by Brett Larner
The Great North Run celebrated three-part history Sunday, with the great Mary Keitany breaking marathon world record holder Paula Radcliffe's course record and Mo Farah bringing home the first British men's win in 29 years to set the stage for the millionth finisher in GNR history, the first race in the world to hit that mark.
In beautiful conditions with a comfortable tailwind heavy favorite Keitany soloed the race the entire way on track for Radcliffe's 1:05:40 record, only appearing to falter near the end. Bearing down in the home straight she looked to hit the line dead on, but when official results were posted it was announced that she had made it by a second with a new record of 1:05:39. Nearly a kilometer back, the U.K.'s Gemma Steel was shockingly strong, going head-to-head with London Olympics gold medalist Tiki Gelana, Commonwealth Games silver medalist Caroline Kilel and two-time World Championships gold medalist Edna Kiplagat before droppi…
The Great North Run celebrated three-part history Sunday, with the great Mary Keitany breaking marathon world record holder Paula Radcliffe's course record and Mo Farah bringing home the first British men's win in 29 years to set the stage for the millionth finisher in GNR history, the first race in the world to hit that mark.
In beautiful conditions with a comfortable tailwind heavy favorite Keitany soloed the race the entire way on track for Radcliffe's 1:05:40 record, only appearing to falter near the end. Bearing down in the home straight she looked to hit the line dead on, but when official results were posted it was announced that she had made it by a second with a new record of 1:05:39. Nearly a kilometer back, the U.K.'s Gemma Steel was shockingly strong, going head-to-head with London Olympics gold medalist Tiki Gelana, Commonwealth Games silver medalist Caroline Kilel and two-time World Championships gold medalist Edna Kiplagat before droppi…