The New York City Marathon is one of the most well-known races in the world and on Sunday, a few lucky runners crossed the finish line knowing they were the winners of the 48th New York City Marathon.
Mary Keitany won the women's division, finishing the race in first place. Following behind her were Vivian Cheruiyot and Shalane Flanagan, taking second and third place respectively. Keitany, a runner from Kenya, has won the New York City Marathon three times previously. She broke away from the pack and crossed the finish line after two hours, twenty-two minutes and forty-eight seconds.
Cinching the men's division was Lelisa Desisa from Ethiopia, who finished the race just after noon.
First place winners each receive $100,000 in prize money for their accomplishments. Second places is awarded $60,000 and third place goes home with $40,000 according to the official marathon website.
On Sunday, Manuela Schär became the first to take home a title when she won the women's wheelchair division. Schär, a Paralympian athlete from Switzerland, also won the New York City Marathon in 2017. Schär's downhill sprinting capabilities enabled her to pull away from American Tatyana McFadden and make a break for the finish line.
Finishing in first for the men's wheelchair division was Daniel Romanchuck from the United States, who finished just after 11:00 a.m. It was a close race that turned into a battle for the finish line with Romanchuck eeking out the victory.
An estimated 50,000 runners participated in this year's marathon, which began around 8:30 a.m. EST for wheelchair contestants, followed by hand cyclists at 8:52 a.m. Professional female runners started the race at 9:20 a.m. and professional male runners, took their first steps at 9:50 a.m. Remaining participants were broken into waves and began at 9:50 a.m., 10:15 a.m., 10:40 a.m. and 11 a.m.
After the gun went off to announce the start of the women's elite division, Frank Sinatra's "New York, New York" played, an appropriate ode to the marathon's host city.
The 2018 course started in Staten Island, New York, and took runners over the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge and north through Brooklyn. Participants followed the East River through Brooklyn and into Queens, then over the Queensboro Bridge. After crossing into Manhattan, runners followed the East River north into the Bronx.
For the last leg of the journey, runners headed south through Harlem along Fifth Avenue, through Central Park, where they finished the race on the west side of the park.
Along with professional runners, a few famous faces tackled the course this year. Former New York Giants player, Tiki Barber, marked his fifth run through the five boroughs on Sunday. "Desperate Housewives" star Teri Hatcher is also running, as is, actor Brian d'Arcy. Hatcher's daughter Emerson is also running with her mom on Sunday.
"Whatever happens, we're just excited and hope to finish," Hatcher said ahead of the race.
The 2017 race proved to be a historic moment for the hosting country when Flanagan came in first place for the women's division, breaking a four-decade stint without an American woman winning. Flanagan completed the course this year in third place.
The marathon began in 1970 with just 55 runners completing the course and has grown exponentially in the almost 50 years since. Over 100,000 runners applied for entry and only 15 percent were accepted, according to Forbes. The average runner completes the marathon in four hours, thirty-nine minutes and seven seconds.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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