A year after it was cancelled due to Hurricane Sandy, the returned triumphantly on Sunday, boasting a record 50,740 participants, including Kenyans Geoffrey Mutai and Priscah Jeptoo, who won the men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 fields, respectively.
Mutai ran a 2:08:24 to become the first man to win consecutive New York City Marathons since fellow Kenyan John Kagwe won the event in 1997 and 1998.
鈥淭his is harder than 2011,鈥 he said. 鈥淭o win and defend your title is not easy.鈥
Olympic silver medalist Jeptoo finished in 2:25:07 to become the overall champion. She won $500,000 in addition to the $100,000 she claimed for winning New York.
鈥淭he crowd, they really helped me a lot because they were cheering, joyful, telling me: Go, go, go!鈥 she said at the winners鈥 news conference. 鈥淭his is a day I will not forget for the rest of my life.鈥澛
Americans Ryan Vail, of Portland, and Adriana Nelson, of Fort Collins, both finished 13th. Meb Keflezighi, who won in 2009 and was the American favorite entering the race, finished 23rd in 2:23:47.
In the wake of the Boston bombings, more than $1 million was spent on marathon security, including an increased mobile camera and police presence. According to race director Mary Wittenberg, there were 鈥渮ero incidents and zero threats 鈥 it鈥檚 mostly happiness. It鈥檚 an important day for the city.鈥