On Sunday in Chicago, Eliud Kipchoge broke away from Sammy Kitwara and Dickson Chumba at the 25th mile and never looked back en route to his first major marathon victory. Kipchoge’s time of 2:04:11 is the 3rd fastest ever in Chicago, 26 seconds shy of Dennis Kimetto’s course record of 2:03:45 from a year ago. Kitwara and Chumba would finish 2nd and 3rd, respectively, in 2:04:28 and 2:04:32. The lead group was never really on pace to scare Kimetto’s record, as they hit the half marathon in 62:09, 30 seconds off pace. 

Pre-race favorite Kenenisa Bekele held on to the lead pack until 20 miles, when an injection of pace left him 10 seconds off the back. The fastest man ever over 5k and 10k would not recover and had to settle for 4th with a final time of 2:05:51. While the result will undoubtedly be disappointing for Bekele, the first two marathons of his career have both been under 2:06, a sign of a promising future for the 32-year old Ethiopian. 

In the battle for top American, Bobby Curtis smashed his previous PR by more than two minutes in running 2:11:20, good for 9th place. Curtis reached halfway in 65:27 with fellow American Matt Llano, and the two would run together through 17 miles before the wheels completely fell off for Llano. Running in his first career marathon, Llano stumbled to a 2:17:43 final time, well off his 2:10 goal. Although Llano will not be pleased with the result, he showed poise sticking with Curtis for a majority of the race, and gained valuable experience going forward. Perhaps a slightly more conservative approach would have made all the difference for Llano on Sunday. 

In the women’s race, Rita Jeptoo became the first person in history to win four major marathons in a row, running 2:24:35 to win Chicago for the second consecutive year. Jeptoo finished more than a minute clear of 2nd place finisher Mare Dibaba (2:25:37) and 3rd place Florence Kiplagat (2:25:57). Running for $600,000 of prize money, Jeptoo made a hard move at mile 24 that no one else could match as she cruised all the way to the line. The slow winning time for Jeptoo was most likely a result of her focusing entirely on the win, as her final time was nearly six minutes slower than her Boston victory just 6 months prior.

In the performance of the day, American Amy Hastings ran 2:27:03 and finished a remarkable 5th place in the finest marathon of her career. The time tied Hastings' PR, but it was her courageous effort that made the finish all the more impressive. Hanging off the lead pack for a majority of the race, Hastings worked her way back to the lead pack by 30k, looking the part of someone ready to shock the world. Although Hastings would eventually lose touch with the top four, her effort should be applauded as she showed no fear going for the win. Hastings may have struggled over the last 10k, but she gave herself a shot on Sunday, and that’s exactly what we want to see from Americans in the marathon.