Abbott Dash to the Finish Line 5-K (14th)
United Nations Plaza to Central Park, New York, NY, USA; Saturday, October 31
Distance: 5 km, USATF-certified (NY22008JRG) point-to-point course with 10m elevation GAIN (not record-eligible)
Format: Separate elite races for men and women, followed by mass race for men and women
Finishers (All sections combined): 5578 men + 6106 women + 28 non-binary = 11,712 total (race record; up from 10,683 in 2025)
Race Founded: 2011; not held in 2012 (Hurricane Sandy) or 2020 (COVID pandemic)
Course Records: Men, 13:24, Abdihamid Nur, 2022; Women, 15:16, Weini Kelati, 2022
Prize Money: See primary details for invitational sections, below; there was additional prize money in the open race but it was limited to NYRR members Weather: Sunny and cool
NOTE: Story by your editor in New York –Ed.
NEW YORK (31-Oct) — Former University of New Mexico star Habtom Samuel started off his official pro running career with a bang here this morning, winning the 14th edition of the Abbott Dash to the Finish Line 5-K by a comfortable seven seconds. The 22 year-old Eritrean, who recently joined HOKA Northern Arizona Elite under coach Jack Mullaney, clocked a solid 13:31 over the hilly course from the United Nations to Tavern on the Green in Central Park. He said he had his eyes on winning the first place prize of $6000 right from the gun.
“That’s what I wanted,” Samuel told Race Results Weekly. “I was trying, you know, from the beginning to just try to push the pace and make it an honest race.”
Amon Kemboi of Puma Elite Running, the men’s defending champion, took the race out hard from the gun. Nobody wanted to be left behind, and the pack remained tightly bunched through the first mile. Running across East 42nd Street the athletes cast long shadows in front of them as the sun was still low over the East River behind them. Latvian Arturs Medveds, who ran for California Baptist during his NCAA career, was on the front with Kemboi and Kenyan Edwin Kurgat.
Samuel and Kemboi were the first athletes to make the right turn onto the Avenue of the Americas just before hitting the one-mile mark in a not-too-quick 4:28. The pack stayed together in the second mile through the right turn onto Central Park South, then the sharp left into Central Park. The pace was steady (4:27 for the second mile), and Medveds was the first man to enter the park, but only by a step.
Samuel, who had drifted back slightly, was running on the right side of the course. He shot a few glances to his left to size up the field, then surged up the hill on Park Road, the toughest uphill on the course. Kemboi responded immediately, and Kurgat also tried to keep up.
“I can say I have some strengths on the hills,” said Samuel, the 2025 NCAA cross country champion. “So I see the whole group was together and I make a move. I’m glad I did it.”
At the top of the hill, Samuel made a sharp left onto the park’s loop road and Kemboi was right on his heels. Running downhill past the Michael Friedsam Memorial Carousel, Samuel began to pull away from Kemboi. The gap would only grow as he ran around the south end of the park before taking on the final uphill to the famous TCS New York City Marathon finish line. Samuel playfully waved his arms, like a bird flying, as he broke the tape.
“Feeling great, feeling amazing,” said Samuel after a reporter pointed out that he had begun his Hoka pro career with a win (he had an NIL deal with Hoka while he was in college). “It’s kind of a good wish to win my first pro road race in this beautiful city. I’m so happy.”
Kemboi –who worked as a pacemaker at the Bank of America Chicago Marathon 20 days ago, and earlier this year received U.S. citizenship through his service in the U.S. Army– was rolled-up by Kurgat in the final kilometer, and had to settle for third in 13:40. Kurgat (Under Armour), who will defend his Manchester Road Race title on Thanksgiving Day in Manchester, Conn., took second in 13:38. Two Australians, Jackson Sharp (Hoka NAZ Elite) and Morgan McDonald (On Athletics Club), finished fourth and fifth in 13:41 and 13:46, respectively.
The women’s race played out in a similar fashion. Josette Andrews of the On Athletics Club established a solid early pace, hitting the one-mile mark in 5:11. She was joined on the front by Bailey Hertenstein (Nike) and reigning U.S. 20-K champion Rachael Rudel (Unattached) was close behind.
“I found myself in the lead,” Andrews told reporters. “I didn’t really want to push it too, too hard, early.” She added: “Just riding the front, but not really doing anything with the front.”
Andrews led the field into the park and had former University of Florida athlete Hilda Olemomoi (Hoka Northern Arizona Elite), a Kenyan, just off of her left shoulder. The pack hit two miles in 10:12, and most of the contenders were still in the mix. But three-time defending champion Annie Rodenfels (Salomon Running) was some 20 meters back and was not able to catch-up. She would finish seventh in 16:03.
