Who I'm Rooting for at the New York City Marathon

Tomorrow is the New York City Marathon! I'm not a huge sports fan but started to get more into following the sport of running after following the US Olympic marathon trials. The women's field was the largest in American history, and there were so many amazing stories of talented women, from all walks of life, who ran it.

To qualify, all of these women ran a sub-2:45 marathon. To explain just how impressive this is: my marathon PR is 4:18 and the average woman in the UK finishes in 5:00:39. Most of us couldn't run a single mile at 2:45-pace, let alone 26 of them, but the qualifiers' stories of commitment and hard work really struck a chord with me. Then during the pandemic, I started listening to a lot of running podcasts to fill the road-racing gap in my life. And this led me to be more interested in long-distance running as a professional sport. 

New York is, of course, one of the big races for the pros, and I'm cheering on the following folks in particular.

1. Noah Droddy

Americans love an underdog story and Droddy--who finished last in the 2016 US Olympic Trials for the 10,000m and is now the ninth-fastest American male marathoner of all time--has one. Like a lot of current pros, he has a fairly active social media presence, which he seems to use to draw attention to the reality of how hard it can be to make a living as a runner. His posts can often be very funny and he has great hair, so it would be fun to see him have a fantastic race.

2.  Ben True

New York is going to be his first marathon, so naturally that's a reason to cheer for him. True, who holds multiple American championships in various distances, did not have a sponsor for much of 2020-2021, and to add insult to injury, finished fourth at the US Olympic trials in the 10,000m. 

Most runners train as part of a group, but True has spent most his career training alone. As someone who trains for marathons on my own, I could admire him for this alone.

 

I don't follow him on social media so I don't have a sense of him as a person, but I'm hoping he has a Chris Thompson moment tomorrow.

3. Nathan Martin

Not someone I know a lot about, but he is fastest US-born Black male runner and works as a substitute teacher and high school sports coach.

 

Even more than parent runners, I am inspired by the stories of teachers who run. I hope Mr Martin has a great day in New York.

4. Viola Cheptoo

Another first time marathoner!

 

I learned about Viola Cheptoo from media coverage of the murder of Kenyan runner Agnes Tirop. Tirop was allegedly murdered by her husband and her death has been the catalyst for a lot of Kenyan runners to speak up about domestic violence and what needs to be done to protect and support women athletes. 

Cheptoo's advocacy makes me admire her and want to see what she does next.

5. Sally Kipyego

I first became a fan of Sally Kipyego after listening to an interview with her on the podcast Keeping Track. It's a wonderful conversation, and she comes across as a grounded, thoughtful, and wise person. Though she has won Olympic and World Championship medals, and made this year's US Olympic marathon team, she didn't have a great race in Sapporo, and it would be wonderful to see her have a fantastic day tomorrow.

6. Stephanie Bruce

Stephanie Bruce may never make an Olympic team (though like Ben True she has often been a serious competitor for one), but her gritty pursuit of big goals makes her an inspiring person to follow. She is pretty active on social media and regularly does interviews on running podcasts; from the information she's shared about her life it's clear that this has been a rough year. I'm hoping she gets through the race healthy and hears lots of people cheering for her.

7. Erin Azar

I'm not on Tiktok and I will never be on TikTok, but Erin Azar's running videos are a joy to behold. Unlike other running content creators, when Azar calls herself not fast, it actually means not fast. (I suppose this a moveable feast, but to me, if you can run a 3:30 marathon or 10k in under 7:30/min per mile, you have forever abdicated the right to call yourself slow.) Azar's videos represent and inspire ordinary runners and she's very funny about the ways in which running can sometimes suck. Hoping she has a blast tomorrow.