Star Studded Marathon Results

The finish line is torn down, the runners are resting their well-traveled feet, the medals are being worn around the necks of thousands all across New York City and probably the entire tri-state area. Race day still lingers on for more than a few hours--til the clock reaches midnight and November 8--but the ING New York City Marathon has its champions--Gebre Gebremariam and Edna Kiplagat--and its finishers, plus all the wannabes who'll be registering for lottery come tomorrow. But in the meantime, here's how some of those famous feet--from the celebrity runners--fared through New York's five boroughs to finish in Central Park.

• Al Roker. He may have doubted himself at one point, but Roker proved that anything's possible. He crossed the finish line with a time of 7:09:44.
• Meredith Vieira. She may have kept her marathon goals under wrap until days before the race--or at least to my ears, who only heard the news on Friday morning and is usually a pretty avid Today Show follower--but it wasn't so she could bow out gracefully from the competition. We'll see how Vieira manages tomorrow on The Today Show and how much she ribs Al for beating him. Just like Natalie Morales bested Hoda Kotb at last year's "Today Show Does a Triathlon," Vieira topped Roker with a 5:59:00. You go, girl!
• Jared Fogle. My husband doubted Subway Jared's ability to run the marathon at more than a walk or shuffle after catching a commercial with Meb and Jared running where Meb looked like he was barely moving and Jared was ready to keel over. But he was eating his words when I checked the marathon results to find that Jared finished in 5:13:28.
• Desiree Ficker. One would have expected Ficker toeing the line at Ironman Florida over the New York Marathon--or I did, recognizing her name as a triathlete before marathoner--but she returned to New York for the second year in a row. The only unfortunate part was she didn't have quite the day she was looking for, finishing with a 2:52:30, instead of the 2:39:30 she ran last year.
• Andy Baldwin. Here's a reality TV who can run--and fundraise for a cause (not knocking anyone else out there at all but merely pointing out Baldwin's efforts). Baldwin was spreading the word on Orange Laces, the ING Run for Something Better program that's trying to fight childhood obesity. And after running Chicago not even a month ago, he turned out a 3:31:48.
• Haile Gebrselassie. Even if you're not a marathoner you've probably heard of Haile, perhaps expecting a win and a world record, or at least a blistering half on the front or back ends. But the shocker came when he dropped out at mile 16--and then his announced his retirement. I guess you could say he was using the race as a way to say good-bye to the sport and turn a bum knee into a more eye-catching headline? Nah, the tears say it all...he wanted to go out with a better bang.
• Shalane Flanagan. Making her marathon debut and recovering from a slow 6:51 mile, she still managed to take second place, finishing just 20 seconds behind the winner with her 2:28:40. Stay tuned for more on Flanagan--I was trying to write it earlier but kept getting booted off the internet (had to be honest there).
• Meb Keflezighi. OK, so I became obsessed (only mildly, I swear) with this runner after reading his feature in Runner's World a few years back and was so elated over his 2009 marathon win, despite what all those Meb haters said about him not being a true American. But try as he might, he couldn't repeat today, finishing with 2:11:38 to take sixth place. If it counts for anything he did finish first among 35-year-olds.
• Ryan Sutter and Ethan Zohn. These two reality stars--Sutter from The Bachelorette and Zohn from Survivor--had a friendly battle going to see who could run faster to earn bragging rights and more money for their charities. Sutter took home the title with his 3:20:39, over Zohn's 4:16:20. But Zohn could argue that Sutter had an unfair advantage with some Rocky Mountain altitude training--and the fact that a year ago he couldn't compete because he was undergoing cancer treatments.
• Robin Quivers. Howard Stern's sidekick would have been a unlikely marathon runner before losing 80 pounds. But she went from barely able to walk to running 26.2 in 6:09:00.
• Amani Toomer. This former New York Giants football player became the first footballer to run the NYC Marathon in 17 years (who is the last NFL player to do so? I'm going to get my research guns out for that trivia bit). He trained for five months with Team Timex and Facebook pictures showed him starting dead last. But he passed a lot of feet to finish with a 4:13:45.
• Edison Pena. So we all know the story of the Chilean miner who trained roughly six miles a day (give or take) while trapped underground. His persistence paid off and he crossed the finish line in 5:40:51.
• Anthony Edwards. I always forget that this former ER star and Top Gun sidekick is a marathon runner. Edwards is almost becoming a regular on the marathon course, he ran last year and ran Chicago's race in 2003. This time around he ran a 4:04:45.

For more results from today's race, check them out here at the ING New York City Marathon website.

Photo grabbed from the ING New York City Marathon celebrity section, capturing Ethan Zohn starting his race alongside one of Sutter's First Descents teammates.

