Wednesday, November 7, 2007

Post Marathon Wrap Up

33 PPTC marathoners finished the ING NYC Marathon on Sunday.
They were led by Denise Frazier (3:25+) and Frank DeLeo (3:29+). Making their marathon debuts also were Helen Dole in a promising 3:31+, Amy Duquette in 4:27+, and Gilant Phillips in an epic effort (6:44+)where the time didn't tell the whole tale of the determination and discipline that went into getting her ready to complete the distance.
The post race reception, as usual, was bursting with comraderie as we greeted our runners w/ food, and a place to unwind and exchange stories.
Andrew Davenport headed home to Lauren's chocolate waffles. Veteran runner and ex-president Michael Rieman declared it his last marathon, and bemoaned forgetting sweat pants to wear home. Veronica Antoine will run 2 more to reach 15 overall. Michael Ring finished his 15th, and is weighing if it will be his last. Frank DeLeo pushed hard in the last half to finish under 3:30. Sandy Ferrari ignored the pain from a callous at mile 17. Amy changed her running bra in the midst of a crowd without taking off her shirt or exposing any part of her anatomy. Frank Canzannella shared a childhood regret that his birthday was on Sept. 1st, and he never got to celebrate it in school. And missed by his absence was Al Prawda who unfortunately fell while dancing to the drums in Harlem and broke his wrist, but finished nonetheless.

The December issue of the newsletter will contain extensive coverage of the marathon, and we want you to be part of it. If you ran New York, Chicago, Philadelphia or any others, Around the Park wants to hear your fall marathon stories. Drop an e-mail to Brad Skillman (our copy editor) at brooklynbridgerunner@yahoo.com and vent, praise, discuss what happened. What was the one thing that you didnʼt expect? What was the point on the course that you realized your race goal was won/lost -- and why? What unique thing from this yearʼs race did you learn? Let us know by Dec. 1 so we can print your comments in next monthʼs issue.
Congratulations to our runners,and thanks to Al Goldstein, Anne Perzeszty, Julio Zavala, Cecil Burgin, Diana Ortiz and all others who volunteered their time to organize the Last 10 Miles, marathon bus, and reception for us.