Ben True Victorious In Half Marathon Debut In New York City
Ben True Victorious In Half Marathon Debut In New York City
In his debut at the distance, Ben True won the New York City Half Marathon in 1:02:39. Buze Diriba outkicked Emily Sisson in the women's race.
Ben True’s first foray into the half marathon went about as well as possible. The 32-year-old, best known for his abilities in the 5000 and 10,000m, used his track speed to outkick Dathan Ritzenhein to win the New York City Half Marathon in 1:02:39, becoming the first American man to win the race.
Prior to Sunday, True had never raced longer than 10 miles. But he did have years of experience in shorter distances—something that was especially useful after the conservative early pace turned the race tactical and put a premium on a fast finish.
Cold temperatures and a headwind that True said was present for “basically 90 percent of the race” meant that nobody was keen to take the pace.
Twenty-six men passed the 5K mark in 15:31, all well within the ability of the group. The pace quickened after the leaders ran the second 5K in 14:48, but 17 runners remained—including Wilson Chebet, Dathan Ritzenhein, Teshome Mekonen, and Stephen Sambu. As the runners passed through Times Square, Ritzenhein took the lead and a few men dropped off the lead pack before hitting the 15K mark in 14:53.
By 56 minutes into the race, Ritzenhein’s pace had taken a toll on the group and only Mekonen, True, and Great Britain’s Chris Thompson were in contention for the win. After passing 20K in 59:40, Ritzenhein and True broke free and the race was down to two men in Central Park.
With 200 meters to go, True put his foot on the gas and smoothly accelerated away from Ritzenhein. True had a victory in his half marathon debut. Ritzenhein finished a solid second place in 1:02:42, a very promising sign for his chances at the Boston Marathon next month. Thompson passed Mekonen to take third in 1:02:43. Scott Fauble of the United States placed fifth in 1:02:58.
So excited to watch @bentrue win the @nyrr #UnitedNYCHalf! Proud of him after watching him put in hard solo work year after year.
— Sarah True (@sgroffy) March 18, 2018
PLACE | BIB | NAME | COUNTRY | ELAPSED TIME | FINISH TIME | AVERAGE PACE/MILE |
1 | 7 | Ben True | USA | 1:02:39 | 1:02:39 | 4:47 |
2 | 4 | Dathan Ritzenhein | USA | 1:02:42 | 1:02:42 | 4:47 |
3 | 15 | Chris Thompson | GBR | 1:02:43 | 1:02:43 | 4:48 |
4 | 3 | Teshome Mekonen | ETH | 1:02:44 | 1:02:44 | 4:48 |
5 | 14 | Scott Fauble | USA | 1:02:58 | 1:02:58 | 4:49 |
6 | 11 | Soufiane Bouchikhi | BEL | 1:03:03 | 1:03:03 | 4:49 |
7 | 21 | Kei Katanishi | JPN | 1:03:05 | 1:03:05 | 4:49 |
8 | 5 | Chris Derrick | USA | 1:03:25 | 1:03:25 | 4:51 |
9 | 2 | Wilson Chebet | KEN | 1:03:37 | 1:03:37 | 4:52 |
10 | 20 | Futsum Zienasellassie | USA | 1:03:39 | 1:03:39 | 4:52 |
11 | 18 | Parker Stinson | USA | 1:03:44 | 1:03:44 | 4:52 |
12 | 9 | Shadrack Biwott | USA | 1:04:00 | 1:04:00 | 4:53 |
13 | 12 | Abdi Abdirahman | USA | 1:04:14 | 1:04:14 | 4:54 |
14 | 1 | Stephen Sambu | KEN | 1:04:17 | 1:04:17 | 4:55 |
15 | 22 | Shogo Ise | JPN | 1:04:56 | 1:04:56 | 4:58 |
16 | 8 | Noah Droddy | USA | 1:05:00 | 1:05:00 | 4:58 |
17 | 6 | Haron Lagat | USA | 1:05:17 | 1:05:17 | 4:59 |
18 | 26 | Brendan Martin | USA | 1:05:18 | 1:05:18 | 4:59 |
19 | 29 | Timothy Chichester | USA | 1:05:42 | 1:05:42 | 5:01 |
20 | 23 | Eric Gillis | CAN | 1:05:42 | 1:05:42 | 5:01 |
21 | 17 | Matthew Llano | USA | 1:06:09 | 1:06:09 | 5:03 |
22 | 31 | Matthew Leach | GBR | 1:06:15 | 1:06:15 | 5:04 |
23 | 27 | Harbert Okuti | UGA | 1:06:15 | 1:06:15 | 5:04 |
24 | 24 | Jonas Hampton | USA | 1:07:07 | 1:07:07 | 5:08 |
25 | 28 | John Raneri | USA | 1:07:44 | 1:07:44 | 5:10 |
26 | 19 | Tim Young | USA | 1:08:00 | 1:08:00 | 5:12 |
27 | 25 | Trevor Hofbauer | CAN | 1:08:20 | 1:08:20 | 5:13 |
28 | 30 | Gustavo Frencia | ARG | 1:11:04 | 1:11:04 | 5:26 |
Diriba Outkicks Sisson For Women's Title
The weather conditions and the challenging course (which was new for 2018) also made the women’s race tactical. The leaders went through 5K in 18:10 and 10K in 35:30. Just before the 10K mark, Desiree Linden took on the pace and ground the lead pack down to 11 women. All of the top runners were still involved with the exception of Vivian Cheruiyot, who had drifted off the back.