Unlike in the men’s race, where the hill on Park Road thinned the field, six women were still together at the Carousel in the third mile: Andrews, Rudel, Olemomoi, Hertenstein, Ednah Kurgat, and Madie Boreman. Around the bottom of the park, Rudel pressed the pace and she, Andrews and Kurgat broke free of the pack. Rudel pushed again with about 900 meters to go, and Kurgat also fell back. Shaking Andrews was not easy.
“She was strong, man,” Rudel said of Andrews.
The race then became a battle between speed and strength. Andrews is a 3:59.72 1500m runner, and Rudel is the reigning national 20-K champion. The last 800 meters is almost all uphill, and that gave Rudel an edge. She gently pulled away from Andrews to get the win in a personal best 15:35, good for $6000 in prize money.
“When I drifted away a little before the 800 (meters to go), I was very shocked,” Rudel said. “I thought she was on my butt the entire time. That’s why I was like flailing, trying to sprint at the end. I was shocked on this one. Very shocked.”
Rudel, 32, who does not have a kit sponsor but said she was in talks with several brands, has won four road races so far this year and has made the podium at four more. She has already qualified for Team USATF for the 2027 World Athletics Road Running Championships in March, and recorded the fastest-ever time by an American woman at the high-altitude Bolder Boulder 10-K (32:46). She hopes to make the Olympic team in the marathon in 2028.
“I think when I got to the starting line I had no expectations,” Rudel said. “This is a fun year. I’m trying to see what I can do, and it’s just like worked out really well, for this race particularly.” She added: “This one was really no expectations. I have not been training for a 5-K.”
Hertenstein (15:46) and Olemomoi (15:47) rounded out the top-5.
Today’s event, which was held in near-perfect conditions (56F/13C with 50% humidity), saw 11,712 athletes cross the finish line, a race record. In the mass race, representatives of the seven Abbott World Marathon Majors events took part, and long-time BMW Berlin Marathon race director Mark Milde was the fastest of that group, clocking 18:42 at age 53.
“This is my big moment,” he said with a smile before receiving his award.
ELITE WOMEN (gun times) –
1. Rachael Rudel, 32, Centennial, CO, 15:35 ($6000)
2. Josette Andrews, 30, Boulder, CO, 15:41 ($4000)
3. Ednah Kurgat, 35, Flagstaff, AZ, 15:42 ($2000)
4. Bailey Hertenstein, 26, Boulder, CO, 15:46 ($1000)
5. Hilda Olemomoi (KEN), 23, Flagstaff, AZ, 15:47 ($500)
6. Madie Boreman, 28, Flagstaff, AZ, 15:50 ($400)
7. Annie Rodenfels, 30, Boulder, CO, 16:03 ($350)
8. Ella Donaghu, 28, South Salt Lake, UT, 16:09 ($300)
9. Alex Millard (GBR), 24, Boston, MA, 16:17 ($250)
ELITE MEN (gun times) –
1. Habtom Samuel (ERI), 22, Flagstaff, AZ, 13:31 ($6000)
2. Edwin Kurgat (KEN), 30, Flagstaff, AZ, 13:38 ($4000)
3. Amon Kemboi, 30, Durham, NC, 13:40 ($2000)
4. Jackson Sharp (AUS), 26, Flagstaff, AZ, 13:41 ($1000)
5. Morgan McDonald (AUS), 30, Boulder, CO, 13:46 ($500)
6. Anthony Camerieri, 26, Flagstaff, AZ, 13:46 ($400)
7. Bob Liking, 24, Flagstaff, AZ, 13:47 ($350)
8. Reid Buchanan, 33, Kansas City, MO, 13:49 ($300)
9. Arturs Medveds (LAT), 26, Rancho Cucamonga, CA, 13:50 ($250)
10. Luke Tewalt, 23, Chapel Hill, NC, 14:11 ($200)
TCS New York City Marathon (55th)
(Abbott World Marathon Majors Event/World Athletics Platinum Label Road Race)
New York, NY, USA; Sunday, November 1
Distance: 42.195 km, World Athletic and USATF-certified (NY26002JHP), point-to-point, course with 0.19m/km drop and 47.3% start/finish separation (record-eligible)
Finishers (preliminary): 32,045 men + 28,949 women + 157 non-binary = 61,151 total (up from 59,219 in 2025; largest marathon in history)
Start Times: Elite Women 08:35; Elite Men, 09:05; five Mass Waves, 09:10, 09:55, 10:40, 11:20, 12:00
Prize Money: See primary details below; NYRR member awards were omitted because athlete eligibility has to be checked post-race
Weather: Sunny and 49F/10C; very little wind
Event Records: Men, 2:04:58, Tamirat Tola (ETH), 2023; Women, 2:19:51, Hellen Obiri (KEN), 2025
Key Sponsor: TCS (Tata Consulting Services)
Race Director: Ted Metellus (sixth year)
Race Founded: 1970; not held in 2012 (Hurricane Sandy) or 2020 (COVID pandemic)
Race History: http://www.arrs.run/HP_NYCMa.htm
Drug Testing: Yes
NOTE: Story by your editor in New York –Ed.
