2008 NYC Half-Marathon Presented by NIKE Men's Gallery

The race got under way in warm, humid conditions at 7:00 a.m. in Central Park. Tadesse Tola of Ethiopia (far left) pushed the pace from the outset.

Tola’s fast early tempo immediately whittled the group to a few top contenders. A lead pack stayed together until the 5-mile mark in the Harlem Hills.

Tola and Kenya’s Patrick Makau made an aggressive breakaway on an uphill stretch just before halfway. Their 4:25 mile opened a sizable gap on the rest of the field.

Makau, the pre-race favorite, had won his last four half-marathons. Tola had raced the distance only once before. They ran the last seven miles within a few feet of each other.

Tola and Makau each tried to break away in the last mile. With a quarter-mile left, Tola made a final effort with Makau still at his shoulder.

The race was decided in the last few yards, when Makau couldn’t quite match Tola’s last move. The 20-year-old Ethiopian ran 1:00:58 to win by one second.

Makau accepted his loss graciously and praised Tola. “He is very strong,” he said. “I kicked hard—I tried to win.”

Dathan Ritzenhein used the race as a final test before the Beijing Olympic Marathon, which he’ll run in one month. He finished a strong third in 1:01:38.

Kenya’s Richard Maiyo tried to cover the leading pair’s early break. Ritzenhein passed him in the last two miles; Maiyo finished fourth in 1:01:55.

Girma Tola, an Ethiopian Olympian in 2000, has made a recent comeback to top-level racing. He took fifth place in 1:02:58.

William Kipsang became the eighth-fastest marathoner in history with his 2:05:49 in Rotterdam earlier this year. He was sixth here in 1:03:25.

Hosea Rotich of Kenya ran in the chase pack for much of the race and hung on for seventh place in 1:03:33.

Hendrick Ramaala, a local favorite for his victory in the ING New York City Marathon 2004 and his bold front-running, was eighth in 1:04:07 as he prepared for Beijing.

Worku Beyi, an Ethiopian member of the local Westchester Track Club (WTC), gave a 100-percent effort and finished a step behind Ramaala, also in 1:04:07.

Beyi’s WTC teammate Demesse Tefera had finished one place ahead of him in this race in both 2006 and 2007. The tables were turned today; Tefera was 10th in 1:04:18.

Antonio Vega of Minneapolis was the second American in the race and 11th overall. He ran 1:04:26.

Dylan Wykes of Canada, who finished 10th here in 2007, was 12th this year in 1:04:30.

Genna Tufa, another WTC member from Ethiopia, was his team’s fourth finisher. He ran 1:04:37 for 13th place.

Fasil Bizuneh of Flagstaff, AZ, was 14th in 1:04:48—only a few weeks after running the 10,000 meters at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials.

Felix Limo, who has won the London, Berlin, and Chicago marathons, suffered a rare off day; he ran 1:05:22 for 15th place.