Cam Levins drops out of NYC Marathon debut near 20 km mark after feeling unwell

Canadian record holder Cam Levins left the course in Brooklyn before the halfway mark of his first New York City Marathon on Sunday and said a few hours later he felt unwell since the start of the 42.2-kilometre race.

Levins, who set the men's North American mark of two hours five minutes 36 seconds on March 5 in the Tokyo Marathon, looked relaxed shortly before dropping out of the professional men's event, contested under a mostly sunny sky, little wind and a temperature of 8 C.

Levins reached 5K with the lead group in 15:29, on pace for a 2:10 finish. He went through 10K in 30:39 before separating from the front group of five at 13K, sitting seventh and within reach of his stated goal of a top-three finish.

In an emailed statement, Levins told CBC Sports he needed time to reflect on the race and didn't wish to comment further.

Jim Finlayson, his coach since 2019, told CBC Sports in a text message Monday he thought Levins "looked good" through 10 km and thought he was OK when the pace first increased.

"But the leaders kept the hammer down and Cam was disconnected fairly quickly," said Finlayson, who watched the face from a hospitality tent while Levins's wife, Elizabeth, was on the course. "Once he was off the [lead] pack, it was hard to tell how he was doing.

"He said he never felt good … so that's something we'll need to look at."

Underfuelling before races

The 34-year-old Levins had completed five consecutive marathons since dropping out of the London race in 2020, saying his body didn't handle the cool and wet conditions well. Three weeks later, Levins fell off his then-Canadian record pace in the Marathon Project in Arizona, where he placed 15th.

Levins also wasn't comfortable early in the 2021 Olympic marathon and struggled to accelerate out of drinking stations on the way to finishing 71st in a field of 106 in Sapporo, Japan. He and Finlayson previously determined Levins had a nutrition problem and was underfuelling before races.

He chose to race the hilly New York course in preparation for a third Olympics next summer in Paris, where the near-loop course will vary in elevation from a low point of 27 metres and high point of 183, gaining 438m in elevation and descending 436m to the finish.

Earlier in the week, Levins admitted in an interview with CBC Sports it was a "difficult adjustment" adding hill training to his ninth marathon build. Initially, he and Finlayson needed to make sure Levins had recovered sufficiently entering daily workouts.

"[I struck] a good balance as I got further into the build," said Levins, who won the hilly Royal Victoria Half Marathon four weeks ago in a course-record 1:01:18 despite having no previous knowledge of the course near his hometown of Black Creek, B.C.

Previous experience on NY course

"After finishing [Victoria], I was like, 'Man, I'm so glad I took that on before New York.' Getting into that effort range for that long, learning how to gauge yourself going up and down hills and manage that effort, is definitely a learning experience."

Levins, the only elite Canadian runner competing in New York, had experience racing a portion of the marathon course, having competed in the 5th Avenue Mile in 2012 and the 2019 NYC Half Marathon.

Without pacers in New York, Levins hadn't prioritized improving his North American record.

But he pointed out he was at least in similar shape to his record-setting performance in Tokyo while some workouts indicated he was in better fitness.

"I'm prepared to run as fast as I did in Tokyo if I need to," he said.

Levins was fourth in the men's marathon at the 2022 World Athletics Championships and fifth in Tokyo this year.

No Canadian has won in the 52-year history of the New York City Marathon.

Tola thrives in championship races

Sunday's race was won by Tamirat Tola, the 2022 world champion from Ethiopia, in 2:04:58 to top Geoffrey Mutai's 2:05:06 course record from 2011. It's his first win at a World Marathon Major following third-place finishes in London and Tokyo.

Tola pulled away from countrymate Jemal Yimer when the pair were heading toward the Bronx at 32 km. By the time Tola headed back into Manhattan 0.9 km later, he was up by 19 seconds and left only chasing Mutai's mark.

The 32-year-old Tola thrives in a championship environment, having earned bronze on the track in the 10,000 metres at the 2016 Rio Olympics and at worlds the next year in London.

Kenya's Albert Korir, the only man in Sunday's race to have broken the tape at the NYC finish in Central Park (2021), was second in 2:06:57 ahead of Ethiopia's Shura Kitata (2:07:11), the 2020 London Marathon champion.

While the men's race was well decided before the last few miles, the women's race came down to the stretch.

Kenya's Hellen Obiri, Letesenbet Gidey of Ethiopia and defending champion Sharon Lokedi were all running together exchanging the lead. Obiri made a move as the trio headed back into Central Park for the final 0.9 km and finished in 2:27.23. Gidey finished second, six seconds behind.

This was a stellar women's field that was expected to potentially take down the course record of 2:22:31 set by Margaret Okayo in 2003. Unlike last year when the weather was unseasonably warm with a temperature over 20 C, Sunday's race was much cooler — ideal conditions for record breaking times and for the 50,000 runners.

Swiss sweep wheelchair division

The men's and women's winners finished within a few minutes of each other. About an hour earlier, Marcel Hug won the men's wheelchair race, finishing a few seconds short of his own course record by finishing in 1:25.29. It was the Swiss star's record-extending sixth NYC Marathon victory.

"It's incredible. I think it takes some time to realize what happened," Hug said. "I'm so happy as well."

He's the most decorated champion in the wheelchair race at the event, breaking a tie with Tatyana McFadden and Kurt Fearnley for most wins in the division in event history.

Catherine Debrunner of Switzerland won her New York debut, shattering the course record in the women's wheelchair race. She finished in 1:39.32, besting the previous mark by over three minutes, which was held by American Susannah Scaroni.

"It's difficult to describe in words. I said to my coach if I win this race, it's the best performance I ever showed," she said. "Knew it's the toughest marathon of all. It was the first time. I knew it was going to be so tough."