It was cold and windy most of the day on Sunday, but the sun was gloriously bright for the ING New York City Marathon. Full results are posted on the on the Flyers web site results page. It was a homecoming of sorts for several of the top scoring Flyers for both the men's and the women's divisions. Longtime long-distance Flyer Todd Baldini came in from Colorado to take first place for the men's team with a sub-3:00, crossing the finish line in 2:58:39 (6:49 pace). Sean Johnson placed second for the team in 2:59:58 (6:53 pace). Leslie Lam (whom I swear I saw pass the PowerGel station twice, if such a thing is possible) clocked in for third in 3:04:52 (7:04 pace), followed by Edward Ryeom in 3:06:34 (7:08 pace) and Gordon Roble in 3:06:58 (7:09 pace).
On the women's race, Deanna Culbreath blew the competition away with a stunning 3:05:07 (7:04) finish. Nary Ly flew in from Cambodia to be with us and take second place for the team while she was at it in 3:16:02 (7:29 pace), followed by Master ABlaster Chris Morgenroth in 3:20:37 (7:41 pace). Andrea Kent and Vicky Tiase captured fourth and fifth for the team in 3:22:07 (7:43 pace) and 3:23:02 (7:45 pace).
On the Team side, Flyer Masters Men came in 8th Place,
Flyer Veteran Men came in 6th Place,
Flyer Senior Veteran Men came in 1st Place,
Flyer Women came in 8th Place,
Flyer Masters Women came in 3rd Place, and
Flyer Veteran Women came in 2nd Place.
[From the Flyer Web site.]
Over 160 Flyers finished the race and our team should take home both the 40 under 4 award (40 finishers under 4 hours) and the 50 under 5 award (50 additional finishers under 5 hours) from the NYRR. I believe we have won both of those awards for many years and no other team has done so.
here were over 100 Flyer volunteers out there at the Power Bar Gel station on First Avenue. I was there and we watched the sun. When it went behind a building, we took our sun glasses off and put our gloves on. When the sun came out again, off came the gloves and on went the sunglasses. But we'd do it again next year, and the next ...
Thank you, thank you to all you volunteers, and a BIG THANK YOU to Gabi DiBlasi for organizing this for the umpteenth year.
he Flyers Hall of Fame is the set of records for members of the Flyers at standard distances and age groups. Click on the link to see the entire Hall of Fame with the criteria used.
Two new records were set in the New York City Marathon. Congratulations!
50+ women: Andrea Kent — 3:22:07
The old Record was Andrea's own 3:34:12 set in Boston in 2008
60+ men: Gary Smeal — 3:28:44
The old Record was David Dempsey's 3:47:18 set at Steamtown last year
've gotten PRs by as small a margin as 3 seconds and as big a margin as 24 minutes. They all feel good and deserve recognition. These PRs were taken from the Flyer race results page. If you got one that isn't listed, you can record it yourself by clicking on the "submit PR or Award" link on the Flyer Home page on the banner above the PR listing.
| Name | Time | PR |
| Deanna Culbreath | 3:05:07 | 9:45 PR |
| Nary Ly | 3:16:02 | 14:45 PR |
| Elizabeth Alexander | 3:21:51 | 0:13 PR |
| Andrea Kent | 3:22:07 | 3:58 PR — 7th 50-54! |
| Julie Connolly | 3:33:18 | 11:02 PR |
| Amanda Reiss | 3:37:09 | 17:59 PR |
| Jessica Reed | 3:40:42 | 14:33 PR — Boston Qualifyer |
| Jennifer Coyne | 3:47:50 | 0:18 PR |
| Denise Iannizzotto | 3:48:43 | 0:32 PR |
| Elizabeth Ewig | 3:51:56 | 17:52 PR |
| Stephanie Lau | 3:54:20 | 4:24 PR |
| Elle Green | 4:03:35 | 3:54 PR |
| Stephanie Pianka | 4:04:24 | 1:38 PR |
| Elise Alexander | 4:12:19 | 4:13 PR |
| David Vandenberg | 3:08:08 | 10:52 PR |
| Paul Nelson | 3:34:45 | 11:53 PR — 2nd marathon PR in 7 days! |
| Michael Creasy | 3:38:11 | 23:03 PR |
| Ray Sales | 3:45:34 | 1:38 PR |
| Matthew Boylan | 3:51:29 | 46:31 PR |
| Kenneth Hill | 3:55:23 | 3:33 PR |
"Streak", for a runner, is when you run in a particular race year after year in an unbroken series. I did a little checking in the NYRR Marathon Archives and found the following Flyers who have streaks going for 10 years or longer (Did I miss you? Email me using the link at the bottom and I'll fix it.)
