The men’s field is wide open. Pick a runner, any runner. The list of contenders goes more than a dozen deep. Perhaps Benson Kipruto of Kenya will defend his title, but he will be challenged from all directions.
Let’s start with a few of the Ethiopian runners: Birhanu Legese, who has won the Tokyo Marathon twice and is the third-fastest male marathoner in history; Sisay Lemma, the reigning London Marathon champion; and Lemi Berhanu, who placed second last year in Boston. And there are the Kenyan runners, a group that includes Lawrence Cherono, who won in Boston and Chicago in 2019; Geoffrey Kamworor, one of the world’s most decorated distance runners; and Albert Korir, who is presumably still riding high from his breakthrough win in New York in November.