By Clay Shaw

New York, NY, March 19, 2023, United Airlines New York City Half Marathon—You have to be the most elite of athletes to win World Cross Country.  Hellen Obiri of Kenya, who won World Cross in Aarhus, Denmark in 2019 and just about everything on the track, ran her first United Airlines NYC Half Marathon.  Her winning time set a new course record of 1:07:21.  The Brooklyn to New York course has its share of hills, not unlike the NYC Marathon.  Last year’s champion Senbere Teferi of Ethiopia was second in 1:07:55. Karoline Bjerkeli Grøvdal of Norway, herself the 2021 and 2022 European Cross Country champion, was third again this year in 1:09:53.  Diane van Es of Netherlands, who ran much of the race alone, was fourth in 1:10:43.  2018 Boston Marathon champion Desiree Linden of Charlevoix, Michigan was fifth and top American in 1:12:21.  Natasha Wodak of Canada was the top master and eighth overall in 1:12:33.  Wodak set the new Canadian women’s marathon mark of 2:23:12 in September 2022 at the Berlin Marathon.

If you want championship running, call the Ugandans.  Jacob Kiplimo and Joshua Cheptegei went one and two at the United Airlines NYC Half Marathon; Kiplimo won in 1:01:31 and Cheptegei was second in 1:02:09.  Kiplimo also won World Cross Country in Bathurst, Australia last month.  Cheptegei was third in Bathurst and was the 2019 World XC champion in Aarhus 2019, with Kiplimo earning second that year.  Zouhair Talbi of Morocco was third in New York in 1:02:18.  Ben True of West Lebanon, NH was fourth and top American in 1:02:57.  True at 37, still has a strong finishing kick, as only one second separated him from Edward Cheserek of Kenya and Andrew Butchart of Great Britain, who were both timed at 1:02:58.  Chris Thompson of Great Britain was the top master in 1:04:32.  Thompson was sixteenth after enjoying a 14-second lead through the first 5K.

Nearly 25,000 finished the United Airlines NYC Half Marathon, which was quite cold at 33°F (less than 1°C for the rest of the world).  Kiplimo told us it was the coldest race he has ever run.

Women’s Finish Times

1. 1:07:21 Hellen Obiri, 33, Kenya
2. 1:07:55 Senbere Teferi, 27, Ethiopia
3. 1:09:53 Karoline Bjerkeli Grovdal, 32, Norway
4. 1:10:43 Diane van Es, 23, Netherlands
5. 1:12:21 Desiree Linden, 39, Charlevoix, MI
6. 1:12:25 Dakotah Lindwurm, 27, Burnsville, MN
7. 1:12:27 Molly Huddle, 38, Providence, RI
8. 1:12:33 Natasha Wodak, 41, Canada
9. 1:12:46 Jeralyn Poe, 25, Flagstaff, AZ
10. 1:13:18 Erika Kemp, 28, Brookline, MA
11. 1:13:26 Annie Frisbie, 26, Hopkins, MN
12. 1:13:28 Jessica Warner-Judd, 28, Great Britain
13. 1:13:45 Maggie Montoya, 27, Longmont, CO
14. 1:16:11 Mia Behm, 33, Pelham, NY
15. 1:18:14 Lily Anderson, 25, Brooklyn, NY

Men’s Finish Times

1. 1:01:31 Jacob Kiplimo, 22, Uganda
2. 1:02:09 Joshua Cheptegei, 26, Uganda
3. 1:02:18 Zouhair Talbi, 27, Morocco
4. 1:02:57 Ben True, 37, West Lebanon, NH
5. 1:02:58 Edward Cheserek, 29, Kenya
6. 1:02:58 Andrew Butchart, 31, Great Britain
7. 1:03:00 Nico Montanez, 29, Mammoth Lakes, CA
8. 1:03:02 Reed Fischer, 27, Boulder, CO
9. 1:03:07 Frank Lara, 27, Boulder, CO
10. 1:03:08 Teshome Mekonen, 27, New York, NY
11. 1:03:10 Connor Winter, 30, Boulder, CO
12. 1:03:20 Kennedy Kimutai, 23, Kenya
13. 1:03:41 Manu Teferi, 31, Israel
14. 1:03:49 Yuto Akahoshi, 21, Japan
15. 1:04:21 Rory Linkletter, 26, Canada
16. 1:04:32 Chris Thompson, 41, Great Britain
17. 1:04:57 Galen Rupp, 36, Portland, OR
18. 1:05:01 Kensuke Tsubura, 22, Japan
19. 1:06:23 Juan Luis Barrios, 39, Mexico
20. 1:07:21 Zachary Ornelas, 31, Ann Arbor, MI

Categories: Race Coverage

Tags: 2023, featured, UANYC Half, United Airlines New York City Half