Abel Kipchumba and Sharon Lokedi return to New York City to defend their NYC Half titles against a pair of loaded men’s and women’s elite fields as the spring road racing season pivots to the Big Apple on Sunday.
For Kipchumba, a third straight win could be in the cards on a course that he has dominated regardless of weather conditions.
“Winning in New York is never easy, and coming back to defend my title again is a challenge I’m excited for,” said Kipchumba. “The energy on the streets pushes you from the first mile to the last, and I’m motivated to chase history against a world-class field.”
He faces a men’s group that includes Daniel Ebenyo, Adriaan Wildschutt, Patrick Kiprop and Mohammed El Youssfi while Olympian Grant Fisher will make his half marathon debut.
Kipchumba took last year’s race after working through a tight pack alongside Conner Mantz and Hillary Bor. After Bor faded just past the 10 mile mark, Kipchumba began weaving from side to side and then bolted from Mantz. Kipchumba continued to push the pace well into Central Park and crossed the finish line in 59:09.
In the women’s race, the next chapter in Lokedi and Hellen Obiri’s battle on the road will gain another page following Lokedi’s stunning win at last April’s Boston Marathon.
At the 2025 NYC Half, Lokedi pulled away from the women’s field with a decisive move at the 10k mark and won in 1:07:04 by more than 40 seconds over Fiona O’Keeffe.
“New York has been so special to my career, and returning as the defending champion means a lot to me,” Lokedi said in Febrary when the announced she would take on Sunday’s race. “Running through Times Square and seeing all the young runners is one of the highlights for me and I can’t wait to draw inspiration from them again this year.”
But even with Lokedi and Obiri delivering one of the bigger storylines heading into the race, world cross country champion and world 10K record holder Agnes Ngetich will be a factor and has made it clear that she will position herself for another big win early in the season.
“Of course Lokedi is there. Of course Obiri is there. But then I’m there to run my race,” Ngetich said after the athlete press event on Thursday.
Meanwhile, the wheelchair divisions will be led by Tatyana McFadden, Eden Rainbow-Cooper and Daniel Romanchuk who have all topped the NYC Half podium previously and will be thr first competitors to hit the start line.
More than 30,000 runners are expected to participate in Sunday’s event, with the course crossing over the Brooklyn Bridge for the second straight year as the race passes through Times Square to Central Park.
Start times
7 a.m. – Professional Wheelchair Men
7:02 a.m. – Professional Wheelchair Women
7:08 a.m. – Professional Women
7:15 a.m. – Handcycle and Pushrim Athletes
7:20 a.m. – Professional Men and Wave 1
7:45 a.m. – Wave 2 Start
8:05 a.m. – Wave 3 Start
8:30 a.m. – Wave 4 Start
How To Watch
The NYC Half will be broadcase locally in the New York tri-state area on ABC New York7 with live news cut-ins between 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. All four professional fields will be streamed live on ESPN+, abc7ny.com and NYRR’s digital channels beginning at 7:00 a.m.
All times Eastern.
Men’s elite field
Abel Kipchumba (Kenya) – 58:07
Daniel Ebenyo (Kenya) – 59:04
Adriaan Wildschutt (South Africa) – 59:13 NR
Patrick Kiprop (Kenya) – 59:14
Mohammed El Youssfi (Morocco) – 59:21 NR
Alex Maier (USA) – 59:21
Galen Rupp (USA) – 59:47
Ryan Ford (USA) – 59:48
Sondre Nordstad Moen (Norway) – 59:48 NR
Rory Linkletter (Canada) – 59:49 NR
Patrick Dever (Great Britain) – 1:00:11
Zouhair Talbi (USA) – 1:00:41
Rui Aoki (Japan) – 1:00:45
Syunsuke Kuwata (Japan) – 1:00:48
Tsegay Tuemay Weldlibanos (Eritrea) – 1:00:50
Alex Masai (Kenya) – 1:00:51
Jack Rowe (Great Britain) – 1:00:53
Joe Klecker (USA) – 1:01:06
Peter Lynch (Ireland) – 1:01:23
Cameron Todd (USA) – 1:01:23
Hendrik Pfeiffer (Germany) – 1:01:28
Benjamin Preisner (Canada) – 1:02:25
Jacob Thomson (USA) – 1:02:26
Joel Reichow (USA) – 1:02:30
Max Turek (Canada) – 1:02:45
Haftu Knight (USA) – 1:02:47
Matthew Leach (Great Britain) – 1:02:57
Nick Hauger (Great Britain) – 1:03:06
Kieran Tuntivate (Thailand) – 1:03:19 NR
Turner Wiley (USA) – 1:04:04
Charlie Lawrence (USA) – 1:04:14
Owen Ritz (USA) – 1:04:34
Evan Sherman (USA) – 1:04:51
Grant Fisher (USA) – Debut
Gulveer Singh (India) – Debut
Women’s elite field
Agnes Ngetich (Kenya) – 1:03:04 NR
Hellen Obiri (Kenya) – 1:04:22
Fantaye Belayneh (Ethiopia) – 1:04:49 NR
Sharon Lokedi (Kenya) – 1:05:00
Konstanze Klosterhalfen (Germany) – 1:05:41
Emily Sisson (USA) – 1:06:52
Calli Hauger-Thackery (Great Britain) – 1:06:58
Natosha Rogers (USA) – 1:07:30
Annie Frisbie (USA) – 1:07:34
Amanda Vestri (USA) – 1:07:35
Dakotah Popehn (USA) – 1:07:42
Emily Durgin (USA) – 1:07:54
Diane Van Es (Netherlands) – 1:08:03
Susanna Sullivan (USA) – 1:09:42
Emily Venters (USA) – 1:08:48
Lauren Gregory (USA) – 1:09:12
Lindsay Flanagan (USA) – 1:09:17
Stephanie Bruce (USA) – 1:09:55
Julia Paternain (Uruguay) – 1:10:16 NR
Elena Hayday (USA) – 1:10:56
Felicia Pasadyn (USA) – 1:11:29
Erika Priego (Mexico) – 1:15:55
Gabrielle Yatauro (USA) – 1:15:59
Alosha Southern (USA) – 1:16:40
Anastasia Dmitrienko (USA) – 1:18:09
Megan Keith (Great Britain) – Debut
