Kenya’s Benson Kipruto helped break up the leading group at the New York City Marathon on Sunday, 1 November. Yet when the men reached the finish in Central Park, it was another African runner who took the last place on the podium. Kamohelo Mofolo of Lesotho passed the defending champion in the closing metres.
Mofolo’s third-place time of 2:06:26 left him a second ahead of Kipruto on the results sheet. For much of the afternoon a finish that close had looked possible for more than just those two. At 35 kilometres, LetsRun counted 15 men still running together at the front of a race that extends for just over 42 kilometres.
Kipruto’s acceleration helped thin that group. By the 40-kilometre mark he was contesting the lead with Sweden’s Andreas Almgren and Italy’s Yemaneberhan Crippa. Almgren eventually got clear to win his first marathon in 2:06:01. Crippa crossed in 2:06:14. Behind them, Mofolo found enough speed to catch Kipruto before the line.
The Lesotho runner had another comparison to make besides the one with the Kenyan champion. At his marathon debut in Cape Town in May, he finished 11th in 2:08:50. His time in New York was two minutes and 24 seconds faster. He went from outside the first ten in his first marathon to third in his second.
What it means for you: watch for the letters PB alongside a runner’s result. They refer to the fastest time that athlete has recorded over the distance. Mofolo earned that distinction in New York even though two competitors finished ahead of him. Finishing position answers a different question about the same race.
The winning time and Mofolo’s time were just 25 seconds apart. For followers of African distance running, the sharpest contrast came at the very end, between the man from Kenya who had pushed the leaders apart and the runner from Lesotho who still had enough left to pass him.