NYC Marathon

[colby]

Meb has won the NYC Marathon, the first American since Salazar in 1982. Ryan Hall came in 4th! I read somewhere that 6 of the top 10 mens finishers were Americans.

Paula Radcliffe fell back for the women and finished in 4th in pain, leaving the upset win to Derartu Tulu of Ethiopia.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/...0cAQQD9BMRV6G1

[pfunk12]

My friend and former training partner, Desiree Ficker, finished in 10th. Funny thing is - I sometimes used to beat her in races! I have very fond memories of our running days. She's a huge inspiration to me.

[Running Mommy]

HA! So the "Ficker" I kept seeing on the screen WAS her!!!! I was wondering. Way to go Desiree!! In 07 I was spectating when Peter Reid came by. By instinct I blurted out "Peter Reid??" and he turned around and waved. ha h a

And I was over the moon when I found out Meb won!!! I have been pulling for him for years! I was so happy.
I watched the nbc national broadcast this afternoon, and even tho I knew the outcome I was still yelling at the tv, and cried like a baby when he crossed the line. Just so so happy for him and his family.
He is a good man, and I was worried when he came up w/ a bad hip a while back.
I was also happy for Ryan Hall. He will have his day.
6 of the top ten men being americans???
While the race happened to be the US championship for men, it was still a fabulous result.
FINALLY American distance running is back!

[pfunk12]

Des is going to be in town this week so we are going to try to get together for a glass of wine. Recently, she has been focused solely on running - and not the tri - so it will be interesting to see if she continues to focus on running.
I was watching the race on the internet this morning and my connection quit when Meb had about 2 miles to go I recorded the NBC broadcast and when I saw him running with a mile or so to go, I also got teary-eyed. Such a great story and a nice guy.
You're right - this has been an incredible year for U.S. distance runners.

[colby]

Found it: Six Americans finished in the top 10: Keflezighi, Hall, Jorge Torres (seventh in his marathon debut), Nick Arciniaga (eighth), Abdi Abdirahman (ninth) and Jason Lehmkuhle (10th).

[bambu101]

Let's not forget Joan Benoit Samuelson, who set a record for the best time for an over 50 finisher of 2:49, and came in 17th in the women's field. I remember her winning the Olympic marathon in 1984, and she remains an inspiration to this day.