Tula and Meb steal the show

The much-anticipated 40th running of the New York City Marathon took place on a crisp autumn day yesterday, as more than 42,000 athletes from around the world covered 26.2 miles through the five boroughs that comprise New York City.

The field of elite runners for both the men and women included top elites from around the world. Champions Derartu Tulu and Meb Keflezighi faced strong competition for their first place finishes. For the first half of the race, a pack of several men led the race, while the women's field was contained to about five top runners. Once the athletes crossed into Manhattan shortly passed the halfway point, some runners began to fall back as the strongest pushed the pace. The race was an exciting one as the elites struggled against each other for the lead.

As the last leg of the race entered Central Park, favorites Ryan Hall and Paula Radcliffe were nowhere near the front of the group, which had separated more than in the early miles. Defending champion from Brasil, Marílson Gomes dos Santos, had dropped out at Mile 23. 37-year old Derartu Tulu of Ethiopia and 34-year old Meb Keflezighi of the United States crossed the finish line as champions, in what was the first New York City Marathon win for both. Tulu finished in 2:28:52, pulling away from second-place Ludmila Petrova of Russia in the last half-mile, where as Keflezighi held the lead from Mile 24 until the end and finished in an impressive 2:09:15. Keflezighi's victory marked the first US men's win since 1982.