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ING New York City Marathon
2002 New York City Marathon Start - Verrazano Bridge
ING New York City Marathon Course Map - Courtesy of the New York Road Runners DATE:
Sunday, November 4, 2007
LOCATION:
The Five Boroughs of New York City

START: Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, Staten Island
FINISH: Tavern on the Green, Central Park

The Marathon

A record 39,085 runners toed the starting line in Staten Island in the 2007 ING New York City Marathon. This year's event saw two former champions return to the winner’s circle. Kenyan runner Martin Lel captured his second ING NYC Marathon title, finishing with a time of 2:09:04. Paula Radcliffe, having given birth to her daughter in January of this year and making her first marathon start in two years, outlasted a talented women’s field to finish in 2:23:09.

Martin Lel outlasted Abderrahim Goumi of Morocco after a final sprint to the finish line. Goumi finished 12 seconds behind after staying with Lel for much of the race. The duo recently battled in the London Marathon, with the same outcome. Hendrick Ramaala, winner of the 2004 Marathon, finished third with a time of 2:11:25. Defending champion Marilson Gomes dos Santos finished eighth, four minutes and forty three seconds behind Lel.
The women’s field was stacked with former ING NYC Champions and top women’s marathoners. Paula Radcliffe (Great Britain) overcame a two-year layoff from marathons to lead the women’s field from start to finish. Gete Wami of Ethiopia, challenged Radcliffe to the finish in Central Park, but a late sprint propelled Radcliffe to victory. Two-time defending champion Jelena Prokopcuka (Latvia) finished third. Wami, with her second place finish, captured the inaugural World Marathon Majors title over Prokopcuka to win $500,000.

Several local runners faired well in the race. Four local men finished among top 20 runners, including Geena Tufa who finished 14th overall. On the women’s side, four local women finished in the top 25, lead by New Yorker Caitlin Tormey who finished 13th overall in with a time of 2:43:30.

In the men’s wheelchair race, Australian Kurt Fearnley successfully defended his 2006 title, finishing in 1:33:58. Edith Hunkeler shattered her own course record by 48 seconds en route to a first place finish with a time of 1:52:38. Alejandro Albor of California won the handcycle division with a time of 1:17:48.

Several celebrities participated in the ING New York City Marathon, including seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong who finished the race in 2:46:53, improving on his 2006 time by approximately 13 minutes. In addition, actress Katie Holmes finished in 5:29:58 and former New York Rangers goaltender Mike Richter had a time of 3:54:34.

The first marathon was held in 1970 with only a few hundred runners participating in the 26.2-mile competition in Central Park. Slowly expanding in size and scope, the 1976 marathon saw 2,090 racers complete a race that encompassed all five boroughs. Runners now enjoy a scenic course that stretches across the Verrazano Bridge from Staten Island to Brooklyn, north through Queens and the Bronx, and concludes in Manhattan for a spectacular finish in Central Park.

Defending wheelchair champions Kurt Fearnley of Australia and American Amanda McGrory will return to headline a loaded field of wheelchair racers that is expected to include all of the past ING New York City Marathon male and female winners since the first official race in 2000. The wheelchair prize money purse totals $40,000 plus time bonuses, with the male and female winners taking home $7,500 apiece.

The ING New York City Marathon will officially begin at 8:00am with Avis' presentation of the Early Start for Athletes with Disabilities, which will be followed by the 9:05am start for the Wheelchair Division, also presented by Avis. The Handcycle Division starts at 9:20am while the Open Field begins at 10:10am.

An estimated two million spectators will watch the event from the streets of New York City, while a worldwide audience of over 315 million is expected to watch the televised broadcast.


To learn more about the New York City Marathon and view the winners from each year, please visit our Marathon History Page.

For information on past races, please visit our Archive page.

For detailed information on participating and
viewing the race, please visit the ING NYC Marathon Website.

Last Updated On: Wednesday, November 7, 2007

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