Mad About Marathon

When I'm not thinking about skiing (sorry, these snow dumps in Lake Tahoe, Utah and Colorado are only making my addiction worse because I wish I could plow through the 13-plus-inch powder), I've got marathon on the brain. I have a 26.2 miler to run in 12 days--too close for comfort--so whenever I see the word marathon, I'm there to read more. At least it's a healthy balance between the two, although I'm definitely using the reading to divert my attention away from training and tapering (oops).

After the latest report from Vail--19 inches today plus 11 yesterday and comments from skiers about skiing the best day ever--I need all the marathon diversions I can get. But that's easy today because two big name races are making April 7, 2010, a date to remember. The New York City Marathon holds its lottery while the Marine Corps Marathon opens registration.

New York, New York
For the first time ever, the New York Road Runners will launch the 2010 ING New York City Marathon by broadcasting its lottery selection show at noon, eastern time. That's either nerve-wracking or exciting for anyone who's among the record number of applicants vying for a spot. You can watch the show online at www.nyrr.org to see if your name is called, watch the ceremonial selection of eight Marathon lottery winners from around the globe, and learn about the two athletes from the professional field making their mark on the Big Apple. If you miss the broadcast, or have Internet troubles, check www.ingnycmarathon.org to see if your name was selected.

To celebrate the lottery, and build excitement about the November 7 race, the NYRR store will be open all week, offering New Yorkers the chance to grab their 2010 training gear. Check out the store at 9 East 89th Street, or visit the online store. And let us know if you're in!

Semper Fi
Runners love a reason to run, especially when it involves dates and anniversaries. I might be using Chicago as proof, first with registration flooding in 2007 when the race turned 30 and again with its 10-10-10 event day, plus no slow-down in between, but numbers have never been slow for races in the Washington, D.C. area. And the Marine Corps Marathon is no exception. Its registration opens at noon today for the 35th running on October 31. A Halloween run and an anniversary? There's a double whammy that is sure to bring runners fast, especially after the Army 10-miler closed in 30 hours last week.

Hall-elujah Chicago
Yesterday, the Bank of America Chicago Marathon announced that Ryan Hall would be sprinting down the streets of Chicago come October. Hall is only days away from running Boston but he's already thinking six months ahead. And he wants to use Chicago's flat and fast course to attempt to lower Khalid Kannouchi's American record. "I have been preparing for an attempt to lower the American record since I ran my first marathon in London in 2007, and there is no other U.S. course that could allow me a better opportunity than Chicago," commented Hall from Boston where he is in final preparation for the Boston Marathon on April 19. "It's remarkably flat and fast with a veteran production team that sets a stage for athletes to produce personal and national records, which is my goal." Read more here.

Beantown Babbling
My marathon thoughts wouldn't be complete without a little something related to the Boston Marathon, since that's the race next on my calendar. Even better when it's a story that offers some insight into the race that turns Patriots Day into a New England party, and answers some questions that never crossed my mind until they were answered by a 13-year vet. Check out Bill Simmons' Idiot's Guide to Boston.

Photo grabbed from Martineric at flickr.

New York Goes Hollywood

The paparazzi need to leave Tinsel Town for the weekend and focus their lenses on New York City instead. OK so New York has its own fleet of cameras tracking the celebs, but they'll need to be out in full force come Sunday's ING New York City Marathon. Why? Because one look at the race's roster and you'll recognize famous names from elites to age-groupers. People always say New York does things bigger and better, and well, this is definitely bigger. With a race cap of 40,000 runners, this race gets close to that number toeing the line on Staten Island (I'm convinced the lottery and race appeal helps with that). And among those 40,000 runners, you'll definitely find famous faces--like Puff Daddy/P. Diddy/Sean Combs/Diddy in 2003 and Katie Holmes in 2007. It's almost like hanging out in Hollywood. Keep your eye out for some of these names running the boroughs of New York on November 1.

• Tara Costa. I was psyched months ago when Costa, a finalist on The Biggest Loser's seventh season, announced that she was going to run New York. Now I'm just as excited to see how well she runs--I'm hoping she beats her time from the race she ran on the show and am thinking it's a possibility since the last 26.2 only had four weeks of training and included running through the sand to finish.
• Brian Boyle. If you watched the coverage of the 2007 Ironman World Championships or the 2008 Ironman 70.3 World Championships, you'll remember Boyle as the young man in the horrific car accident who was thankful to be alive after dying on the operating table eight times. He finished both of those races as well as several others in between those championships and since, too. I can't decide what I love more about Boyle: the fact that he recently released a book sharing his story or that the New York race will be his third marathon in less than a month. He ran the marathon at the Under Armour Baltimore Running Festival on October 10, then the Marine Corps Marathon on October 25 and now New York on November 1. No wonder he's titled his book Iron Heart.
• Ed Norton. This actor admits he's never run a marathon before, also claiming that before now he's pretty much only run as a means to something else and not just to run. Running for the Maasai Wilderness Conservation Trust, he has already raised more than $280,000.
  
