Woody and I started the morning with a 5 mile run downtown. We're running a Turkey Trot in Prospect Park on Thanksgiving (my first Turkey Trot!!) so he wanted to get at least one run in before the race. It was cold out. And the first mile or so was pretty breezy too but it was much calmer along the river and the sun was beating down, so it heated up quickly. By the time we hit the Staten Island Ferry all the NYCM runners had passed through and were on Staten Island! We got back, got ready and saw the start of the elite women's race on TV before heading out.
We easily found our way to the eastside bleachers and chose some great seats. We were both a bit surprised by how many seats were still open! Soon, April showed up and joined us, and her friend came a bit later. We were entertained by a marching band, double-dutchers (is that a word?), bagpipers and breakdancers. Quite a show!
A car came through stopping not far from us and who got out but Grete Waitz!! The legendary Norwegian runner who came out of nowhere to win the 1978 NYC Marathon and then went on to win it another 8 times! She joined Mayor Bloomberg at the finish line for an interview. (Grete is in the pink jacket, Bloomberg is wearing orange)
We were watching the race on a large screen trying to make out who was in the lead and soon we saw the lead women were in the park!! The pacers vehicles come through and then we saw the leader!
Edna Kiplagat of Kenya won in 2:28:20! And not too far behind was Shalane Flanagan, the American woman in her marathon debut!! She crossed in 2:28:40!! Shalane seriously looked like a super hero!
More women were crossing the finish line and we were waiting for the men's turn. Gebre Gebrmariam (Ethiopia) and Emmanuel Mutai (Kenya) broke away from the pack early. Really early. Gebrmariam who won the Healthy Kidney 10K in Central Park earlier this year, crossed the finish line in 2:08:14; it was his marathon debut!
And he finished a full minute before Mutai (2:09:18), the runner up in the 2010 Virgin London Marathon.
I was really hoping it would be a repeat for Meb, but unfortunately it just wasn't his day. He came in sixth at 2:11:38 to tons of cheers from the crowd!! It was great to see him running down the last few yards wearing his white USA singlet!
We hung around for quite a while, cheering the awesome runners in to the finish! They were all amazing and working so hard! We were sad see one man who collapsed not far from the finish who had to be carried off in a stretcher. It was brutal to watch him stagger and then falter so close to his goal. many people ran to his aid quickly and I really hope he's doing well. Aside from that, it was wonderful to see the excitement on the runner's faces. The joy of seeing the finish line. The months of hard work in their eyes as their goal came into sight. I hope all the finishers are enjoying their great accomplishment!!
Congrats to all the ING NYC Marathon finishers!!
What was the highlight of your weekend?
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today's workout -
45minute elliptical
2x40second planks
2x20second side planks
stretching
12 comments:
Wow! That sounds like a great day. I have a goal to run a marathon in a few years when my kids are a bit older but probably not NY!
I followed the marathon online yesterday and it was so thrilling to hear so many great stories. That said, I was saddened to hear of Geb's struggles and that he dropped out at mile 16, then announced his retirement.
Here at home, my 12 y.o. ran her first 5K this weekend and I was incredibly proud of her.
AWESOME!!! So jealous! Thanks for sharing the pics!!!
Great photos! I would have loved to see Shalane cross the finish line. Highlight had to be volunteering at mile 18 of the marathon.
awesome! It looked like a beautiful day in NYC.
Absolutely amazing photos.
Awesome.
I want to be Shalane!!!
How did you get bleacher seats? I thought you needed tickets. Must've been so cool to watch them cross the finish!
you guys had a primo spot! Great photos!
One of my friends had tickets to the finish line, but I didn't take her up on it...I was sooooo torn between going to the finish line and going out to mile 14, but I decided to scream my lungs out at mile 14. Still not sure if I made the right decision, but I had soooo much fun yelling for everyone!
Definitely exciting to watch everyone cross the finish, however. :)
I finished long after you took those photos, but thanks for your support!
So cool! What an experience. Shalane is my fav. I've always liked her better over Kara, not that there's anything bad about her either.
That must have been amazing! We watched it on TV and I was getting goosebumps watching them finish!
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