Paula Radcliffe of Great Britain wins NYC Half-Marathon, 2 seconds off course record

Radcliffe wins NYC Half-Marathon, tests foot

NEW YORK — Paula Radcliffe of Great Britain won the New York City Half-Marathon on Sunday, finishing two seconds off the course record in her first race in nine months after being sidelined by foot surgery.

Radcliffe finished in 1 hour, 9 minutes,45 seconds for her seventh straight victory in New York City. She pulled away from Mamitu Daska of Ethiopia, who was second in 1:11:04, at the seven-mile mark after exiting Central Park.

“The foot is fine,” Radcliffe said while immersed to her waist in an ice bath after the race, which ended at the tip of Manhattan. “It’s just blowing the cobwebs away and getting used to racing on the roads and flats again.”

Catherine Ndereba of Kenya, who set the course record in 2006, was third in 1:11:56.

Defending champion Tadese Tola of Ethiopia easily won the men’s race in 1:01:06, running solo after a sprint start to distance himself from the pack. Ridouane Harroufi of Morocco was second in 1:02:33, and Ryan Hall of the United States was another two seconds back.

Radcliffe, who won the New York City Marathon in November, had reconstructive surgery on her right foot in March. She plans to decide Wednesday whether to run the marathon in the world championships in Berlin.

“I’m kind of a little bit race rusty,” Radcliffe said. “I need to see how I am over the next couple of days.”

Tola strained his right calf at the nine-mile mark, but wasn’t concerned because he had “a little over a minute lead.”

The half-marathon started in Central Park, traveled through Times Square and finished in Battery Park. The race began in 74-degree temperatures with 84 percent humidity.

“Through the park, I felt good and controlled,” Radcliffe said. “I intended just to pick it up a bit, but with the humidity, I just relaxed in. I knew I was clear.”