Philadelphia Marathon 2019: Men's and Women's Top Finishers and Results

New York's Diriba Degefa Yigezu won the men's division of the Philadelphia Marathon on Sunday morning, coming in with a time of 2:16:30. 

Yigezu held off a number of contenders, including Albuquerque's Milton Rotich (2:18:47), Minneapolis' Connor Reck (2:19:27), New York's Urgesa Kedir Figa (2:19:39) and Astoria's Chase Pizzonia (2:20:25).

"It feels really good, I trained really hard," Yigezu told Graham Foley of the Philadelphia Inquirer. "The rain made it very hard but I got through ... it just feels so good."

On the women's side, New York's Feyne Gudeto Gemeda set a course record with a time of 2:32:48.

She obliterated the field, finishing well ahead of Toledo's Viola Bor (2:39:58), Cherry Hill's Katie Rodden (2:40:47), Quebec's Anne-Marie Comeau (2:41:09) and Jersey City's Allison Goldstein (2:44:10).

"I'm very happy with the record," Gemeda told Foley. "I was training very hard. I was pushing to run under 2:32 but the rain and wind was very challenging so I'm happy with how I finished."

Frankly, just participating in the race on a rainy and cold Philadelphia morning was impressive enough, with temperatures below 40 degrees. That didn't seem to ruin the atmosphere among the runners and spectators.

And thousands braved the elements on Philadelphia's relatively flat course. If you have the mental fortitude to compete in a marathon, it seems having the mental fortitude to compete in a marathon in rainy and cold conditions is a given.