NEW YORK (01-Nov) — For just the fourth time in race history, a marathon debutante won the men’s division of the TCS New York City Marathon. Andreas Almgren of Sweden, the reigning world half-marathon champion, ran a brilliant tactical race, surging away from Italy’s Yemane Crippa in the final kilometer to win 2:06:01. The 31-year-old became the first Swede, male or female, to win in New York, and his time was the second-fastest ever by a Swedish man (he missed the national record by just four seconds). He won $100,000 in prize money.
“This is my first marathon, so I didn’t know how this was supposed to feel,” he said at the post-race press conference. He said of his strategy: “I’m just going to respond to everything.”
Indeed he did, and with just the right amount of effort. Like a champion surfer, Almgren patiently waited as conditions changed around him. He coasted through the first 10 kilometers with a lead pack of about 25 men (30:52) and didn’t worry that the leaders were only on pace to run about 2:10.
“That’s one of the reasons I wanted to race in New York,” Almgren said. “It’s not about the time.”
Predictably, the pace quickened in the middle of the race. The next 10 kilometers were covered in 29:58, and the halfway mark was reached in 1:04:01. At that point American Zouhair Talbi had a three-second lead after putting in a quick burst of speed, but the pack was all back together by the top of the Queensboro Bridge where the 25-K point is located. Sixteen men remained with the lead group, including podium favorites Benson Kipruto of Kenya (the defending champion), Crippa, Deresa Geleta of Ethiopia, and Conner Mantz of the United States.
Almgren stayed close to the front, but wasn’t pushing the pace. He stayed alert and kept tabs on his rivals.
“You get a lot of ups and downs,” he said of how a marathon unfolds. He added: “I started to feel a bit fatigued.”
The pace flattened between 30 and 35 kilometers (split time of 15:07) and 15 people were still in the lead pack. Something had to give. In the 38th kilometer in Central Park Almgren, Kipruto, Crippa and Talbi got away, and by the 40-K mark Talbi was six seconds back. Behind him, 21 year-old Kamohelo Mofolo of Lesotho had moved up from the chase group and was in fifth position, four seconds behind Talbi.
The 40th kilometer was covered in about 2:49, and that was too fast for Kipruto. The Kenyan fell back, leaving Crippa and Almgren to fight for the win.
“Suddenly, it was just us two,” Almgren recalled.
Almgren and Crippa know each other well, and are closely matched in their athletic ability. But the Swede came from a middle-distance background and has an 800m personal best of 1:45.59 (3:32.00 for 1500m). Nevertheless, Almgren did not want to rely on his speed and started pushing on the gently uphill section of Central Park South (West 59th Street) before the right-hand turn into Central Park. A gap started to open.
“On 59th Street I got a little bit of a gap,” Almgren said. He added: “I didn’t think it was going to be that quick of a finish.”
By the time he strode onto the park’s loop road, the gap was too big for Crippa to overcome. Taking in the huge crowds bathed in gorgeous fall sunshine, Almgren waved his right hand and encouraged the fans to cheer. He was thrilled with his win, even if he just missed the national record.
“It would be nice to have a 2:05 time,” said Almgren, who ran his second half in a very fast 1:01:57. “But I’d rather have the win.”
Crippa came home second in 2:06:14, and Mofolo managed to move from fifth place at 40-K to third at the finish. He’s the first man from Lesotho to make the podium at the race. Kipruto finished fourth (2:06:17) and Australia’s Haftu Strintzos, who competed at Villanova during his NCAA career, took fifth (2:06:34). Talbi, who put in several surges during the race and was in fourth place at the 40-K mark, finished sixth and was the top American in 2:06:43. His time was the fastest ever by an American at this race.
“Today was definitely a tough race,” he told the media. He added: “By 30-K I just felt flat for some reason. I just didn’t feel that pop.”
The women’s race was even more of a nail-biter. A field of 27 elite women took off from Staten Island 30 minutes ahead of the men, and they were in no hurry. Nearly the entire field was together through 5-K (18:23) and 10-K (35:45). Things picked up a bit in the third five-kilometer segment (17:14), but there were still 17 women within five seconds of the leaders, Sheila Chepkirui and Hellen Obiri of Kenya, the overwhelming favorites for victory. Chepkirui had won New York in 2024, and was third last year. Obiri won in 2025 and 2023 and was second in 2024.
