The marathon is behind us – and yet, much of its overpowering euphoria ✨and irresistible energy ⚡️is still with us. Let’s remind ourselves that, whether it’s our first or our 💯 marathon, finishing a marathon is a major accomplishment. 157 Flyers did just that last Sunday! The team won 4 awards (Denise Iannizzotto and the 60+ and 50+ Women Teams and the 60+ Men Team).
It’s time to celebrate 🍾 our finishers, their awards, their PRs and their marathon debuts. 🌟🏆🎉(If you set a PR Sunday or if this was your first marathon, please put that in a comment on the FB post, as the blog team does not have your marathon record.)
Congratulations to all Flyers for taking part in this unique event! You all rock! Kudos also to the Flyers who trained hard for weeks and were ready to start until life got in the way and forced them to postpone or cancel participation. You are awesome, too! ✨
One of the Flyer finishers stands out: it’s Ed Altman, who has just finished his 25th NYCM! 💥Many of us know Ed. I spoke to him several times over the weekend about his landmark 25-NYCM anniversary. He told me about his long-time story with the Flyers. As it turns out, Ed was invited to join the Flyers when they were founded in 1989, but he opted to wait.
“Even if I had already finished two marathons”, he told me, “I compared myself to other very good runners, like my brother. In my mind, I did not see myself as a runner. Then, over time, I came to realize that if you go out to run, you are a runner”.
In 1996, Ed joined the Flyers, and he has been a Flyer since, covering a range of key roles: member-at-large, vice-president, president, and still serves as a Flyers advisory board member. In 2002, Ed was voted Flyer of the Year for his good services to the Flyers. His engagement to the club has not stopped. Ed plays an active role in many of our club’s events. Amongst other things, he supports the logistical side of our long training runs and leads the Saturday 9am group run. Ed is the living embodiment of modesty. In fact, it is thanks to people like Ed that the Flyers have built up a reputation as one of the most welcoming running clubs in town.
As a streaker myself, I was intrigued about why Ed comes back to the run the NYCM year after year and why this race is so important to him.
“Because NYRR provided guaranteed entry after completion of 15 NYC marathons, I have a guaranteed entry every year”, he replied. “And it’s my home marathon”, he quickly added. “And it’s a spectacular marathon. I am a lucky person to get to run it every year. NYRR reaches out to me, and all I have to do is say yes and pay! I’m appreciative of the fact that I can do it, but running a marathon is a huge challenge. It’s a challenge each year. Maybe it’s easier for fast people, I don’t know. But I want to be able to say I did it. Then I put my medal on. That is the day I brag!”
I asked Ed to share with his fellow Flyers some of his most cherished marathon memories.
“Last year”, he told me, “I was at the back of Wave 1, doing a run-walk-run. At a certain point I was passed by [former NYRR CEOs] Peter Ciaccia and Mary Wittenberg, who had also started at the back of Wave 1. I took a picture of them. Soon I found myself alone. It was me and an Achilles runner. I felt I had the Verrazzano Bridge all to myself!” And then, at the opposite end of the course, at the end of Fifth Avenue, Ed stopped for every kid he could find. “I really enjoyed that!”
And Ed’s takeaway from his 25th NYCM?
“The crowds were spectacular”, he said. “It was perfect spectator weather. In the NYCM, crowds surge in the nice weather. When I hit Central Park South, mostly walking, I really enjoyed the yelling of the crowd! Then, after I finished, I went back to Central Park, to the East Drive around miles 24 and 25. I wanted to support the people who were still running. In the late evening hours, the crowds are not as strong. People in Wave 5 lose a lot of the crowds, and these are the people who are most struggling.”
Moving back to the runners at the front of Wave 1, here are the impressive results of some of the team’s fastest runners.
🏆Albert Pedemonte led the Flyers’ team with a mind-blowing time of 2:44:55 (pace 6:18). This result represents an astounding PR for Albert. He shaved off 9:43 from his previous PR, which he did at the 2023 Jersey City Marathon only last April. Sunday’s marathon was former-cyclist-turned superfast-runner Albert’s third NYRR race as a Flyer. Albert finished 6th in his age group and scored an AGP of 81.47%.
Behind Albert, former Flyers president Chris Brennan finished in 3:02:26 (pace 6:58, AGP 74.25%) and placed second 🥈on the team. Chris’s time is a 1:23 improvement on his Wineglass marathon of 5 weeks ago, it is very close to his course record of 2019 (and to his PR too) and it inspires us to never give up and to keep following our dreams.
Jeff Gerbert finished third 🥉for the team in 3:13:53 (pace 7:24, AGP 75.71%). Jeff ran a strong Chicago marathon only 4 weeks ago.
