Mary Keitany of Kenya and Lelisa Desisa of Ethiopia took home the top prizes at this year's New York City Marathon.

In a highly contested field, Keitany beat the women with a time of 2:22:48. USA Today reports this is the runner's fourth win in five years.

Her winning stint started in 2011, and since then, the 36-year-old has been a force with which to reckon. In the 2017 London Marathon, she set a world record that has yet to be broken. 

“The pace of New York is not like other races,” Keitany said. “For me, it was not necessary to start (fast) at the beginning. It was OK. I didn’t want to rush at the beginning. I wanted to be comfortable throughout the race.”

This latest win goes down as the second best in New York City Marathon history. Another Kenyan runner, Vivian Cheruiyot, came in second at 2:26:02.

Her male counterpart, Desisa, was engaged in a much more competitive field. 

He beat fellow Africans, Ethiopia’s Shura Kitata and Kenya’s Geoffrey Kamworor (who was last year's winner), with his time of 2:05:59. His time is also the second-best in New York City Marathon history. 

“This year, I controlled myself, and I managed myself with my teammate, with my coach, with my manager,” said Desisa.

The New York Times reports Desisa also won at the Boston Marathon in 2013 and 2015. 

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Lelisa DesisaMary KeitanyNYC Marathon