Mary Keitany took my breath away during her run in London last April.
Mary Keitany, photo by PhotoRun.net
She ran all out, running faster than Paula Radcliffe had early on the race. But, with no pacers after half marathon, Mary Keitany ran by herself, and with Mother Nature and some stomach distress ran 2:17:01, the fastest time EVER by a woman running with only woman. Tirunesh Dibaba was second in 2:17:56.
She is running London next year, and that WR is fixed in every run she does. It may have been why she was not at top of her game in New York, but, Mary Keitany changes perceptions. In our interview post London 2017, Mary Keitany was a bit miffed that there was not the equivalent of a breaking 2 for women. And she was right.
Women’s distance running is, in many races, much more exciting than the men’s races. The women, especially in marathons, are about racing and they push the pace to the very end. NYC Marathons were cases in point, as the women’s race was tremendous. Even with a bad patch, Mary Keitany came back and took second.
AIMS recognized Mary Keitany as the Best Marathoner in 2017, and we concur. Here is her interview with Andy Edwards, our friend at Race-News Service.
