Sheila Chepkirui wins second title in the Big Apple!
For the first time since fellow adidas athlete Mary Keitany, Sheila Chepkirui won a second NYCM, taking the 2026 TCS NYC Marathon in a time of 2:24:36, six seconds ahead of a fast-charging Jess McClain and seven seconds ahead of NYC/Boston winner Hellen Obiri!
It was a tactical race from early on, as the women hit 18:25 for 5k, 35:42 for 10k, 52:19 for 15k, 1:10:01 for 20k, and 1:13:52 for the HM. The pack kept shrinking, moving from 17 at 10k to 9 at the halfway point, to six at 25k, and then to two, with Hellen Obiri right on the shoulder of Sheila Chepkirui as Sheila began to make a run for the Park, running the second half in 1:10:43.
Sheila Chepkirui won her first NYC title in 2024, running 2:24:35. That win in the Big Apple put Sheila Chepkirui on the map. In 2025, Sheila Chepkirui ran a 2:20:24 for third, with Sharon Lokedi in 2:20:07 in second and Hellen Obiri taking her second NYC marathon in a 2:19:51 course record!
Sheila Chepkirui ran a very savvy tactical race in 2026, staying with the pack through the halfway part, and letting the pace decimate the lead pack. After 32 kilometers, Sheila Chepkirui and Hellen Obiri broke away, and then it was two, with Jess McClain, the top American, running well back, about 20-plus seconds behind. By 23 miles, Jess McClain, running the race of her life, was up to sixteen seconds behind.
By then, Sheila Chepkirui was driving home, while Hellen Obiri stayed close. Hellen always runs as if she is in major pain, arms swinging high. There is a bit of extra motion at the end of a race, when Hellen Obiri is exhausted. Do not use the line, “well, they’re only human.” These women are road warriors: Sheila Chepkirui pushed hard, Hellen Obiri held on for dear life, and Jess McClain moved closer and closer. By mile 24, Jess McClain was just under ten seconds behind.
Central Park is one hell of a way to end a marathon. In 1986, Rob De Castella won in Boston, setting a course record. Then, in August1986, Rob won the Commonwealth Games, his second victory there. Rob led a gold and bronze (Steve Moneghetti) for Australia in the CG 1986 marathon! Rob then ran the NYC Marathon and noted, with some vigor, that racing through Central Park, a the end of the marathon , with very tough final miles! De Castella told the media post-race that the last miles in Central Park were very, very tough.
Those last miles through Central Park, 40 years later, a still very tough!
Sheila Chepkirui eaked out a victory by a few seconds, seven, in fact, between her and Hellen Obiri. With about fifty meters to go, Jess McClain rose up and charged past Hellen Obiri, fatigued from the battle with Stephen Chepkirui. Rewatch the finish! Sheila held off second place, but second place went from being a Kenyan Hellen Obiri to American Jess McClain in a spectacular sprint.
After the race, Sheila Chepkirui, now a two-time NYC winner, told the media: “The last mile I was with Hellen, and I knew Hellen was really strong, so I had to push up to the finish line!”
Sheila Chepkirui won the Nagoya Marathon in Nagoya, Japan, on March 8, 2026, and added a half marathon victory, winning the Riga Half Marathon on May 17, 2026, in Riga, Latvia.
Sheila Chepkirui competed in both the 5,000m and 10,000m at the Kenya Defense Forces Track & Field Champs in June (June 10-12, 2026), taking sixth in the 5,000m in 16:08.32 and second in the 10,000m, running 33:01.56 at high altitude in Nairobi, Kenya. One week later, Sheila Chepkirui took second in the women’s 10,000m in 31:54.12.
Sheila would use that half marathon toughness and 10,000m speed to good use in the NYC Marathon.
Sheila Chepkirui finished in 2:24:36; right behind her was Jess McClain, US, who outkicked Hellen Obiri, 2:24:42 to 2:24:43. This was one of the closest women’s marathons, and most exhilarating, in recent memory.
The race began at 47 degrees, and the cool, sunny day welcomed 60,229 starters to the 50th anniversary of the first Five Boroughs version of the TCS NYC Marathon! Sheila won in 2024 and took third in 2025! Now Sheila Chepkirui has won NYC twice!
Photos by Kevin Morris for NYRR.
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