When interviewed, he said..."I felt good the whole way and it was only in the last mile or two that the leaders managed to get away from me, but it’s good feeling to get another Irish record and I‘m excited about where this can take me".
Cragg’s time of 60 minutes 49 seconds knocked eight seconds off the old mark of 60:57 set two years ago in Holland by Martin Fagan of Mullingar, as well as being a personal best by more than a full minute, with victory going to Britain’s Mo Farah in an impressive 60:23 after a sprint finish.
This race was Cragg’s pre-trial prior to making his marathon debut in Boston next month.
“I’ve been packing in the miles in preparation for Boston and I think those miles were in my legs when it came to speeding up in the last few miles here” he said.
“But I never felt the distance or did I feel tired at any stage. I finished very strong and really enjoyed it. Running this event is a bit strange for me after all my races on the track but I’m now entering a new stage of my career and I’m excited about it and will now use the next few weeks wisely to prepare for Boston.”
Cragg will be looking to get the standard of 2:16 in Boston next month which will put him in line for selection for the World Championships next August in Korea and also for the Olympics in London next year.
Race Video of the 2011 New York City Half-Marathon...
Watch live streaming video from nyrr at livestream.com
This video clip is over 1 hour long and gives a good feel for what the New York Half-Marathon is like with over 10,000 runners taking part.
The first 16 minutes are pre-race commentary. Amongst the front runners, Alistair Cragg is wearing a green top with black cap. Pull the bar across if you want to fast forward. He is at the front of the group ~41:00.
WOW - he kept an average pace that fast over 13.1 miles - a pace quicker than the average pace of the winner of the last BHAA did over 3 miles!
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