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ING NYC MRTHN 09

Staten Island, NY. A four-hour wait in the cold drizzle at Fort Wadsworth, along with some 45,000 other goose-pimpled runners; it's true, misery does like company -- a lot of it. The looming Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, a reminder of the vast task at hand.








click here for the top 25 costumes at this year's nyc marathon; they should give out medals.

where's waldo?

In Central Park, a grueling 4-hours-22 minutes-and-12-seconds later; I came in 22,904th out of an estimated 45,000. I guess that makes me pretty average. But, hey, at least I'm six minutes less-average than Alanis Morissette, who clocked a 4:28.45.

Me-O Pie-O!

Came in 57th (out of 300-plus) in the 119th Bemis-Forslund Pie Race (4.5 miles) at my old high school, Northfield Mount Hermon, in Gill, Mass., and earning myself a sweet, farm-fresh apple pie. I posted 32:44, for an average of 7:12-minute miles, my fastest race pace ever. Mile 1: 7:11; mile 2: 7:09; mile 3 (uphill, rocky terrain, cramps): 8:30. I thought I was cooked, but then I went balls-out fugitive and clocked the last 1.5 miles in 9:51 (or 6:20 pace; a couple well-placed downhills helped carry me big-time). As a class of '88-er, I was in the '85-and-after division, which meant a pie-qualifying time of 33 minutes and pitted me against 14-42 year-olds. The kid who came in behind me threw up hard over the ropes. Looked like me 20 years ago, except without the running shoes.

Moscow Marathon 2009 (4:29.23), Appropriately Brutal

Vision 5K

chris guided me in the recent vision 5k road race at boston college; we clocked 31:28, placing 13th out of 37 in the blindfold division. click here for a piece i wrote previewing the race.

15.7-minute shave

clocked a personal record at yesterday's vermont city marathon: 4:04.37. that's 15.7 minutes better than last month's boston (4:20.05). the differences: a flatter course, 18,000 fewer runners, better eating the day before, no calling into the office every five miles, and one marathon in my pocket. click here for cool info graphic that the folks at vcm put together for each runner.

leftover boston pics

(at pre-race pasta dinner with fellow marathoner bill coffey, of chicago, the direct descendant of a revolutionary war soldier i once wrote about)

(chris and me on our way to the hopkinton buses the next day, 6:30 a.m.)

(hopkinton-bound flotilla, boston common, 7 a.m.)

(in line for the bus; impeccable and good humored organization all around, kudos BAA!)

(off to war)

(athletes' village, at the hopkinton high school)

(handing over my belongings, to be returned to me in copley square)

(in front of my corral, #23)



(the sound of so many feet on the asphalt sounded like soft applause, the road cheering us on)

(american favorite kara goucher who would come in third, in tears)

(no wide-mouthed waxy paper cups for the elites; i wore a bib of spilled gatorade for much of the race)

(the modern marathoner; i called into the office every 5-6 miles; link to the audio slide show in previous post)


(the crowds were unlike anything i've ever come across; we were rock stars for the day)

(aside from frenzied cheers, people doled out sponges, wet cloths, lollipops, orange wedges, pineapple slices, cheese cubes, even beer and pretzels; others held up the latest score from the red sox game)



(the religious nuts were representin', too)


(inspiration)






(a bu contingent)


(female leaders; salina kosgei, left, would win)


(deriba merga on his way to victory)


(turning up hereford street, my final dispatch)

(almost there)

(hope it's me she's cheering for)

(4:20.05)


(the cairns of copley square)


(home at last, and five pounds lighter)

photos by alonso nichols, andrew reed weller, kalman zabarsky and dick taffe