The Unexpected Runners ~ NYC Marathon 2009|

The 5 Things that Amazed me about NYC Marathon:

1. Is This Hallo-thon?

The ‘costumes’ wore by some runners. It seemed like they went straight from an overnight Halloween party to run 26.2 miles. Nonetheless, admirable! (Click here for more photos of creative runners!)

2. You Beat My Time? No Way!

How some seemingly unfit looking’ runners beat fit looking runners. Maybe just by sheer will and determination! Way to go! Click here for more pictures.

3. Honey, I Just Ran A Marathon!

I’m simply amazed at people’s ability to finish a marathon. It’s not a walk in the park but a daunting 26.2 miles!  That might just be the total distance some people walk in a year!

And I’m not referring to athletes but normal people, you know, like your co-worker, neighbors, friends etc. A lot of them ran for causes that are dear and close to their hearts. With the cause printed on their T-shirts, step by step and with strong camaraderie, they finished the race! I saw a few groups holding strings while they ran. Talking about team work!

And then there were people who didn’t even exercise regularly and then one day, for some personal reasons, decided to put ‘running a marathon’ as one of their ‘things-to-do-before-I-die’ list.

Regardless of your reasons, if you were running today, I salute you!

4. Is This A Good Angle?

Things that people do while running a marathon. Talking on the phone, filming on video cams, chatting with fellow runners…

5. Unexpected Runners…

This year, we saw Mary, who looked at least 70 years old, jogging very slowly and looking very frail but determined to finish the race. She has a sign that said, ‘Running for the Taylor Haugen Foundation.’ We saw her around the 14 miles mark, but we do not know if she finished the race.  I cannot help but put my camera aside and cheered, “Go, Mary, go!”

And just before we left, we caught a truly inspiration moment. We saw a runner with a single prosthetic leg and two crutches. Step by step, he inched himself nearer to the finishing line, with a crowd of supporters walking next to him. People clapping and cheering him on the sidewalk…it was one of the goose bumps moments for me.

After some research, I found out that he is John Tartoglio Jr., 22 years old. He started the race at 6 am and finished it at 10pm, with a time of around 16 hours. Amazing! He is the first amputee missing his thighbones to ever complete the NYC Marathon.  John, you are truly inspirational! Read more about John here.

Part 1 of the NYC Marathon 5-part series, check back for more pictures.

Where: Queens, New York City

When: Nov 1, 2009

Mira

Copyright 2009 by Farting Camel

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