Irish marathon record holder Peter Lynch primed for another top finish in New York

In the six months since Peter Lynch lowered the Irish marathon record to 2:06:08, finishing ninth in London in April on a groundbreaking day for distance running, every little addition to his training has been designed to make him fitter, stronger and, ultimately, more confident in his own ability.

Which doesn’t automatically transfer to a race as historically testing and tactical as Sunday’s New York City Marathon, although Lynch is now primed once again to mix it with some of the world’s best in what will be only his fifth attempt over the classic 26.2-mile distance.

The Kilkenny runner also sets out to provide some Irish presence at the front of the elite men’s race for the first time in more than two decades. Mark Carroll last broke into the top 10 with his sixth-place finish in 2002. John Treacy also finished third twice, in 1988 and 1990.

The twisting, undulating nature of the five-borough course across New York has never been favourable towards record times, so Lynch has his own target for Sunday compared to his London Marathon in April. On that day, when Kenya’s Sabastian Sawe officially smashed through the two-hour barrier for the first time, winning in 1:59:30, Lynch took one minute and 46 seconds off the previous Irish record set by Fearghal Curtin in South Korea last October.

“I definitely think times are out the window for this one,” Lynch says, after his 2:06:08 in London improved his own previous best by three-and-a-half minutes. “So I have no real target in my head, or anything like that, I’m just going in with an open mind, and just focusing on beating as many people as possible.

“I feel every marathon I’ve done I’ve been getting better, getting more experience, and definitely don’t see any reason why that shouldn’t continue. London was the first marathon where I got to the last 10km and still had life in my legs, and felt like I could actually race, tactically, and not just suffer to the finish line.

“In an ideal world, if that’s the feeling I get in New York at some point in the last 10km, and if I’m still around guys, I can start thinking about how I’m going to beat them.”

At 28, Lynch is still coming into his marathon running prime. Since graduating from the University of Tulsa in Oklahoma in 2024, he’s been part of the Puma Elite Training Team, based in Raleigh, North Carolina, and coached by Alistair Cragg, who broke multiple Irish records over the years.

After the 90-minute flight up from Raleigh on Thursday morning, Lynch is also back for only his second bite at running in the Big Apple. In the New York City Half Marathon in March, he became the first Irishman in history to break 60 minutes, finishing fifth in 59:52, a clear indication of his potential in London the following month.

“Funnily enough, I’ve been in America for seven or eight years now and that was my first time in New York. But I’ve watched back a decent amount of the marathons from the last three or four years, so have a good idea of the course and where the main hills are. There aren’t any pacers, so it’s also more tactical.

“I’ve also talked to a couple of people who’ve raced it before, including my team-mate Patrick Dever, who raced here last year. But you can’t really prepare for everything and I don’t want to paint a picture in my head of exactly how it’s going to go, because then it’s probably not going to go like that. But I have watched it many times before, the finish in Central Park, and thought how exciting that must be.”

The little additions to his training since London have included the gradual increase in his weekly mileage, from an average of 110 to 120, plus longer spells training at high altitude, with much of the last three months spent at Park City, Utah.

“The build-up this time has been a bit different in that we’ve done more altitude in this training block. Before London, it was really just the four weeks before. Whereas this time I’ve done almost three months at altitude from the end of the summer. Partly because it’s just been so hot in North Carolina.

“And I’ve definitely run bigger miles this block, a good few weeks hovering around 120 miles. So it’s been more strength-based. I’m confident I’m definitely in good shape and I’m interested now to see how that goes.”

Although Kenya’s Benson Kipruto is favourite to defend his New York crown, the presence of Andreas Almgren from Sweden, the European half-marathon record holder who is making his marathon debut, adds another element of unpredictability.

“I’m definitely hoping to be close to the front of the race for as long as possible,” Lynch says. “Some years in New York the whole pack runs together till close to 20 miles. Or you could see it blowing up pretty early into the race.

“But if I feel similar to London, hopefully I’d like to be able to pick up the pace, maybe outrun other people in the last 10km. It’s hard to put a number on what position I’d be like happy with.

“But I got top 10 in London, so top 10 again in New York would be really, really good. But again, it’s just going in with an open mind.”