the rundown: special nyc marathon edition

For a lot of marathon runners, Sunday wasn’t their best day. It wasn’t mine, it wasn’t Charle’s, it wasn’t Benjamin Wagner’s. And Danny Farkas had a tough time, too:

I had said before the race that my main goal was to finish this race running, without having to walk. Taking that first walk break [around mile 18] was such a big mental blow to me, I really felt defeated. I wasn’t going to cry or anything, but I was pretty down at that point.

But he gutted it out.

Coming back into the park you have about a quarter of a mile
left. I was running at this point and it was really hurting. … I just powered on through, and with my arms in the air like I had just won the gold medal, I crossed that finish line at 4:43:50.

Charles:

It was difficult and painful. I completed the marathon searching for answers as to why I found running this marathon so damn hard and painful.

But he has kinda funny, kinda painful account of gutting it out, too, despite dealing with numerous “scatalogical issues”:

I now write this story on my personal porcelain throne. It is my 5th trip here in the last two hours. I think I will sleep while sitting on it. It is raining outside and the sound of it hitting my bathroom’s skylight is soothing and peaceful.

Benjamin Wagner finished in 4:30:55, making his sixth marathon his worst:

Somewhere around twenty-one, as I lost the sisters in the glare of the afternoon sun, I thought to myself, ‘This was never my race.’ I was sagging, and had already acknowledged defeat. But then I heard a miraculous voice in my head that said, ‘Well then make it your race!’ Despite the constant shouts of “Go Benjamin!” and “C’mon Benjamin Wagner Dot Com,” that phrase is the only thing I heard for the remaining five miles. ‘Make it yours, make it yours, make it yours…’

Despite wheezing and hyperventilating, Rebecca finished in 4:33:12 and writes:

I have my memories, my medal (now engraved with my name and finish time), and my name in the NY times. … So now it’s really over. Doesn’t feel real.

AzianBrewer finished in 5:30:26 and writes, “This race is dedicated to my grandpa. You gave me the strength and ran with me for the whole 26.2 miles through all 5 boros. RIP!!!”

Scott Cunningham ran it in 4:10:51 and says he’s “on a high … This was the most amazing experience of my life. I’ve spent the last few days just trying to process it all.” He also got to meet Paul Tergat! (the men’s winner).

Despite the elite Kenyans and Ethopians, long-distance running at the amateur level for whatever reason tends to be a mostly white sport. (For the record, I am bi-racial). So it was good to see a black woman out there representin’:

Every time I passed a group of black spectators in any borough, especially black women, I got extra love. We all knew what the extra love was about, no explanations were necessary. We knew without knowing that I needed the extra support and that my running was bigger than me for that moment. We communicated through the louder cheers and the bigger “thank you” smiles. I LOVED that part of the Marathon.

Jank completely came apart toward the end of the race and says “running a second marathon two weeks after your first is a dumb, dumb idea.” But gutsy, too. He came in a little under five hours.

Yoeri ran it in 3:08 despite a lack of training. Damn, man. “I knew I really didn’t train specifically for this race until 4 weeks ago and I also knew that Ironman fatigue lingers for a couple of months. But hey…. I had a goal I was going to go for it.”

Other runners included the Talking Dog (5:40), Moses, “NYC Marathon 2006” (“I am sick. I have a cold. I have laryngitis. My legs are sore. My back is sore. And I am happy.”), Mebeth (“I’m just starting to realize what an amazing experience it was.”), PhitLife (account to follow), , Mr TV Head (account to follow), Suitably Flip (“It was my first time running New York, and I have to say the fans are better than I’ve seen anywhere else.”), Eric Mandela (4:33 – account to follow)

Mediabistro notes that the “literati” were represented during the race, includin Tibetan monk Sakyong Mipham Rimpoche.

Tienmao has pictures. More are here.

Spectators were also blogging about the race, like MQA (“These were, in fact, elite athletes participating in a world class event. Just blocks away from my apartment!”), BrightlikeaKnife (“Another reason why this is the greatest city in the world”), Oxypoet (“It’s always inspiring and the kids love doing it, cheering and high-fiving passing runners.”)

Lissa , meanwhile, started her training for 2006 on Sunday. “Let me preface this by saying I have never run in my life,” she writes. Wish her luck, everyone.

And even though it may not have been the best day for many of us out there, it’s nice to know that we, collectively were an inspiration to at least one blogger. Bienvenu Lina Xinsong, an immigrant from China, had this to say:

Before I came to this hemisphere, it never occurred to me that I could run a Marathon …I don’t know exactly what one would feel at the finish line, but the sense of conquering and achievement must be thrilling over the physical pains. If you ever fell, just get back on your feet and keep going, because you would never let down all those cheering for you. Isn’t this what a real person would do to their lives? And, to quote whoever it was, “If you can make it in New York, you can make it anywhere”.

Now, having said all these, there’s nothing I can do but join the Road Runners and start to prepare for my 26 miles and 385 yards.