29:30, 4th at Worlds in 2:28:17, 11th in NYC in 2:28:34
Jess McClain: 7th in Boston in 2:22:43, 8th at Worlds in 2:29:20
Sullivan deserves a heckuva lot of credit for taking on three big marathons, finishing just outside the medals in Tokyo, and maybe even bonus points for racing an indoor mile during her London build. But Annie Frisbie, one of Minnesota’s finest, is our U.S. #1 this year. Frisbie is a pure road racer by any definition—at Iowa State, her PBs were only 15:53.41 for 5000m and 32:58.64 for 10,000m. But she’s no one-trick pony as she finished second at this year’s USATF 6km champs (yes, that’s a thing), and she’s got plenty of time to grow as she’s 28 years old. It’s a safe bet that the next time she opts for a non-Boston/NYC race, that 2:23:21 PB is history.
Runners like Frisbie and Sullivan are what make New York such a fun race to watch. Sure, you get the biggest stars trading body blows for the top prize, but the many bridges, turns, and rolling hills keep things just unpredictable enough that gritty, experienced racers can outperform their seed and build to a future where no one sees them as an underdog. And with 2025 (mostly) in the books, ending the season on a high note can set the stage for even bigger things to come.
The Future Of American Marathoning Looks Bright 🕶️
Think back to February of last year. Remember how stressed we were—by we, we of course mean a narrow subset of running geeks, exemplified by this newsletter’s writers and readership—over whether or not Team USA would be able to send three male marathoners to Paris?
It wasn’t that long ago! But nowadays, the state of American marathoning couldn’t feel more different, vibe-wise.
You can tell a ton about the prospects of a sporting entity by what its fans are focused on. Long-suffering supporters of “rebuilding” franchises tend to dwell on the future as a means of ignoring the unpleasant present. They aren’t celebrating current victories or touting star player achievements. No, it’s draft picks, theoretical trades, and developmental deep bench players that serve as the primary discussion fodder on Washington Wizards, Colorado Rockies, and New York Giants message boards.
The fact that we spent so much time focusing on who—if anyone—would be securing that third Olympic marathon berth for the U.S., digging deep into the rule book and attempting to learn how the Road to Paris spots were to be allocated, rather than waxing optimistic about Conner Mantz’s medal odds, suggests we weren’t in the best position as an event even last February.
Now, we’ve got our sights set slightly higher.
Obviously any discussion of America’s “we’re back” marathoning moment has to start with Mantz and his newly established national record, which came in a high finish at a World Major. But behind him we’ve got a whole lot more to be genuinely excited about.
In New York City alone, two American first-time marathoners landed in the top-ten: Charles Hicks (seventh in 2:09:59) and Joe Klecker (10th in 2:10:37). Fellow debutant Hillary Bor landed just outside the top-ten (12th in 2:10:47), right ahead of established 2:06 man Biya Simbassa. And we haven’t even gotten to Joel Reichow, who placed sixth (2:09:56)—his highest ever finish at a World Major.
Based solely on this past weekend’s results, it sure looks like we’ll be able to skip the whole “will so-and-so get to race in Los Angeles” line of discussion following the 2028 Olympic Marathon Trials.
That’s not even getting into the fact that Mantz’s right-hand man Clayton Young has placed ninth at the most recent World and Olympic marathons and seventh in New York (2024) and Boston (2025). There’s the fact that 26.2 riser Alex Maier and journeyman Daniel Mesfun have both quietly become 2:08 marathoners via their wins in Düsseldorf and Dublin, respectively. And fully acknowledging that a comprehensive list of other rock solid and likely still improving American male marathoners would be very boring to read, we’ll also name drop Wesley Kiptoo, Matthew Richtman, and Ryan Ford, then recognize that there’s bound to be even more dudes joining this resurgence who are still in the NCAA currently, or are in the process of changing allegiances to represent the U.S., like Zouhair Talbi.
The state of American women’s marathoning never hit quite the same nadir it did for the men once Galen Rupp began to slow down a touch, but we’re still in the midst of an exciting changing of the guard.
As already discussed, the top marathoners in the U.S. to close out 2025 are probably not the same runners you likely would have picked for that accolade to open the year. Susanna Sullivan, Jess McClain, and Annie Frisbee each firmly established themselves as top-10-types in big international races, which really means that on the right day, they could be podium threats if things shake out just right.
In New York City, Fiona O’Keeffe proved that her win in Orlando last year was no fluke, Emily Sisson (2:25:05 for eighth) chipped in yet another solid showing, Amanda Vestri’s debut (2:25:40 for ninth) went about as well as it possibly could have, and Elena Hayday notched a solid 12th-place finish.