| Name | Length | Years |
| Scott Cohen | 12 years | 1999 - 2010 |
| Gary Zakarin | 14 years | 1997 - 2010 |
| Giorgio Perino | 19 years | 1992 - 2010 |
| Gary Smeal | 29 years | 1982 - 2010 — he missed only 1981 since 1977 |
Congratulations streakers, one and all!
f you were watching the runners go by, you might have seen a strange sight — was that Gumby that just went by? And fast, this was no Pokey. Was that a U.S. Flag bandana he was wearing? And did I see a camera in his hand? Who could that be? I'll give you one guess — now click on the photo. Something tells me you're not surprised — it's our own Vice President and 2009 Flyer of the Year, Brian!
But just for fun, click the photo again. Waah, who is that? That is David Mark Brown, long time Flyer, getting ready to board the bus for the
1992 NYC Marathon. It turns out Gumby the Flyer (yes, but a different Flyer) was running the NYC marathon almost 20 years ago. Now, I'll bet you
didn't know that.
ut long hours after we had all left the course, even after we had all left the party and gone to sleep, the story wasn't finished. I'll let Flyer Scott Martin relate an encounter he had in the Park, on a run on the cold and rainy morning after:
"Just now in the Park, maybe 28-29 hours into her inspirational race, I ran into this woman of around 60ish....just past mile 24 of the marathon on the East Drive, doing the marathon on crutches, painfully moving forward with each step. Being escorted by six Guardian Angels in their red jackets and berets, then being helped briefly to the sidewalk to take a quick break on a park bench. I asked the guys if she was doing the marathon, they said 'yes', and I couldn't help but clap and urge her on. There was no one else around on a nasty day, and here she was, just carrying on with such grace and dignity. It really choked me up as I ran home, and brought home for me how inspirational this event is, and what inspiration people can send out to others through their efforts to meet this amazing challenge. For some, that means superhuman toughness like the rest of us can only imagine.
With the magic of Google, I located her and her inspring story of serial marathoning... after nearly four decades living with MS. Probably the most amazing marathon scene I've ever witnessed. Awe-inspiring."
Here's the link Scott found: Zoe Koplowitz article
I recall this woman, Zoe Koplowitz, from the early 1990s. She was doing the NYC Marathon in those years, and I am just astounded she is still out there.
It turns out this year was her 22nd NYC Marathon. Especially inspiring to me, was what happened in 1993, some 17 years ago. I'll let Grete Waitz tell the story (from Cool Controlled Grace Excerpted from First Marathons, by Gail Kislevitz) :
"
Two of my most memorable marathons were ones I didn’t win. My 1992 run with Fred Lebow, in
remission with brain cancer, was very emotional. I didn’t think I could run for five hours,
but he gave me the strength. It went by so quickly. My other memorable moment was in 1993,
when I promised Achilles Marathon runner Zoe Koplowitz, crippled with multiple sclerosis, that
I would be there for her at the finish. It took her twenty-four hours to complete the course
and when she crossed the finish line at 6:30 a.m. the next morning, I was there. No one had a
medal for her, so I rushed back to my hotel to get my husband’s medal for her. I don’t have
half the struggles in life she does. It puts my own life in perspective."