Hellen Obiri 'Ready for Any Pace' in Bold Bid for Historic Third New York City Marathon Crown

Kenyan distance running great Hellen Obiri has set her sights on a third New York City Marathon title, declaring she is prepared for whatever unfolds on the streets of New York City, United States, when the world's largest marathon returns for its annual journey through the city's five boroughs.

"I am ready for any pace," Obiri said ahead of the race, a warning to her rivals that the two-time champion intends to control her own destiny over 26.2 miles, whether the contest turns into a front-running time trial or a tactical, slow-burning affair decided in the final meters.

Her first New York crown arrived in 2023, when she out-sprinted Ethiopia's Letesenbet Gidey in the closing stages in Central Park to add the five-borough title to the Boston Marathon crown she had claimed earlier that same year. She has since added a second New York victory, and a third would lift her into some of the most exclusive company in the event's history.

Among women, only three runners have won the New York City Marathon three times or more: Norway's Grete Waitz, a nine-time champion, Kenya's Mary Keitany, who won four times, and Britain's Paula Radcliffe, a three-time winner. A third title would move Obiri level with Radcliffe and make her only the second Kenyan woman, after Keitany, to reach the mark.

Before turning to the marathon, Obiri built one of the most decorated track careers of her generation. She won world 5000m titles in London in 2017 and again in Doha in 2019, took Olympic 5000m silver medals at Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020, and captured the world cross country crown in Aarhus in 2019.

Her transition to the roads produced immediate results. She won the Boston Marathon in 2023, successfully defended that title in 2024, and claimed bronze in the marathon at the Paris Olympics. Her two New York victories complete a résumé that now spans the sport's biggest stages, from the track to the six World Marathon Majors circuit.

Kenyan women have long thrived in New York. Tegla Loroupe won back-to-back editions in 1994 and 1995, and the roll of recent champions includes Joyciline Jepkosgei, Peres Jepchirchir, Sharon Lokedi and Sheila Chepkirui, alongside Obiri's own triumphs. Obiri will carry Kenya's colors once again in one of the deepest women's elite fields in road racing.

The TCS New York City Marathon begins on Staten Island, crosses the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge and winds through Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx and Manhattan before finishing in Central Park. More than 50,000 runners take part each year in the race, one of the six World Marathon Majors alongside Boston, London, Berlin, Chicago and Tokyo.

The course's rolling hills and punishing bridges have made New York a race that is rarely decided by fast times. Instead, it rewards patience, strength and a devastating finishing kick, qualities long associated with Obiri's racing style following years of championship running on the track, where medals were routinely settled in the final lap.

Her record in championship-style road races underscores the threat she poses. The Boston and New York courses, both famously hilly and tactical, have suited her perfectly, and her ability to change pace in the closing kilometers has separated her from fields packed with specialists over the marathon distance.

Obiri's message ahead of this year's race was simple: "I am ready for any pace."