East Africans dominated this year's ING New York City Marathon. Gebre Gebremariam of Ethiopia won the men's title at the New York City Marathon in his debut for the race, with an unofficial time of 2:08:14. Kenya's Edna Kiplagat won the women's race today at 2:28:20. It was her first major marathon championship.
World-record holder Haile Gebrselassie of Ethiopia had been the favorite, but he pulled out at the 16-mile mark with an apparent right-knee injury. American Meb Keflezighi, who had been the 2009 NYC Marathon champion, finished sixth (2:11:30).
Elvis-music-loving Chilean miner Edison Pena also ran in the 26.2-mile marathon, which threads through all five boroughs of New York City. While trapped underground waiting to be rescued, he run up to six miles a day in the subterranean tunnels of the mine.
Sheryl Huggins Salomon is senior editor-at-large of The Root and a Brooklyn, N.Y.-based editorial consultant. Follow her on Twitter.