There is hardly a race more meaningful to us runners than the Achilles Hope and Possibility. Running side by side with athletes with disabilities reminds us that we should never take our running for granted. It also reminds us of the power of hard work and determination to overcome challenges and reach our goals. As we transition from June's LGBT Pride Month to July's Disability Pride Month, it is not by chance that this year the race that celebrates disability inclusion was scheduled once again back-to-back with the other run that celebrates inclusiveness, the LGBT Pride Run, as it had been up until 2018.
64 Flyers braved this morning's challenging conditions: the temperature at the start was a scorching 78 degrees, though the drop in humidity to 64% since yesterday led NYRR to downgrade the alert level from yellow to green. Many in the team had already raced the Pride Run yesterday. Among them was Flyers' President John McCreesh. "How inspiring it is to run with the disability community!" John said after finishing the race. Last but not least, 5 Flyers (2 men and 3 women) won age-group awards - including the Lams (Anky and Ricky) power couple!
Abe Lee led the Flyers' team in 24:25 (6:07 pace). Abe placed 6th in his age group, scored an age-graded percentage of 74.81%, and in the process he broke his PR on the 4-mile distance by a huge 1:29. Amazing! Vincenzo Pascale came second for the team in 27:05 (4th AG, 6:47, 75.63%). John Whitfield came third in 27:52 (3rd AG, 6:58, 75.47%). For the record, both Vincenzo and John finished on the podium in yesterday's Pride Run! Congrats also to Ricky Lam, back under Flyers colors, who thanks to a finish of 33:46 (8:27) won a 2nd-place age group award!
Amanda Schachter led the women's team in 29:40 (7:25), placed 3rd in her super competitive age group, and scored an AGP of 72.57%. Claudia Silva, who recently joined the Flyers from her home country Brazil, came second for the team in 31:28 (7:52), and placed 9th in her age group. What a lovely New York debut for Claudia! Melisa Labozzetta came third in 32:30 (8:05). Congrats also to Anky Lam, who won her age group in 37:08 (9:17, 75:41%), and to Barbara Trazino, who came 2nd in her age group in 53:32 (13:23). Like her two male counterparts, Barbara was on the podium yesterday too!
A special mention goes to the other Flyers who finished in the top ten of their age groups:
Delton Mace (5th AG, 36:50) (Delton was among the Flyers who also ran the Pride Run yesterday)
Deb Saat (6th AG, 37:12)
Hindy Schachter (7th AG, 1:02:42)
Ed Fajardo(9th AG, 31:07)
Barbara Paer (9th AG, 42:57)
The team's full results can be found here: https://results.nyrr.org/event/22HOPE/teams/NYF
Congratulations to all Flyers!
-Francesco P, NY Flyers Blog Race Reporter