• Anthony Edwards. The ER alum won't have to worry about a call schedule or medical emergency get in the way of his marathon dreams. But his thoughts won't drift too far from the medical field--he's raising money for shoe4africa to build the first public children's hospital in Kenya.
  
• Alanis Morissette. She only ran her first marathon a few weeks ago at the Bizz Johnson Trail Marathon in northern California, but she must have enjoyed the distance enough to be a late-entry into this race. Man, it's good to be a celebrity and have that opportunity. Morissette ran her first marathon to raise awareness on eating disorders and this time she joins Ed Norton and running with the Maasai warriors.
  
• Matthew Reeve. The name Matthew Reeve might not stand out on its own, but add Christopher and Dana Reeve to the equation and it does. Reeve is running and fundraising for the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation, and he'll sport bib No. 1275 to represent the 1,275 million people living with spinal cord injuries.
• Peter Sagal. The NPR voice of Wait Wait Don't Tell Me has made his mark on the Chicago Marathon on numerous occasions and will surely have some tales after tackling New York.
• Ryan Sutter. Famous as the guy the first Bachelorette Trista Rehn fell in love with, married and started a family, Sutter adds another marathon to his resume.
• David Blaine. I'm not sure if or how Blaine might bring his illusion craft to a 26.2 mile race, but it'll definitely be one sure test of endurance. He's also running for the Maasai Wilderness Conservation Trust.
  

Other famous names include Donal Logue, Sarah Jones, James LeGros, Dan Jansen, Pat LaFontaine, Brennan Swain, Ian Rosenberger, Nikolai Fraiture and Pieter Christiaan Michiel. Camera worthy? For sure, especially if you're spectating. You could get more celeb glimpses in New York than Hollywood this Sunday. Photo grabbed from Maasai Wilderness Conservation Trust. Posted by Kate

Read more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/10/30/nyc-marathon-celebrities_n_340750.html.

New York 09: Where the Elite Come to Race

You know there's always at least one recognizable name among the elite field at the major marathons--New York, London, Chicago, Boston start the list rolling--but never do you find a race as stacked as the 2009 ING New York City Marathon. Rather than lone rangers to watch for, you have elite armies and it's a question of who has the faster legs on November 1 that's deciding the victor. Celebrating its 40th anniversary, the New York City Marathon is holding nothing back. The loaded elite field has been touted by marathonguide.com as the best elite marathon race in America, and a group of past race champions have been invited back to run a race that put them in the history annals. You can't miss these names running the boroughs of New York--most will be near the front of the pack.

• Paula Radcliffe. Radcliffe has won New York before, most recently last year, and holds the world record for the fastest women's marathon, which she set at Chicago in 2002 and lowered it in London in 2003.
  
• Ryan Hall. Hall-elujah fever hits New York and Central Park will be going crazy when Hall approaches the finish line, gunning for a winning race if all goes well.
• Meb Keflezighi. Known for his bronze medal in the Olympics marathon in Athens, Keflezighi can turn out a good run on this course as he's proven so before.
• Robert Kipkoech Cheruiyot. This 2009 Boston Marathon winner has shown he's fast in the past and may have scared some of his competitors by being a late entry to New York.
• Salina Koskei. She surprised everyone by winning this year's Boston Marathon and pulling ahead of Kara Goucher and Dire Tune in the final stretch.
• Brian Sell. At one point it was announced that this 2008 Olympian would be making his NYC Marathon debut. Although most likely bothered by the heat and humidity in Beijing, Sell usually puts up impressive times, but he may have to run a personal-best if everyone runs fast on Sunday.
• Abdi Abdirahman. Abdirahman's name frequently pops up as a fast 10-miler, but he's not snail at the marathon.
  
• Past champions: Rod Dixon, Hendrick Raamala, Steve Jones, Orlando Pizzolato, Marilson Gomes dos Santos, German Silva, Gary Muhrcke. Raamala and Gomes dos Santos stand the best chance of capturing the $70,000 bonus for any returning NYC champion who wins this 40th running. Muhrke won the first running back in 1970 and returns to conquer the course again at age 69.
  
• Lyudmila Petrova. Petrova is no spring chicken, but at 41, she's showing no signs of falling to the back of the pack. Last year she finished second in NYC and broke the world's best time for women over 40 with her 2:25:43.
• Magdalena Lewy-Boulet. This 2008 Olympian ran fast enough in Boston in 2008 to make the Olympic team and stands as the U.S. hope for a top finish.
  