But beyond this past weekend’s racing, very much still in the mix are names like Erika Kemp, who had one hell of a debut in Houston, and Natosha Rogers, who looks to have finally figured out how to race the distance. Dakotah Popehn has cemented herself as a steady top-10 presence on the international circuit, joining the likes of Emma Bates and Lindsay Flanagan in that archetype. Again, we’re risking becoming a list of names rather than a newsletter—but we want to drive the point home that there are simply a lot of very marathoners representing the U.S. right now, particularly those on the upswing of their careers!
For both the men and the women, there’s still a sizable chasm between the fastest American and the fastest in the world. Short of regular apocalyptic weather events throwing the results of future World Majors or global championship marathons into total disarray, a la 2018 Boston, it seems unlikely the next G.O.A.T. of the ‘thon is in possession of an American passport.
But it’s equally important to note the number of young, first- or second-time marathoners at the top of the rankings lists right now. It’d be one thing if Team USA’s best hope was that a 30-something with a dozen marathons under their belt suddenly made a huge jump… instead, there’s at least half a dozen men and women whose ceilings we haven’t begun to approach.
We’re still at an exciting moment for the event if you’re an American fan. There’s an increasing number of Team USA hopefuls with the upside potential to becoming true international class, and if that trajectory holds, it doesn’t feel completely insane to think there might be more than one American medalist in the marathon come L.A… a notion that would have been borderline laughable ahead of Paris.
The NCAA Conference Spooktacular 🎃
Over in the realm of healthy tendons and youthful ambition, NCAA harriers all across the nation laced up their spikes and raced their hearts out over hill and dale well manicured golf courses—school pride, possible Kolas points, and whether that night’s Halloween party would be a huge bummer or cause for celebration all on the line.
With all due respect to the early season, now is when we really start to learn what the major players have in store. It’s one thing to hold out a scorer or two or play sit-and-kick at Nuttycombe, but everyone wants to win their conference title. And so the cards have come out of the hands, and there’s a lot to unpack.
Starting out with Big 12s… Jane Hedengren has arrived and is here to STAY! After rewriting the history books with her 18:42.3 win at Pre-Nats, Hedengren somehow found another gear, clocking 18:29.6 to trounce a stellar field by 44 seconds. Incredible. Her dominant performance led the BYU women to the team title with 38 points, ahead of Iowa State. This marks the Cougars’ third straight conference crown, and they’re looking stronger than ever heading into Regionals and NCAAs.
For the men, the Cowboys come out on top. Oklahoma State dethroned #1 ranked Iowa State mid-controversy by putting all five scorers in the top seven, claiming victory with just 20 points to the Cyclones’ 43. Brian Musau led the charge, winning in 22:53.7 for his third consecutive conference title. After placing eighth at last year’s NCAA Championship, OSU is looking hungry for redemption, and with their sixth and seventh runners placing 14th and 21st, their depth could make all the difference come Nationals.
Another men’s team to watch as we get closer to NCAAs is Colorado. With all five scorers in the top 25 against powerhouses like OSU and Iowa State, Colorado is definitely looking to be a podium contender on the national stage this year.
The big headline from ACCs is Watch out for the Wolfpack. Angelina Napoleon led the way for NC State, running 19:13.9 to take the win over Notre Dame’s Mary Bonner Dalton (19:14.9) in a tight finish. NC State took the team title with 28 points and placed all five scorers in the top ten, continuing a trend of the Wolfpack being a force all season. And file this away for 2026: every scorer from the ACC-winning squad will be back again next year.
In the men’s race, Wake Forest may have only placed third with 111 points, but Rocky Hansen stole the show, leading from start to finish, setting a course record, and winning by 21 seconds. After finishing 100th at last year’s NCAA Championship, Hansen will be looking for redemption in Missouri come November 22nd. A single-digit finish is within reach – but could he even contend for the win?
Unlike the NC State dominance in the women’s race, Virginia’s Gary Martin-led team title wasn’t a runaway lopsided outcome. An interesting note: the top eight men’s finishers represented eight different schools—Wake Forest, Virginia, Louisville, Virginia Tech, Stanford, North Carolina, Notre Dame, and Syracuse.
Onto the SEC, where Napoleon and Hedengren’s biggest rival resides. After running and jumping her way to a fifth-place finish in the World Championship steeplechase final in September, defending national champ Doris Lemngole made an emphatic return to the grass, picking up right where she left off with another SEC title. In a conference that projects to have a ton of All-American honors when nationals rolls around, the Alabama standout cruised to a 15-second win.
Judy Chepkoech seems to have unseated Hilda Olemomoi as the Flordia Gators’ low stick this year, finishing seventh at Gans Creek and now second in Knoxville over the weekend. Ultimately, though, it doesn’t matter what order Florida finishes in because their top four of Chepkoech, Olemomoi, Tia Wilson, and Desma Chepkoech (no relation) can hang with anyone in the country. In both races this quartet has run together this season, they’ve all finished inside the top 10.