Through halfway, 11 women remained at the front including six Americans: Jessica McClain, Carrie Ellwood, Amanda Vestri, Lauren Hagans, Weini Kelati, and Annie Frisbie. McClain, the fastest-ever American woman at the Boston Marathon, had come into the race with big goals. She felt like a completely different athlete than when she last ran here in 2024 and finished eighth.
“I had high goals for this weekend,” McClain said after the race. She continued: “I wanted to compete for the podium.”
The climb up the Queensboro Bridge to the 25-K mark did little to whittle down the field, although Hagans and Vestri drifted back and would finish 13th (2:29:42) and 16th (2:30:16), respectively. It wasn’t until the Willis Avenue Bridge, which connects Manhattan to the Bronx at the 31-K mark, that the most consequential moves began to happen. Ascending the bridge, Kenya’s Mercy Chelangat abruptly stopped and began to throw up. Remarkably, she recovered and got back in the lead pack before the race headed back into Manhattan over the Third Avenue Bridge.
The field was now down to seven: Obiri, Chepkirui, McClain, Kelati, Chelangat, 47 year-old Edna Kiplagat, and Ellwood. Chepkirui felt like she had to do something.
“I had to push,” Chepkirui said. “I pushed around six kilometers (to go), so somebody had to make a move so I was that person.”
Chepkirui went to the front and Obiri followed her immediately, and the pair ran 16:24 from 35 to 40 kilometers. McClain and Chelangat stayed together behind the Kenyan duo and were able to keep them in sight. One of the former champions would win again, but which one? The race would not be decided until the final 400 meters. Chepkirui led by one second, but Obiri –who won two Olympic silver medals at 5000m– has great speed.
“I knew Hellen was really strong,” said Chepkirui, who ran her second half in 1:10:43 and, like Almgren, earned $100,000 in prize money. “I knew I had to push to the finish line.”
Obiri was simply too exhausted to keep up with Chepkirui, who won her second TCS New York City Marathon in 2:24:36. It looked like Obiri would get second, but the tenacious McClain was still pushing. She erased a four-second deficit with 400 meters to go, and caught Obiri just before the tape to finish second in 2:24:42 to Obiri’s 2:24:43. She became the first American woman to get on the podium here since Shalane Flanagan in 2018.
“You just never know how it’s going to play out,” said McClain “It’s not over til it’s over.”
Kiplagat, twice the world marathon champion, took fourth in 2:25:42, the fastest time ever at this race for a woman in the 45 to 49 age group. Chelangat, despite her stomach troubles, finished fifth in 2:25:46. Ellwood was sixth in 2:26:28, and Kelati made a creditable marathon debut in 2:26:51 in seventh place. With Paige Wood finishing eighth in 2:27:29, four Americans finished in the top-10.
In the professional wheelchair races, Marcel Hug and Catherine Debrunner of Switzerland emerged victorious. Hug won for the eighth time, but not without a struggle. He had to take down top American Daniel Romanchuk in the final sprint to the line. Hug was clocked in 1:28:14, just one second ahead of Romanchuk.
“I was trying to attack and get away from him, especially in the second half,” said Hug, who clinched the 2026 Abbott World Marathon Majors wheelchair title with his win here today. He added: “Just before the finish I catch him.”
Debrunner steamrolled the field on the women’s side, winning by more than eight minutes in 1:40:02. She, too, clinched the 2026 Abbott World Marathon Majors wheelchair title.
Both wheelchair winners won $50,000 in prize money.
