Tyler Pennel made his return to the marathon distance November 3 at the New York City Marathon. Over the last 15 months Pennel has battled a series of injuries that has only allowed him to run 3 races since the summer of 2018. However, this fall, after working through a bout of osteitis pubis (tendonitis of the pelvis) he was able to toe the line healthy for the first time since his 4th place finish at the 2018 Boston Marathon.
Pennel last ran the NYC Marathon in 2016 where he finished 8th overall in a time of 2:15:09. This year, despite being nearly 2 minutes slower at the halfway mark Pennel ran nearly 1 minute faster, running 2:14:10 and taking 14th place overall. By Pennel’s lofty standards he deemed the result “good not great,” but it was without a doubt an important step forward in getting back to the consistency that saw him become one of the best marathoners in the US.
Next up for Pennel will likely be the Houston Half Marathon in January before the Olympic Marathon Trials on February 29th in Atlanta.