"Keitany is in good shape and we are optimistic that she will run well the way she did in London. We are almost through with the hard training before we embark on the fine-tuning part," he said.

Keitany will arrive in New York on Oct. 30 ahead of race day on Nov. 5. Joining Keitany are two other women who have broken the 2:20 barrier.

They are led by Edna Kiplagat of Kenya, who won the 2017 Boston Marathon and recently placed second at the World Championships marathon in London and has a 2:19:50 best that dates to the 2017 London Marathon.

There is also Mare Dibaba of Ethiopia, who ran 2:19:52 at the 2017 Dubai Marathon. Dibaba won bronze at the 2016 Olympic marathon and finished eighth in August at the World Championships marathon.

Another novice who can spoil the party is Betsy Saina of Kenya, who will take a second try at the marathon distance after not finishing the 2017 Tokyo Marathon in February.

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