Three-time London Marathon champion Mary Keitany is set to be added to the New York Road Runners Hall of Fame as the Class of 2022 on the NYRR Night of Champions on November 4.
Three-time London Marathon champion Mary Keitany is set to be added to the New York Road Runners Hall of Fame as the Class of 2022 on the NYRR Night of Champions on November 4.
Legendary Staten Island runner Art Hall will also get the honours alongside George Hirsch and two-time Olympic Marathon champion Abebe Bikila of Ethiopia.
Keitany, who retired from athletics last year, finished on the podium in the four New York City marathons she ran in. She won the marathon in 2015 and 2018 and placed third and second respectively in 2011 and 2018.
Speaking on NTV, Keitany said the New York course is her best despite it being a tough one. “It remains my best. It is here that I recorded most podium finishes in my career,” she said.
Meanwhile, Keitany has revealed how she was inspired by the likes of National Olympic Committee of Kenya president Paul Tergat, a five-time world cross country champion, and 1999 Berlin Marathon champion Tegla Loroupe, a former women's marathon record holder.
“They were some of the big names back then and I was hopeful that one day, I would run like them,” she said.
Keitany narrated how she used she was to running such that it became difficult for her to adjust upon retirement. She added that she misses the good times and seeing other athletes run and win makes her want to resume running.
“There are days I wake up and think I’m late for training but I’m slowly adjusting to my new schedule. Watching athletes compete and win makes me so happy and, on many occasions, I have the urge to join them,” she said.
In 2017, she became the women only marathon record holder after winning the London Marathon in 2:17:01.
