NYC Half Marathon - Pro Men

March 21, 2010

During the NYC Half-Marathon’s early miles in Central Park, the men’s lead pack contained the eventual winners, but one unexpected event would change everything: Ethiopia’s Haile Gebrselassie would drop out near mile 9 due to asthma-related issues. That’s when Kenya’s Peter Kamais took off on his own to finish in 59:53, the second-fastest time in event history. Moses Kigen Kipkosgei and Mohamed Trafeh followed in second and third.

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Though many speculated about who was fit to win, it was anyone’s race at the start.
The early Central Park pack, led here by Abdi Abdirahman, changed many times, but always contained Haile Gebrselassie and Peter Kamais.
Mohamed Trafeh, a self-coached American who’s trained with Khalid Khannouchi, came to New York one week after winning the USA 15K Championship.
Four of these men would make it to the top-five, including Ethiopia’s Bekana Daba (fourth) and Shadrack Kiptoo Biwott (fifth).
Kamais and Gebrselassie were in step to battle it out for the rest of the race…
…even as they ran down Seventh Avenue. But suddenly, Gebrselassie pulled off to the side and stopped.
This gave Kamais the break he needed to push ahead alone through Times Square—perfectly poised for first place.
On the final straightaway, Moses Kigen Kipkosgei cranked out a 1:00:38, edging Trafeh.
Biwott, who competed in multiple road races over the past few months to qualify for this race, made the top five in 1:01:52.
Trafeh, who moved to America from Morocco when he was 14 years old, placed third, just one second behind Kigen.
Kigen followed in the footsteps of his countryman, Kimais, by finishing second, and was one of five Kenyans in the men’s and women’s top five.
Kamais, who said he knew he would win at the 10K mark, finished 29 seconds shy of the event record in 59:53.