The New York City Marathon forces the "city that never sleeps" to awaken a bit earlier than usual, especially for a Sunday. Less than 14 months ago New York City was reeling in pain from the horrific terror attacks but last night New York received news worthy of a celebration. New York was selected as America's choice to host the 2012 Olympic Games by the United States Olympic Committee. Like an Olympiad, 98 countries are represented in the NYC Marathon.

The weather was grand. Race time temperature was in the low 40's (Fahrenheit) and didn't get much warmer throughout the day. The Elite men began at 11.10 am.

The men's start was much more cluttered with a throng (13 of the top 23) of Kenyans leading early passing 10k in 30.25. Mile 17 was run in 4.34, the fastest of the day! Kenyans still held 10 of the top 14 places at the halfway mark in 1.03.49. While the women ran quite conservatively, the men ran at course record (2.07.43) pace for most of the race with Kenyan Rogers Rop passing 20-miles in 1.37.24.

O'Sullivan regarded her decision to run as "the worst kept secret" and it was accompanied by press conferences along with countless interviews and appearances. Leevale's Mark Carroll's entry in the marathon went almost unnoticed which suited him just fine. Carroll lives in Providence, Rhode Island, where he attended Providence College under the tutelage of Ray Treacy.

Today he ran his first marathon with his college coach's brother's record in the back of mind. John Treacy holds the Irish best of 2.09.18 set in 1988. When asked about the record, Carroll responded, "I see records as a bonus. I come to New York to compete the marathon and challenge the distance and the guys who are in the race. If John's record happens, we'll take that."

Carroll's bouncy track stride, sunglasses and gazes at the crowd showed he was relaxed. He was the recipient of countless cheers from the Irish and Irish-American spectators that lined the course. Carroll is no stranger to the Big Apple. He is a three-time winner of the Wanamaker Mile at the Millrose Games that is held each February in Madison Square Garden. The Corkman passed 10k in 30.25, ½ marathon in 1.03.51 and 20-miles in 1.38.19. His conservative yet optimistic approach was rewarded with a 6th place finish in 2:10:54.

The men's race was one of attrition. With 5 miles remaining, the men's pack had been whittled down to three runners, all of them from a small country in East Africa. Rodgers Rop, the reigning Boston Marathon champion has experience winning prestigious events. Rop was joined by Christopher Cheboiboch and Laban Kipkemboi as they eclipsed the 21-mile mark in 1.42.16 and 22-miles in 1.47.12 dropping Kipkemboi in the process. Once in Central Park South, Rop pulled away to win in 2.08.07 leading a Kenyan sweep of the medal positions. Cheboiboch crossed the line 10 seconds later in 2:08:17 with Kipkemboi third in 2:08:39.

Rop is just the fourth man to win at Boston and New York in the same year. This year was the first time Kenyans swept both the men's and women's titles.

Eamonn Coghlan just missed his goal of a sub-3 hour performance running 3.00.55. Coghlan, who will turn 50 on 21 November, headed up a group of 130 runners from Ireland who are raising money for the Children's Medical and Research Foundation at Our Lady's Hospital For Sick Children in Crumlin, outside Dublin.

Complete results of the 2002 NYC Marathon

Men's Top 15
1) Rodgers Rop (Kenya) 2:08:07; 2) Christopher Cheboiboch (Kenya) 2:08:17; 3) Laban Kipkemboi (Kenya) 2:08:39; 4) Mohamed Ouaadi (France) 2:08:53; 5) Stefano Baldini (Italy) 2:09:12; 6) Mark Carroll (Ireland) 2:10:54; 7) Gert Thys (South Africa) 2:11:48; 8) Matt O'Dowd (England) 2:12:20; 9) Meb Keflezighi (United States) 2:12:35; 10) Stephen Ndungu (Kenya) 2:13:28; 11) Jeff Schiebler (Canada) 2:14:13; 12) Wilson Musto (Kenya) 2:15:45; 13) Matteo Palumbo (Italy) 2:16:06; 14) Hendrik Ramaala (South Africa) 2:17:10; 15) Mitsunori Hirayama (Japan) 2:17:14