Codjo Ahouandjinou came fourth for the team. His 3:15:23 (pace 7:28) was an unbelievable result for a marathon debut.
Francesco Presutti finished fifth for the team with a time of 3:17:36 (pace 7:33). He finished 9th in his age group and scored an AGP of 77.14%. This was his 16th NYCM, which means he ran his first NYCM as a “streaker,” 4 weeks after running Chicago, just like Jeff.
Tim Decker was sixth on the team with a result of 3:18:08 (pace 7:34, AGP 72.72%).
The Open Men B Team came in 38th and is 6th in the club standings.
The fastest Flyer on the woman was our incredible Marcy Withington🥇, who finished her marathon with an outstanding time of 3:19:16 (pace 7:36, AGP 80.63%). This was Marcy’s PR! 🌟Marcy is 54 and she is a veteran runner. She's run 23 marathons over 26 years. She recently switched to marathon-specific training, and got the right shoes.
“With good weather and Tim Decker pacing me”, she told me after the run, “it all came together!” What an inspiring story!
Marcy was followed by Arlyn Apollo🥈, who ran her fastest marathon since 1999 in a speedy 3:27:08 (pace 7:55, AGP 74.62%).
The third runner on the team was Augusta Rice🥉, who finished in 3:30:56 (8:03). This was Augusta’s first NYCM!
Superstar Denise Iannizzotto 🌟came fourth for the team. Denise was in Chicago four weeks ago, where she broke the Flyers Hall of Fame record for the marathon for her age group. Here at home, Denise finished in 3:33:29 (pace 8:09, AGP 82.87%). This fast time earned our legendary teammate a second-place award 🏆🥈 in her age group. Winning an award in this large, competitive marathon is a huge recognition of Denise’s running ability.
The fifth runner on the Flyer women’s team was Melida Barbosa. She finished in 3:34:24 (pace 8:11).
Amy Knapper was sixth with a time of 3:45:42 (pace 8:37).
The Open Women A Team came in 31st and is 11th in the club standings.
All runners were cheered on by the amazing volunteers 📢 at the Flyers mile 18 gel station, faultlessly organized and coordinated by Hiromi Nobata. It is always a pleasure for runners to be welcomed by our non-running counterparts’ generous support at a point in the marathon when energy starts running low! But only the runners in Waves 3 and 5 of the marathon had the lucky opportunity to listen live at the start of their race to Rachel Duncan’s stunning rendition of America The Beautiful. 🎶🇺🇸
The marathon is the second-to-last club points race of the season. Three teams won an award today:
• The 60+ Women's Team, including Denise, Monique Seibert (3:56:28, pace 9:02, AGP 75.9%) and Kim Hooper-Stanley (4:00:51, pace 9:12, AGP 73.45%), took first place, and is second in the club standings, only 8 points behind the leading team.
• The 60+ Men's Team, including Francesco, Vincenzo Pascale (3:44:53, pace 8:35) and Jérôme Bérard (3:49:16, pace 8:45), came in second and is second in the club standings, only 3 points behind the leading team.
• The 50+ Women Team, including Marcy, Arlyn and Denise, came in second and is fourth in the club standings.
Congrats to all three teams! With only one club points race remaining in the season, there is still a concrete possibility for the 60+ women and men teams to win the team championship! Go for it, teams!👏👏👏
Kudos also to the following teams:
• The 40+ Women's Team, including Marcy, Arlyn, Denise, finished 6th.
• The 50+ Men's Team, including Jeff, Francesco and Tim, finished 10th.
• The 40+ Men's Team, including Albert, Chris and Jeff, finished 10th.
• The 70+ Women's Team did not have any runner, but is still 3rd in the club standings, and has very good chances to make the podium.
• The 70+ Men's Team, including Delton Mace (5:41:51, pace 13:03), Gary Zakarin (6:35:31, pace 15:06) and Felix Alicea (7:56:03, pace 18:10), finished 6th.
And kudos, as always, kudos to the other 4 Flyers, in addition to those mentioned above, who scored an AGP of 70% or above. They are:
• Adolfo Ferrando: 3:20:08, pace 7:38, AGP 70.71%
• Marc Bochner: 3:26:29, pace 7:53, AGP 71.74%
• Jeanhie Han: 3:51:48, pace 8:51, AGP 70.22%
• Deb Saat: 4:19:31, pace 9:54, AGP 72.35%
The team’s full results can be found here:
https://results.nyrr.org/event/M2023/teams/NYF
Finally, this race counts also for the 2023 Flyers awards. You will find the latest member standings on the Flyers’ website. 🌟✨💫
Well done, New York City marathoners! You are special – and you know it!
-Francesco P, NY Flyers Blog Race Reporter, #NYRR staff