Bartoli battles back from illness, runs NYC Marathon

A jubilant Marion Bartoli ran the New York City Marathon on November 6. "I just want to finish," she saidin an interview leading up to the weekend event. She did exactly that, posting a time just over five hours, 40 minutes—and appearing in a few official-photographer shots along the way.

The 32-year-old ran a credible race, notching a 33-and-a-half-minute time at the 5K mark and then two hours, 36 minutes, by the halfway point, 13.1 miles.

She was running to raise money for Team For Kids, which funds NYRR youth programs across the country (Bartoli's efforts on Sunday raised more than $5,000.)

Bartoli's performance is as all the more memorable and perhaps puzzling on the heels of her summer health scare. After suffering a mysterious viral illness, she was hospitalized for three weeks and documenting some of the proceedings on social media.

Fairly ideal temperatures perhaps emboldened the field overall, but a 20-year-old man from Eritrea, Ghirmay Ghebreslassie, became the youngest-ever winner of the men's race. Kenya's Mary Keitany posted a so-called "three-peat," winning the women's race for the third consecutive time, the first woman to do so since 1986.

It's well known in tennis circles that other tennis stars, both active and retired players, have run the New York City Marathon. The likes of Mats Wilander (4:19 in 1997), Caroline Wozniacki (3:26 in 2014), James Blake (3:51 in 2015), Amer Delic (3:58 in 2014) and the seemingly indefatigable Kimiko Date-Krumm (3:27 in 2004) have all competed in the event, or run for the love of adrenaline or other reasons.

It's Bartoli's countrywoman, Amelie Mauresmo, who claims the No. 1 tennis-star spot, though. She posted a time of three hours, 19 minutes in 2012. That's right, as tennis and the NY Marathon are concerned, all hail France.

Follow Jon on Twitter @jonscott9.