NEW YORK -- Tadese Tola of Ethiopia broke the course record in the Healthy Kidney 10K on Saturday, finishing a wire-to-wire win in 27 minutes, 48 seconds.
He bettered the mark of 28:08 that U.S. Olympian Dathan Ritzenhein set on the Central Park course in 2007.
"Phenomenal time on a killer course," said Mary Wittenberg, president and CEO of New York Road Runners. "That's a record I don't see being broken for a long time. For Tola to dominate and to walk away from this field is pretty amazing."
Defending champion Patrick Makau of Kenya was neck and neck with Tola until the 4-mile mark. The Ethiopian then broke away to a six-second lead, extending it to the finish of the 6.2-mile race.
Makau was second in 28:28 and Kenyan Boaz Cheboiywo placed third in 28:31.
Tola earned $7,500 for the victory and $20,000 for breaking the record.
Tola also beat Makau in last year's NYC Half-Marathon, edging the Kenyan in the final meters.
U.S. Olympian Abdi Abdirahman made his Healthy Kidney 10K debut, finishing 11th in 29:02. U.S. Olympian Anthony Famiglietti was 12th in 29:07.
Two-time ING New York City Marathon champion Marilson Gomes dos Santos of Brazil was unable to run because of a delay in getting his passport back from the U.S. Consulate.
More than 7,500 participants competed in the fifth annual event.