Sunday, November 6, 2011

Success! And some pictures too.

Hello all -

My race bib and finisher medal

Today (Sunday, November 6), I competed in my 2nd NYC Marathon.  Somewhere around 45,000 other runners did so as well on an absolutely gorgeous, sunny, cool day.  In fact, the conditions were so good that the male winner, Geoffrey Mutai, shattered the course record by 2 minutes.   Mutai accomplished a similar feat in the Boston Marathon last April.  The Kenyan must be considered a favorite for the London Olympic race next year - if he makes the team given how strong Kenya is in this sport.

I didn't run anywhere that fast, but that didn't stop me from running my second sub-3:40 marathon in 3 weeks.  The official result shows as 3:37:44.  On the course to support me were my parents, my son Justin, his girlfriend Rachel and friend Michael A.  So, I got to enjoy the experience with them.  I thought I would share some mostly "pre-race" photos.  After they publish the race photos, I'll be sure to put those online too.

Thanks to everyone who sent those wonderful messages and encouragement posts throughout the past few days.
A beautiful sunrise at JFK when I landed on Friday morning.

Arrival at the Javits Center to pick up my bib
The catchline this year "I'm In."

The expo was packed!  I couldn't even get a medium race shirt as they were out as of Saturday at noon.
Departing from Manhattan's Ferry Terminal
You can see how wonderful the day was as we sail past the Statue of Liberty.
Just 30 minutes to go - a fellow runner psychs himself up.  Or he's thinking about football after the race.

On the way to the starting line. This racer shows her antler style.
How hard could it be? Just run to Manhattan.  Much better than taking that Staten Island Ferry back.