Olympian Betsy Saina and last year’s runner-up Emily Sisson led the group through Times Square about 47 minutes into the race. A quick ninth mile of 5:10 started to put a strain on the pack as the group hit the 15K mark in 52:39. Sisson, Buze Diriba, and Mamitu Daska separated themselves, and by the time they reached the 11-mile mark it was clear that the winner was going to come from these three.
Sisson continued to push at the front, and Diriba shadowed her every move. They covered the 5K segment between 15K and 20K in 16:24. Daska fell off the pace and was caught by Norway’s Karoline Grovdal for third place. At the front, Sisson continued to lead Diriba, but Sisson couldn’t break away from the 24-year-old Ethiopian.
With 200 meters remaining, Diriba moved up to Sisson’s shoulder and began to pull away. Sisson tried to counter, but couldn’t. Diriba raced to victory in 1:12:23 and Sisson had her second straight runner-up finish in 1:12:24. Grovdal separated from Daska to take third and American Serena Burla ran a strong race to place fifth in 1:13:15.
What a great run @Em_Sisson great 2nd place finish #UnitedNYCHalf @newbalance pic.twitter.com/2UdgMteErM
— RayPFlynn (@RayPFlynn) March 18, 2018
PLACE | BIB | NAME | COUNTRY | ELAPSED TIME | FINISH TIME | AVERAGE PACE/MILE |
1 | 44 | Buze Diriba | ETH | 1:12:23 | 1:12:23 | 5:32 |
2 | 41 | Emily Sisson | USA | 1:12:24 | 1:12:24 | 5:32 |
3 | 47 | Karoline Bjerkeli Grovdal | NOR | 1:12:43 | 1:12:43 | 5:33 |
4 | 43 | Mamitu Daska | ETH | 1:12:50 | 1:12:50 | 5:34 |
5 | 51 | Serena Burla | USA | 1:13:15 | 1:13:15 | 5:36 |
6 | 56 | Askale Merachi | ETH | 1:13:29 | 1:13:29 | 5:37 |
7 | 45 | Betsy Saina | KEN | 1:13:31 | 1:13:31 | 5:37 |
8 | 52 | Desiree Linden | USA | 1:13:33 | 1:13:33 | 5:37 |
9 | 54 | Madai Perez | MEX | 1:13:40 | 1:13:40 | 5:38 |
10 | 46 | Caroline Rotich | KEN | 1:13:58 | 1:13:58 | 5:39 |
11 | 50 | Aliphine Tuliamuk | USA | 1:14:28 | 1:14:28 | 5:41 |
12 | 59 | Roberta Groner | USA | 1:15:14 | 1:15:14 | 5:45 |
13 | 58 | Dot McMahan | USA | 1:16:53 | 1:16:53 | 5:52 |
14 | 61 | Grace Kahura | KEN | 1:16:53 | 1:16:53 | 5:52 |
15 | 60 | Taylor Ward | USA | 1:17:12 | 1:17:12 | 5:54 |
16 | 53 | Liz Costello | USA | 1:17:22 | 1:17:22 | 5:55 |
17 | 57 | Danna Herrick | USA | 1:17:31 | 1:17:31 | 5:55 |
18 | 67 | Belaynesh Fikadu | ETH | 1:19:13 | 1:19:13 | 6:03 |
19 | 69 | Meseret Ali Basa | ETH | 1:20:08 | 1:20:08 | 6:07 |
20 | 66 | Bose Gemeda Assefa | ETH | 1:20:49 | 1:20:49 | 6:10 |
Related Content
- PR Of The Week presented by TrackSmith: Drew Hunter's 10K Debut
Mar 28, 2024
- Breaking: The Olympic Development Women's 1,500m Field Announced
Mar 27, 2024
- Previewing The Stanford Invitational, Texas Relays And More
Mar 27, 2024
- Biggest Moments From The TEN, Letsile Tebogo In The 400m & More | The FloTrack Podcast (Ep. 659)
Mar 20, 2024
- Jakob Ingebrigtsen Signs With COROS, Lauds Company's Advanced Metrics
Mar 20, 2024
- Sound Running Founder Jesse Williams Gives Insight Into Fourth Year Of The TEN
Mar 17, 2024
- Amanda Vestri Reacts To 31:54.22 10k To Win Road To TrackTown Heat At Sound Running's The TEN 2024
Mar 17, 2024
- Nico Young After Hitting 10k Olympic Standard And Collegiate All-Time Best At The TEN 2024
Mar 17, 2024
- Woody Kincaid After Running 26:57.57 For Seventh At The Ten
Mar 17, 2024