Sifan Hassan will be looking to draw on her remarkable powers of recovery when she lines up in the New York Marathon for the first time on Sunday (2) morning.
Hassan will be contesting her second marathon in 63 days after winning the Sydney Marathon on 31 August in 2:18:22, and her third marathon in just over six months having also finished third in the London Marathon in April in 2:19:00.
No sort of schedule seems to tire Hassan who won the Olympic marathon title in Paris in a dramatic sprint finish last year having already contested the 10,000m as well as heats and the final of the 5000m. However, the remarkable Dutchwoman has admitted her recovery from the Sydney Marathon, where she covered the second half in a negative split of 68:21, has been “really difficult.”
“Sydney was incredibly tough. That marathon was in my bones for a month. Recovering was really difficult. Everything hurt when I started training again. If New York is less tough, I'll be very happy. If it's tougher than Sydney, I don't think I'll survive,” said Hassan as reported by NOS.
“I can win, but I'm not going to let that get to me. I can't just think about winning; there's no point in that. I prefer to play it safe. Of course I want to win, but I don't need that extra pressure,” she added.
Hassan will face a typically stellar field in New York, including a strong Kenyan contingent who have experience of racing - and winning - on this iconic course. The line-up is headed by reigning champion Sheila Chepkirui and also features past champions Sharon Lokedi and Hassan’s long-time rival Hellen Obiri, the 2022 and 2023 New York Marathon winners respectively.
The line-up also features Irish veteran Fionnuala McCormack who is embarking on arguably an even more audacious double than Hassan. McCormack finished ninth in brutal conditions at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo on 14 September and will be embarking on her second marathon in the space of 50 days.
Reigning champion Nageeye returns
It is by no means inconceivable there could be a Dutch double in the New York Marathon as the men’s line-up is headed by Abdi Nageeye who took his biggest victory to date last year when he won in New York in 2:07:39.
Nageeye finished fourth in the London Marathon in April in a national record to 2:04:20. Since then, he has spent time training at high altitude in Flagstaff in Arizona where he was staying with Hassan.
Now 35 and about to contest his 25th career marathon, Nageeye will be looking to employ the same tactics which worked so well for him last year. “My goal is the same as last year. I'll let the top athletes do the work and try to stay with them as long as possible. In the final after 25 km, I still have to be there,” said Nageeye as quoted by Hardloopnieuws.
The elite men’s field is also headed by Eliud Kipchoge and Kenenisa Bekele - arguably the two greatest distance runners in history - along with Olympic bronze medallist Benson Kipruto, 2024 London Marathon winner Alexander Mutiso and 2021 New York Marathon Albert Korir.
Aside from Nageeye, the European interest in the men’s race also includes former European record-holder Sondre Nordstad Moen from Norway and Switzerland’s Matthias Kyburz, a multiple world orienteering champion who ran 2:07:44 in his first ever marathon in Paris last year and has since improved to 2:06:48.
Also watch out for Great Britain’s Patrick Dever who makes his marathon debut in New York. Dever finished sixth in the 10,000m at the 2024 European Athletics Championships in Rome and has a 60:11 lifetime best for the half marathon.