ALL-WOMEN’S PROFESSIONAL RACE (gun times) –
1. Sheila Chepkirui, KEN, 2:24:36 ($100,000)
[1:13:53 / 1:10:43]
2. Jessica McClain, USA, 2:24:42 ($60,000 + 25,000a)
[1:13:52 / 1:10:50]
3. Hellen Obiri, KEN, 2:24:43 (40,000)
4. Edna Kiplagat (45+), KEN, 2:25:42 ($25,000 + 3000m)
5. Mercy Chelangat, KEN, 2:25:46 ($15,000)
— All athletes above earned LA 2028 qualifying marks —
6. Carrie Ellwood, USA, 2:26:28 ($10,000 + 15,000a)
7. Weini Kelati, USA, 2:26:51 DB ($7500 + 10,000a)
[1:13:53 / 1:12:58]
8. Paige Wood, USA, 2:27:29 ($5000 + 5000a)
9. Viola Cheptoo, KEN, 2:28:34 ($2500)
10. Fabienne Königstein, GER, 2:28:49 ($2000)
11. Giovanna Epis, ITA, 2:28:55
12. Julia Paternain, URU, 2:29:09
13. Lauren Hagans (40+), USA, 2:29:42 ($3000a + 2000m)
14. Mica Rivera Wood, PER, 2:29:52
15. Annie Frisbie, USA, 2:30:04
16. Amanda Vestri, USA, 2:30:16
[1:13:52 / 1:16:24]
17. Phily Bowden, GBR, 2:30:45
18. Rie Kawauchi, JPN, 2:31:29
19. Monica Hebner, USA, 2:33:21
20. Roberta Groner (45+), USA, 2:35:55 ($1000m)
21. Keelah Barger, USA, 2:36:03 PB
22. Cailie Hughes, USA, 2:36:09 DB
23. Megan O’Neil, USA, 2:36:26
24. Stephanie Bruce (40+), USA, 2:38:57
25. Maddie Block, USA, 2:41:22
26. Alosha Southern, USA, 2:41:29
27. Brooke Starn, USA, 2:46;44
a = Earned USA citizen prize money
m = Earned masters prize money
MIXED-GENDER WOMEN (gun times) –
1. Grace Clements, USA, 2:33:54
2. Melanie Magarey, AUS, 2:36:19
3. Taylor Somers, USA, 2:37:09 (2:37:08 net)
4. Christa Cain, GBR, 2:40:02
5. Ciara Boyd-Squires Long, AUS, 2:40:32
6. Kaitlyn Fischer, USA, 2:41:26
7. Kameron Torchia, USA, 2:42:28
8. Katarina Mayer, CAN, 2:42:41
9. Jilian Kupchella, USA, 2:43:07
10. Isabella Butler, USA, 2:44:55
MEN’S PROFESSIONAL RACE (gun times) –
1. Andreas Almgren, SWE, 2:06:01 DB ($100,000)
[1:04:04 / 1:01:57]
2. Yemaneberhan Crippa, ITA, 2:06:14 ($60,000)
3. Kamohelo Mofolo, LES, 2:06:26 PB ($40,000)
4. Benson Kipruto, KEN, 2:06:27 ($25,000)
5. Haftu Strintzos, AUS, 2:06:34 ($15,000)
— All athletes above earned LA 2028 qualifying marks —
6. Zouhair Talbi, USA, 2:06:43 ($10,000 + 25,000a)
7. Ryota Kondo, JPN, 2:07:08 ($7500)
8. Ahmed Muhumed, USA, 2:07:09 DB ($5000 + 15,000a)
9. Geoffrey Kamworor, KEN, 2:07:09 ($2500)
10. Ryan Ford, USA, 2:07:17 ($2000 + 10,000a)
11. Conner Mantz, USA, 2:07:27 ($5000a)
12. Cybrian Kotut, KEN, 2:07:42
13. Abdi Nageeye, NED, 2:07:58
14. Aidan Troutner, USA, 2:08:54 PB ($3000a)
15. Joe Klecker, USA, 2:09:28
16. Joel Reichow, USA, 2:09:43 PB
17. Patrick Dever, GBR, 2:09:53
18. Patrick Kiprop, KEN, 2:10:01 DB
19. Peter Lynch, IRL, 2:10:03
20. Merga Gemeda, USA, 2:10:32 PB
21. Andrew Colley, USA, 2:10:49
22. Edward Cheserek, KEN, 2:11:32
23. Kengo Suzuki, JPN, 2:12:15
[1:04:06 / 1:08:09]
24. Mohammed Bati, USA, 2:12:19 PB
25. Turner Wiley, USA, 2:12:24
26. J.P. Flavin, USA, 2:12:34
27. Sam Chelanga (40+), USA, 2:17:10 ($3000m)
28. Robert Miranda, USA, 2:17:34
29. Ryan Cutter, USA, 2:17:42
30. Owen Ritz, USA, 2:19:37
31. Jack Rowe, GBR, 2:20:25
32. Aidan Reed, USA, 2:21:15
[1:05:32 / 1:15:43]
33. Stephen Jones, USA, 2:24:33
…
Deresa Geleta, ETH, 2:45:26 (2:07:43 at 40 km, so he must have walked in)
a = Earned USA citizen prize money
m = Earned masters prize money
OPEN MEN (gun times) –
1. Jacob Shiohira, USA, 2:16:17
2. Ben Decker, USA, 2:18:21
3. Jason Pointeau, FRA, 2:19:34
4. Cameron Merrick, AUS, 2:21:36