Nov 6, 2011 - Happy Birthday, Margaret!



Established in 1970, the New York City Marathon, now sponsored by ING, is not only near the top of prestigious U.S. marathons but is among the World Marathon Majors. Along with Boston, Chicago, London and Berlin, the NYC long distance race is in a class above the rest.

In 2011, more than 47,000 participated in the race that has traditionally begun in Staten Island near the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge and ends in Manhattan in Central Park.
After the devastating snow-ice storm a week before the event, organizers had to work hard with city agencies to accelerate the clean up process. One estimate put the number of trees lost in the range of 1,000 with thousands other badly damages but all was clear for the marathon day.

The guaranteed prize purse for the ING New York City Marathon 2011 was more than $650,000.
Top prizes are (equal for men and women):
1 $130,000 ($200,000 if previous champion.)
2 $65,000
3 $40,000
4 $25,000
5 $15,000

Raceday Weather Conditions:

Start at 9:40am
At start: 51°F / 10.5°C, sunny, 54% humidity, wind SW 9 mph
At noon: 53°F / 11.6°C, sunny,52% humidity, wind 3 mph

Statistics:


Applicants total:  142,903
Starters total:     47,438
Finishers total:    46,795
Male finishers:     29,867
Female finishers:  16,928

Oldest runners:
  Joy Johnson (CA), F, age 84, 7:44:45
  Norman Gould (FL), M, age 83, 8:29:41

Spectators along the course:  about 2,500,000

Gosia's Results:

Time:  3:39:44
Pace:  8:24 / mile
Time 1st half:  1:42:49

Overall place:   7,989 (17%)
Women place:  1,421 (8.4%)
Women 50-54 place:  61 (4.2%)

Overall Results:

Top Men

Place Name Home Age Time Pace per mile
1 Geoffrey Mutai Kenya 30 2:05:05 new record (previous 2:07:43, Tesfaye Jifar, 2001) 4:47
2 Emmanuel Mutai Kenya 27 2:06:28 4:50
3 Tsegaye Kebede Ethiopia 24 2:07:13 4:52

Top Women

Place Name Home Age Time Pace per mile
1 Firehiwot Dado Ethiopia 27 2:23:15 5:29
2 Buzunesh Deba NY 24 2:23:19 5:29
3 Mary Keitany Kenya 29 2:23:38 5:29

Top Women 50-54

Place Name Home Age Time Pace per mile
1 Isabelle Vallet-Colom France 50 3:06:35 7:08
2 Natalia Rubino Italy 50 3:08:40 7:13
3 Danielle Emery France 51 3:09:43 7:15
61 Malgorzata Mirkowicz TX 52 3:39:44 8:24


Click here for full official results.


Race Map and Elevations:


Here is the letter every finisher received on Monday after the event from race director:

Malgorzata Mirkowicz,

You are incredible - a champion in your own right! You finished the world's greatest marathon on Sunday.

Just like our champions Geoffrey Mutai and Firehiwot Dado, Masazumi Soejima and Amanda McGrory, you achieved something that most people only dream about.

You were part of a record-breaking weekend, in so many ways. More than 47,000 runners. A stunning $34 million raised for charity. Mutai's 2:05:05 in New York is now the fastest performance on a record-certified course in the United States. In fact, the top three men as well as the women's wheelchair champion beat course records.

From Friday night's inaugural Marathon Opening Ceremony to Saturday's Dash to the Finish Line 5K to Marathon Sunday, the weekend was a blur of inspiration. As Jack Waitz finished, we all thought of our beloved Grete Waitz, to whom we dedicated this year's race. We hope the moment of pure elation when you crossed the finish line will stay with you forever.

You're an official ING New York City Marathon 2011 finisher with a time of 3:39:44. We call you champion. Don't you love the sound of that?

On behalf of NYRR - your biggest fans,

Mary Wittenberg
Race Director, ING New York City Marathon
President and CEO, New York Road Runners