NEW YORK—Runners hid behind each other Sunday as the wind blew through the Verrazano and Queensboro bridges whisking hats away.
The faces ranged from grimaces to narrowed eyes and gritted teeth, each displaying determination to get through the 26.2 miles that spanned all five boroughs.
The wind didn’t help matters.
“As you lifted your leg this way, your leg would swing that way,” described Theo Morrison, 39, a photographer from Jackson Heights, Queens, who ran for charity Sunday at the suggestion of a colleague.
“I feel like I need leg surgery now,” Morrison joked. It was his second time running a marathon.
Sunday morning saw both amateurs and Olympians strain their bodies and minds through New York City’s 44th annual marathon.
Kenyans Wilson Kipsang and Mary Keitany took home gold, each earning $100,000. Kipsang also won the $500,000 World Marathon Majors bonus thanks to the New York victory.
Kipsang’s time was 2 hours, 10 minutes, and 59 seconds while Keitany’s was 2 hours, 25 minutes and 7 seconds. Both had to pace themselves on the windy course.
American and reigning Boston Marathon champion, Meb Keflezighi, took fourth.
Buzunesh Deba, a Bronx resident of Ethiopian descent, was ninth in the professional women’s race. Deba was seeking to be the first New Yorker to win the race in 40 years.
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