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Haile Gebrselassie breaks NYC Half-Marathon course record; Dominates in New York debut

Posted August 5th, 2007 at 11:00 AM by Nathan Schiller

Section: News & Results, Marathons, Special Features, Live Race Coverage

Haile Gebrselassie winning 2007 nyc half marathon presented by nike Haile Gebreselassie won the NYC Half-Marathon in 59:24, an average of 4:31 per mile, smashing the year-old (and only) course record of 1:01:22. Abdi Abdirahman finished second in 1:00:29, and Robert Cheruiyot finished in third in 1:00:58.

During the first half of the race, it was a three-man pack at the front with Gebreselassie, Robert Cheruiyot, and Abdi Abdirahman running stride-for-stride. At around the 5K mark Cheruiyot, whose stated goal was to win the race, tested the field and made a subtle move. Abdi and Gebreselassie both stayed with him.

The first half of the race could be likened to a cross-country race, as it’s a loop around Central Park’s tree-lined, rolling terrain drive. But once the runners deposit onto 7th Ave., it becomes like a track meet, a flat, almost downhill sprint to Battery Park, first trekking south through the skyscrapers of Midtown, then west along 42nd St. and finally south along the somewhat windy, sun-exposed West Side Highway.

Things got interesting right when the three left the park. Cheruiyot went for water at an aid station, allowing Abdi to surge ahead and Gebreselassie to follow. In the postrace press conference Gebreselassie said that at that point he recalled Abdi telling him “to go.” He thought, “What do you mean ‘go’?” and believed Abdi was trying to use him as a pace-setter. But what happened, Gebreselassie said, was that Abdi surged for a second time, and Gebreselassie had the energy to surge past him. About this moment, Gebreselassie said later, “Right after the park, [I thought] this is my race,” whereas Abdi said that his two surges were just too much.

This all occurred right before mile 8, or around 50th St. in the Theater District. With Abdi fatigued from his two surges, Gebreselassie, energized from withstanding Abdi’s two surges, dropped both Cheruiyot (who was already fading from the lead) and Abdi and sprinted to an almost immediate 8 second lead. By the time he reached the West Side Highway just after mile 9, his lead was approximately 20-25 seconds. Many flag-bearing Ethiopian fans cheered him wildly on this stretch, some even tagging along for a few strides. Gebreselassie shortened the course by hugging the turns and taking the tightest lines. Yet, for all his effort, on the last 3 miles he barely seemed physically taxed. His stride looked as perfect as it had all race, and he occasionally bore his uper teeth, though it was not apparent whether he was doing this to intake more oxygen or to simply smile.

When Gebreselassie finally crossed the finish line in 59:24, it was the second fastest ever run in the United States, only behind the 58:55 he ran in Tempe, Arizona, in January 2007. (It was also his first professional race in New York City.) Afterwards he immediately draped himself in an Ethiopian flag, appearing neither tired nor sore. In the press conference he praised New York Road Runners President Mary Wittenberg for bringing him to New York City to run, and he promised he would run the full ING New York City Marathon, “not in ’08 or ’09 [but sometime] before I stop running.” He also had kind words for competitors Abdi and Cheruiyot, but said that mainly he “was so happy.”

As for the weather, the temperature stayed in the low 70s throughout the race, and the high humidity that had been plaguing New York for stretches of the summer was never a factor.

Also, Mary Wittenberg reported that Robert Cheruiyot was taken to the hospital as a precautionary measure, possibly because of injuries suffered from his now-infamous finish line slip in last year’s Chicago Marathon. His agent reported he was doing fine.

Results/Splits
Top 10
1) Haile Gebrselassie Ethiopia 59:24 (Course Record)
2) Abdi Abdirahman USA 1:00:29
3) Robert Cheruiyot Kenya 1:00:58
4) James Kwambai Kenya 1:01:03
5) Joseph Chirlee Georgia 1:02:47
6) Alan Culpepper USA 1:03:34
7) Demesse Tefera Ethiopia 1:03:36
8) Worku Beyi Ethiopia 1:03:39
9) Gurrmessa Megerssa Ethiopia 1:03:53
10) Dylan Wykes Canada 1:04:04

Splits
5k 14:11 top 5 runners
10k 28:22 Gebrselassie, Cheruiyot, Abdirahman; 4th James Kwambai (28:46); 7th Alan Culpepper (29:46)
15k: 42:10 Haile Gebrselassie 42:10, Abdi Abdirahman 42:28, Robert Cheruiyot 42:35, James Kwambai 43:19, Alan Culpepper 9th 44:59
20k: 56:14 Haile Gebrselassie, 57:16 Abdi, 57:39 Cheruiyot, Culpepper 1:00:21

For full results and a complete list of finisher’s/times, please visit: NYRR.org