The 26.2-mile race took place in near-perfect conditions, with little wind and temperatures in the low 50s, and started as many marathons here do, with a large pack of elite runners bunched at the front as they glided over the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge, the highest point on the course.

Unlike major marathons in Berlin and Chicago that are run on flat courses and use pacesetters to induce world records, New York City’s course has many hills and sharp turns that tend to produce tactical races favoring those who have run the course before and who finish fast. Desisa and Kitata, for instance, have each run more than a full minute faster on other courses.

Kitata was making his debut in New York and appeared to make a rookie mistake by jumping in front early and pushing the pace. The runner-up in the London Marathon this year, Kitata was unable to shake a pack of runners that included Kamworor, Desisa and Daniel Wanjiru of Kenya, who won the London Marathon in 2017.

Kitata held his ground as the pack caught up to him coming off the Queensboro Bridge, the second-highest point in the race, around Mile 16. At that point, the lead runners were on pace to run about 2:07, a very fast time for New York. As the group headed up First Avenue, Kamworor started to assert himself. He let Kitata push the pace, but a couple of times, he motioned to other runners to help box in Kitata.

But the lead pack was down to Kitata, Desisa and Kamworor as they passed quickly through the Bronx, down the Madison Avenue Bridge and back into Manhattan. Heading down Fifth Avenue, Kamworor took off his gloves and threw them to the ground, as if to taunt Desisa and Kitata.

Kitata slowed and appeared spent, but Desisa stuck with Kamworor as they entered Central Park with about two miles to go. The race was turning into a replay of last year, when Kamworor held off Wilson Kipsang in a sprint to the finish.