An amazing performance on a cold and windy day.
The men's race was one of the slowest ever not just because of the weather but also because New York never has pace setters which makes it a very tactical race. This worked very well for Kipsang who in my opinion is the smartest runner I have ever watched run and he was at his best in this race.
Kipsang is a great athlete but what makes him even more remarkable is that he is an even greater student. In the leading pack Kipsang' makes more head turns than any other athlete, he is turning to look at where everybody is and also how they are. He goes to the front and drops to the back. While everybody else is concentrating on their race Kipsang does not only know how he is doing but also knows how everybody else is doing. I missed the surge that broke up the pack because they were showing the women finishing but I am sure it is after synthesizing all that information that he knows when to surge.
The final surge to get away from Desisa in the final 0.2 miles is only second in excitement to the greatest marathon contest of all time, the Wanjiru, Kebede duel of Chicago 2010. For those running fans who may have forgotten just how nail biting that was here it is:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJ3s9HRaDJ0