by Larry Eder
The men’s race starts, with not only the ING NYCM elite men’s race, but also a US championships! This would be a historic race….
All photos by PhotoRun.net.
Meb Keflizighi, with Jorge Torres, Abdi Abdirhaman, Bolata Asmeron, Ryan Hall in the front pack! Robert Cheruiyot, James Kwambai are in attendance…
In the Bronx, the pack is down to five runners…..
And then, there were two….Robert Cheruiyot, four-time champion at Boston, and Meb Keflizighi, Olympic silver medalist. Who would win?
Making the move just after twenty-four miles, Meb gained five meters, then ten, then fifteen meters! Keflizighi just kept on moving and ran hard through the finish!
Meb Keflezighi becomes the first American male to win the ING NYCM since 1982! He lead five Americans in the first ten, not done since 1979! This run, in 2:09:15, was a negative split race, as the half way pace was 1:05:07 at the halfway. 2:09:15 was a personal best for Meb!Fourteen mile an hour wind in face the entire way,and this was a race of attrition. Meb had one move and used it well to make his dream a reality!
All photos by PhotoRun.net, special thanks to Victah Sailer and Lisa Coniglio.
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