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As the holidays are upon us and the leaves have
fallen in Central Park, there's one thing that
everyone agrees on: the 38th running of the ING New
York City Marathon was a resounding success. We
offer you some highlights from the November 4 race.
Breaking Down the Numbers
This year's ING New York City Marathon boasted the
largest marathon starting field ever
as
39,265
runners crossed the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, 2,517
more people than started the 1996 Boston Marathon
(36,748). Exactly 38,524 runners made it to the
finish in Central Park, the
largest
number of marathon finishers in history.
The second-largest finisher field was the ING New
York City Marathon 2006 at 37,866, and the
third-largest was the 1996 Boston Marathon at
35,868. More than
100,000
people applied for the ING New York
City Marathon 2007, a record number of applicants.
The Champions
Paula Radcliffe of England led wire
to wire in the women's race, and Martin Lel of Kenya
kicked ahead in the final mile to win the men's
division. Both winners notched their second ING New
York City Marathon victories, and Lel became the
first man in history to win both the Flora London
Marathon and ING New York City Marathon in the same
year.
Radcliffe and Ethiopia's Gete Wami ran together for
most of the race before the world record holder made
her move in the final mile to claim the victory in
2:23:09 (Wami finished in 2:23:32). For her
performance, which came a mere nine months after the
birth of her daughter, Isla,
Sports
Illustrated's David Epstein recognized
Radcliffe as his Sportsman of the Year. Click
here to read the full story.
As he did in the 2007 Flora London Marathon,
Abderrahim Goumri of Morocco pursued Lel from
behind. In London, Goumri finished a mere three
seconds behind Lel; in New York, Lel crossed the
line in 2:09:04, with Goumri finishing in 2:09:16.
Edith Hunkeler of Switzerland set a
new course record of 1:52:38 to capture her third
ING New York City Marathon wheelchair title.
Hunkeler previously won in 2004 and 2005, but a
serious injury forced her to miss last year's race.
In the men's wheelchair division, defending champion
Kurt Fearnley of Australia won in
1:33:58.
New York Road Runners paid
$809,300
in prize money and time bonuses, with Radcliffe
earning $170,000 and Lel taking home $160,000. And
for the first time since 1982, there were
four
American women in the ! top 10: Elva
Dryer (6th), Robyn Friedman (7th), Melisa Christ ian
(9th), and Alvina Begay (10th).
World Marathon Majors Update
Paula Radcliffe might have captured the ING New York
City Marathon crown, but Gete Wami was the day's
biggest winner financially. By virtue of her
second-place finish, Wami won the inaugural 2006-07
World Marathon Majors women's series with a total of
80 points, earning her the $500,000 prize. Jelena
Prokopcuka of Latvia, the third-place finisher in
New York, was the runner-up with 65 points, and
Ethiopia's Berhane Adere took third with 55 points.
Robert Cheruiyot of Kenya wrapped up the men's
series title, also finishing with 80 points. Martin
Lel was second with 65, and Ethiopia's Haile
Gebrselassie was the third-place finisher with 50
points.
Although one WMM series is finished, the next is
already under way! In the 2007-08 men's series, Lel
leads with 50 points, and Cheruiyot and G! oumri are
tied in second with 30 points. On the women's side,
Wami leads with 55 points, while Zhou Chunxiu of
China has 40 points, and Russia's Lidiya Grigoryeva
has 30.
How Did You Do?
The complete race results are available
here.
Teaming Up for Charities
The official New York Road Runners charity program
was one of the biggest winners of the weekend,
raising
$18.1
million, including
$207,500
for
American
distance running development. More
than
4,950
people ran for an official charity
or charity partner. With more than 1,200 runners,
the New York Road Runners Foundation's
Team for
Kids raised a projected
$3.6
million to benefit youth health and
fitness programs in under-served New York City
public schools. Memorial Sloan-Kettering's
Fred's
Team, in honor of the legendary Fred
Lebow, raised a projected
$4
million for cancer research.
The Recycling Bin
New York Road Runners partnered with Poland
Spring(R) Brand Natural Spring Water and the
Department of Sanitation to implement the first
recycling program in the history of the ING New York
City Marathon. The initiative was an overwhelming
success, as more than
11 tons
(22,080
pounds) of cardboard and plastic was
recycled throughout the five-borough race. In
Manhattan alone, more than three and a half tons of
waste was recycled, while Brooklyn South was a close
second at three tons.
A Look Back at the U.S. Olympic Trials
In part one of what was a spectacular weekend in
marathon history,
Ryan
Hall (Big Bear Lake, CA) cruised to
victory in the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials --
Men's Marathon. Hall's time of 2:09:02 was an
Olympic Trials record and the first sub-2:10 run at
the Olympic Trials (Tony Sandoval held the previous
record of 2:10:19, set in 1980).
Dathan
Ritzenhein (Eugene, OR) finished
second in 2:11:07, while
Brian
Sell (Rochester Hills, MI) captured
the third spot in 2:11:40 and became the first
Olympic marathon team member from Michigan.
Hall's performance was more than impressive, as the
25-year-old ran each successive 5K faster than the
previous, and pulled off negative splits: 1:06:17
(first half) vs. 1:02:45 (second half). This ! was
the deepest men's marathon Olympic Trials top-10
since 1980. Out of 179 men who qualified for the
race, there were 130 starters and 104 finishers.
Twenty-five men set personal bests.
Five-time USA champion and former NCAA champion
Ryan Shay, 28, of Flagstaff, AZ,
collapsed about 30 minutes into the 2008 U.S.
Olympic Team Trials -- Men's Marathon after running
the first 5 1/2 miles of the race. He was
immediately given CPR and transported by ambulance
to Lenox Hill Hospital, where he was pronounced dead
at 8:46 a.m. Hundreds of family and friends
remembered Shay at a memorial service on November 11
in his hometown of East Jordan, MI.
For questions, or to be removed from this list,
please contact Sara Hunninghake at
shunninghake@nyrr.org. |
