This weekend’s New York City Marathon promises a fierce battle in the women’s race, with defending champion Hellen Obiri expected to command much of the attention.
However, lurking in the shadows is former champion Edna Kiplagat, a seasoned campaigner whose remarkable longevity and enduring appetite for competition could yet steal the spotlight in the Big Apple.
At 46, Kiplagat remains one of Kenya’s most consistent and accomplished marathoners, defying the passage of time and continuing to hold her own against a new generation of elite distance runners.
While many of her contemporaries have long since hung up their racing shoes, the veteran has remained a formidable presence on the roads, using her wealth of experience, tactical nous and impeccable race judgement to keep the younger athletes on their toes.
Few runners can match Kiplagat’s longevity at the highest level of marathon running, and her return to New York presents another opportunity to demonstrate that class, experience and determination can still count for plenty against youth and raw speed.
The Kenyan icon heads to a course she knows well, having conquered the streets of the Big Apple in 2010, when she delivered a composed and authoritative performance to claim victory in 2:28:20.
On that occasion, Kiplagat held off American Shalane Flanagan, who crossed the finish line in 2:28:40, while compatriot Mary Keitany completed the podium in 2:29:01, giving Kenya a memorable one-two finish. Her subsequent outings in New York, however, have not quite matched the magic of that breakthrough triumph.
Kiplagat finished ninth in 2013 in 2:30:04 before settling for 12th place a year later in 2:36:24. She returned in 2017 and came narrowly close to another podium finish, clocking 2:29:36 for fourth place. Five years later, she again narrowly missed out on a top-three finish, crossing the line fourth in 2:24:16.
Kiplagat went on to finish seventh in 2023 in 2:29:40 before placing 12th in the 2024 edition in 2:29:56. Yet, those results do little to diminish the stature of a woman whose marathon career has been defined by consistency, resilience and an extraordinary ability to compete at the highest level across different courses and continents.
Kiplagat arrives in New York with a glittering resume that places her among Kenya’s most decorated female marathoners.
Beyond her 2010 New York triumph, she claimed the London Marathon title in 2014 in 2:20:21 before adding victories at the Boston Marathon in 2017, when she clocked 2:21:52, and in 2021, when she crossed the line in 2:25:09.
Her remarkable consistency is further underlined by three consecutive runner-up finishes in London in 2011, 2012 and 2013, alongside second-place finishes in Chicago in 2016 and Boston in 2019. She has also claimed third place in Tokyo in 2016 and Boston in 2024.
Kiplagat has already put her endurance to the test this year, lining up at the Cape Town Marathon on May 24, where she clocked 2:25:44 to finish fifth. Dera Dida led the Ethiopian charge, winning in 2:23:18 ahead of Mestawut Fikir, who clocked 2:23:46, and Waganesh Mekasha, who completed the podium in 2:23:57.
Further, her 2026 campaign comes on the back of a busy 2025 season. After opening the season with a disappointing 38th-place finish at the Boston Marathon in 2:36:32, Kiplagat quickly returned to action, placing eighth at the Boston 10K road race in 32:29.
She subsequently found her rhythm at the Boilermaker 15K, where she clocked 50:07 to finish third, before taking seventh place at the Beach to Beacon 10K in 32:28.
However, it was at the Abu Dhabi Marathon that Kiplagat produced one of her strongest performances of the campaign, closing out 2025 with a runner-up finish in 2:25:07. She finished behind compatriot Catherine Amanang’ole, who claimed victory in 2:21:17.
