The woman who can claim the NYC Marathon for NY
No New Yorker has won the New York City Marathon since before the race actually became a city-wide, five-borough event. Now, 40 years later, Buzunesh Deba of East 195th St. in The Bronx aims to change that on Sunday.
What began as a 127-runner loop around Central Park in 1970 has swelled to one of the six World Marathon Majors (Tokyo, Boston, Berlin, London and Chicago), one with a million spectators and an expected 50,000 finishers — including a loaded field of 21 Olympians and five medalists. That’s the race Deba plans on winning.
“My goal is to be a champion,’’ said Deba, who finished second in the past two races. This time around, she hopes and expects to break through. “To be champion, will of God.’’
Kenyan runner Geoffrey Mutai is a two-time men’s champion, his 2011 win an course-record 2:05:06. But as enthralling as his quest for three straight titles may be, all eyes will be trained on Deba, who immigrated from Ethiopia as a teenager already a solid runner, but became a great one here.
Read more at: New York Post