On the men’s side, another national contender may have emerged from the swamp. Florida’s Kelvin Cheruiyot backed up a Pre-Nats win with a SEC win, both times doing his damage over the final K. On one hand, that’s an impressive resume and very strong momentum heading into the national postseason, but on the other hand you could make the argument that he hasn’t really raced any of the top individual contenders yet. Both performances came absent Oklahoma State’s or Iowa State’s mighty squads, national favorite Habtom Samuel, the ACC duo of Hansen and Martin, or Washington State’s terrifying tag team. Even with a pair of very respectable wins, it still feels like Cheruiyot might be a bit unproven until he (most likely) returns to Columbia later this month.
In Big 10 news, Oregon’s reinforcements have hit the grass running. Nobody has made changing conferences look easier than Oregon, as Shalane Flanagan’s Ducks have totaled just 51 points at this meet in the last two years combined to cement a chokehold on the Big Ten. This year’s showing featured a 1-2-3-5-7 finish for a meet record 18 points.
Just like she did in 2024, Flanagan opted not to show all her cards until the conference meet, and Şilan Ayyildiz (third) and Mia Barnett (seventh) delivered in their highly anticipated debuts. However, the most bone-chilling part of this race for anyone outside of Eugene was how wholly Diana Cherotich dominated. It’s always tough to gauge how much teammates really care about racing each other at conference, but she beat Juliet Cherubet—who was 11th at nationals last year—by 15 seconds. Cherotich also beat Cherubet by 45 seconds last month at the Dellinger Invitational, so it’s safe to say she’s firmly in the Lemngole-Hedengren-Pamela Kosgei tier of individual contenders.
Despite our world of increasingly consolidated conferences, there was still plenty to watch outside of the Power 4.
Clearly running at Worlds before the cross country season is not that big of a deal, because New Mexico’s Pamela Kosgei’s debut completed the triumvirate of Tokyo steeplers doubling back for the XC season. The defending national runner-up hasn’t lost a step, taking the Mountain West title by 22 seconds ahead of Boise State’s Kaiya Robertson, who was knocking on the door of an All-American berth in Wisconsin last year.
Probably the least surprising results of the weekend came in the form of Habtom Samuel cruising to another Mountain West individual title and Wazzu standouts Solomon Kipchoge and Evans Kurui going 1-2 at WCCs. Samuel and Kipchoge had an epic battle for the win at Nuttycombe, and they figure to once again be at the very front of the pack at Nationals.
And Samuel’s Lobos easily won the team title in Fresno, posting a dominant 26 point total even with All-American Collins Kiprotich finishing outside of their scoring five.
With all the dust settling on courses around the country, the individual and team pictures are finally becoming clear. Hedengren and Lemngole aren’t going to be able to dodge one another for much longer, and the depth of teams that can pack the top-10 at their league champs will be put to a much stiffer test in a few short weeks. Whether you saw the weekend’s offerings as a trick or a treat depends entirely on who you’re cheering for, but at least now we’re all on the same page.
More News From The Track And Field World 📰
– World Athletics announced its finalists for the 2025 Athlete of the Year Awards and the women’s results were, frankly, insane. Instead of the Melissa Jefferson-Wooden x Beatrice Chebet we predicted, the finalists are Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone and… Femke Bol? No, that’s not a misprint. The first round of voting heavily weights the decision of the anonymous World Athletics Council against a very different popular vote, and it’s clear they made some wild choices – but the final vote is up to you, the fans.
– Not to editorialize too much in a single bullet point, but 2025 World Indoor champ Josh Hoey has made the somewhat confounding decision to leave his coach, Justin Rinaldi, who took Hoey from a 1:47 800m runner to a 1:42 man with legit Wold medal potential.
– Nerds, rejoice! World Athletics has toggled the ‘on’ switch for the Road To page for next summer’s World Ultimate Championships.
– First the Louvre, now World Athletics? WA issued a statement explaining that it has been the victim of “systematic internal theft” to the tune of €1.5 million over several years.
– Des Linden made an appearance on the popular public transit-set short video series Subway Takes. We’ll go ahead and spoil it for you. Her hot take is that the marathon is overrated… but wait… there’s nuance! (For said nuance, watch for yourself!)
– Clyde Hart, the Baylor Quarter Mile U coach who guided athletes like Michael Johnson, Jeremy Wariner, and Sanya Richards-Ross to Olympic gold, has passed away at 91.
– Well-timed kicks gave Annie Rodenfels (15:33) and Amon Kemboi (13:50) a taste of victory at the Dash to the Finish Line 5k. Unrelatedly, we are Mandela Effect truthers in that this race has always been called the “Dash to the Finish,” right?
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