And the winners are… all of us 130 Flyers who finished yesterday’s run!
What this marathon will probably be remembered for is the oppressive heat and humidity. With temperatures in the mid-70s, this year’s were the warmest conditions on record since the race was moved to November in 1986. Many of us struggled, and had to stretch their physical ability to the limit to make it to the finish: we heard so many inspiring stories of bravery and endurance from our team members. There are also many good stories to report: some of us set a course PR, a few even a distance PR (yes, you’re reading well!), and the 60+ Women team won a second-place award! 🎉
After all, we all come from different places: for some of us, this was a marathon debut, or a New York City Marathon debut, while others have already run several marathons, and a few of us yet have a very long streak of New York City Marathons. In our diversity, whether we met our race goals, or we missed them, whether we ran all the way or we walked part of the course, or had to drop out during the race, what unites us, after Sunday’s big run, is the sense of pride for finishing or simply getting to the start line of this unique marathon, our own marathon, the world’s most participated, the quintessential celebration of life.
And here is how our individual runners did, which looks quite impressive, considering the abysmal weather conditions we’ve experienced.
🏆Abe Lee again led the Flyers team with a time of 3:14:31 (pace 7:26). Abe is among a handful of Flyers who set a marathon PR yesterday shaving off over 13 minutes from his previous New York City marathon in 2018. When I asked him about his PR, Abe downplayed his spectacular achievement. “I’m glad the race was 26 miles, not 27 miles, because I wouldn't have made it to 27 yesterday,” Abe said.
🏆Jeffrey Tente came second with a time of 3:15:14 (pace 7:27). “At the end, yesterday was not about chasing PRs,” Jeffrey told me after the run, “but celebrating the effort and perseverance of the 18+ weeks spent training with friends, family, and the city.”
🏆Jeff Gerbert, who recently joined the Flyers came third with a terrific time of 3:20:40 (pace 7:40, AGP 72.46%). This is Jeff’s fourth marathon and his first New York City marathon. What a spectacular debut!
🏆Tim Decker came fourth with a time of 3:22:39 (pace 7:44, AGP of 70:46%). If you follow this blog, you may remember that Tim led the Flyers team in the Dash to the Finish 5K last Saturday, the day before the marathon. Tim is an incredibly talented runner. I saw Tim right after we finished (incidentally, we started in the same corral and he passed me in the last mile of the run). True to his running style, Tim nonchalantly told me he was off to a 0.35-mile running challenge right after the marathon.
🏆Francesco Presutti, i.e., yours truly, finished fifth on the team with 3:23:51 (pace 7:47, AGP 74.46%). This was my 15th New York City Marathon.
Thanks to these pretty strong results, the Flyers Men Team came sixth among open B men teams and is fifth in the club standings.
🏆Kristel McKanna was first in the women’s team with 3:41:37 (pace 8:28). This was Kristel’s 14th straight New York City Marathon (that’s including her virtual marathon in 2020). Kristel managed to have a super fun time and although she fell short of her goal she couldn’t be more proud of her finish time. In fact, Kristel was a scant 3 minutes slower than last year, despite Sunday’s challenging conditions.
🏆Melida Barbosa finished second in 3:47:27 (pace 8:41). This was Melida’s 10th New York City Marathon, and her time was a 10-minute course PR, and was only 20 seconds off her PR, which she set in Berlin in September. Isn’t that amazing? “It was tough as always but magical!”, Melida told us after the run.
🏆Beein Gim came third in 3:49:42 (pace 8:46). This was Beein's second New York City Marathon.
🏆Jocelyn Torio came fourth for the team in 3:50:43 (pace 8:48). Jocelyn is understandably very proud of her run Sunday. “The unbeatable NYC crowd support and training with MTP got me through yesterday's tough conditions,” she said, “and I crossed the finish line with a new course PR, beating my prior time from 2008 by one second!”
🏆Jeanhie Hahn came fifth with 3:57:01 (pace 9:03). Jeanhie is also very happy about her result. She set a huge course PR shaving off over 21 minutes from her run last year, and this just weeks since her marathon PR in Chicago.
The Flyers women’s team scored one point and is currently 12th among open A women teams in the club standings.
Congrats to our top runners!🌟
The marathon happens to be the 10th club points race on the NYRR calendar. All teams did a great job, and one team was on the podium, as mentioned in the introduction. We’ve covered the open teams above. Here is how the rest of the teams did.
- The 60+ Women Team came second, thanks to the super strong performance of Dee Vogt (4:25:52, pace 10:09), Deb Saat (4:28:21, pace 10:15) and Denise Iannizzotto (4:35:18, pace 10:30). Congrats to the team! The team is currently third in the club standings. They are a lock for the podium, but thanks to the 12 points they gained Sunday, they are still a hopeful for second (Van Cortland TC, is only 3 points ahead), or possibly even first (the leading team, Central Park Track Club, is 12 points ahead). Keep your eyes on the last club points race on December 3. We’re rooting for you, team!
- The 60+ Men Team came fifth, thanks to the results of Francesco, Jérôme Berard (4:01:23, pace 9:13), and Neil Tipograph (4:05:48, pace 9:02). The team moved back up from third to second in the club standings. Like the women's team, the team is a lock for the podium, and with a 4-point lead on the third team (Front Runners NY), it has good chances to finish the season in second place. Go 60+ men team! You’ve got this!
- No Flyer women over 70 ran the marathon. Therefore, our 70+ Women Team did not score any points and slid down from third to fourth. They can still make it to the podium, as they are only 11 and 12 points below the third (Mercury Masters) and second team (Millrose), respectively. Go team!
The Ted Corbitt 15K on December 3 will be an exciting day for our 3 teams!
Kudos also to the other teams:
- the 50+ Men Team (Jeff, Tim and Francesco) finished 7th and ranks 5th in the club standings;
- the 50+ Women Team (Jeanhie, Silke Eiserbeck, 3:58:53, pace 9:07, and Manuela Montagnana, 4:03:44, pace 9:18) finished 8th and ranks 4th;
- the 70+ Men Team (Delton Mace, 6:02:46, pace 13:51, Felix Alcea, 6:05:48, pace 13:58 and Gary Smeal, 9:47:57, pace 22:26) finished 6th and ranks 5th;
- the 40+ Men Team (Abe, Jeff and Tim) scored 1 point and ranks 12th; and
- the 40+ Women Team (Kristel, Melida and Beein) scored 1 point and ranks 13th.
Kudos also to one more runner who scored an AGP above 70%, i.e. Marc Bochner (3:28:22, pace 7:57, AGP 70.43%), and to all the Flyers, in addition to those mentioned above, who set a PR (Steve Cohen, Kristin Siegle and Laura Bult amongst others).
Our fabulous streakers and 15+ who finished Sunday deserve special mention. Gary Smeal, already mentioned above, stands out among all: Sunday, he finished his 43rd New York City Marathon, and he has a streak of 39! Amazing job, Gary!
The team’s full results can be found here: https://results.nyrr.org/event/M2022/teams/NYF
Well done, all Flyers! Aren’t we the best team?
-Francesco P, NY Flyers Blog Race Reporter, #NYRR staff