• Joan Benoit Samuelson. "Joanie" as she's affectionately called by friends and admirers has paced for Lance Armstrong at this race while also running it on her own. And with the 40th anniversary of the New York Marathon coinciding withthe 25th anniversary of her gold medal performance in the first women's Olympic Marathon, Los Angeles in 1984, she's back.

And for those running--to say you shared the course with this field will make many a runner jealous. There aren't many races where so many top runners past and present make a presence--maybe Boston with its rich history and qualification standards. But the eye is on New York this time of year. Photo of Paula Radcliffe at NikeTown New York at the pre-race pep rally, courtesy of Nike. Posted by Kate

Biggest Loser Goes Endurance

They slogged it out in the gym for hours on end at the ranch. They had epic sweat sessions in their hometowns prepping for the finale. But now that life has gotten back to normal--minus that whole adjustment of eating right and maintaining the new weight--not every Biggest Loser competitor is slowing down the workout routine.

Even when it's not on the air, the Biggest Loser knows how to grab my attention. I was psyched on Friday when people.com announced that Tara Costa, who finished third in the seventh season of The Biggest Loser, would be running the New York City Marathon this November. Go Tara! Here I am thinking that my guilty pleasure reading would only have one random fitness bit for the week--Valerie Bertinelli completing the Napa-to-Sonoma Wine Country Half Marathon on July 19--and now I get to enjoy two running-related clips.

I sort of suspected that Tara might run a marathon one day, or at least hoped she would. I was the big dork who'd trade e-mails with Liz about the show or tell a friend after spin class that Tara has a runner in her and could--maybe even should--consider running the distance after the show. Not to mention all those endurance challenges that As the competition heated up in the last season of The Biggest Loser so did the training and challenges with competitors first cycling for 24 hours as a relay, then running a half marathon, and then the final four returning to the ranch before the final weigh-in to run a marathon. When I watched Tara finish the half marathon in 2:24 while tipping the scales at 200 pounds, I was impressed and knew if she lightened her load she could probably run even faster. Then when she ran the marathon in less than 5 hours, still striving to lose weight and only learning of the run a few weeks before, I was really impressed. I don't know what kind of training plan those four could follow in a short four weeks, roughly, to prepare for the 26.2 miles, but it probably could only have one long run at most before tapering, and I guessed that they weren't fully prepared for the distance.

Whatever the case, finishing the distance was pretty inspiring and even more convincing that with proper training, Tara could knock out a pretty good race. I'm just thrilled she wants to do it again and so soon. Now I have another person to track at the Nov. 1 race--my friend will be running her first marathon too. Not to put the pressure on, but I wonder who will finish first? Or will Tara be gunning for former Biggest Loser contestant and season 5 at-home winner Bernie Salazar's Chicago Marathon time (he ran 4:15:59 in 2008). Posted by Kate

Liz's Thank You!!-Inspired 2008 Recap

I started 2008 with a dream to compete in my first triathlon. It's a goal I've been talking about since I was an editorial assistant working at Self Magazine in New York City. I had done my first marathon and I was ready for the next thing. I got the (sweet, bright red Specialized Sport Allez) bike for my birthday. But then I took a hard fall learning to clip in and out of my pedals among the whizzing bikes in Central Park and that became an excuse for not getting back in the saddle, as they say. I even took a couple of dips in the pool (wearing biking shorts and a sports bra). I guess I wasn't ready to commit!

Finally, after two years in Chicago where I've been an editor at the weekly magazine Time Out Chicago--I made the trek back to the Midwest when my husband began a PhD program at the University of Chicago--I decided enough was enough. I had five more marathons under my belt. I still had the bike. I was now living less than half a mile from the Lake Michigan path and about one mile from the sparkling blue lanes of the University of Chicago pool. The stars were aligned. Really, if I couldn't do it now, it was never-ever going to happen.

This is a long way of saying that....finally...I did it! I actually did it three times. A super mini-tri, the Olympic Distance Bang's Lake Tri and the Accenture Tri. They were all awesome. And here's the funny thing about me doing triathlons...after years of running like a gerbil through a constantly spinning wheel of marathons--and only twice managing to rip off fast times that I was proud of--suddenly my running times sped up inexplicably. I was running the 10Ks at the end of tris faster than I ever had in training or races. It was...weird. But also totally empowering and motivating. I took advantage of the fitness I gained from tris and went on to run the best half and full marathon of my entire life in the Fall (that's me, above left, with Deena Kastor at an Asics-sponsored media event two days before my PR in the NYC Marathon). I haven't had a PR since I was 24 (I'm 29 now)! I owe a lot of credit to Adam Zucco, who I seem to talk about obsessively when I'm writing about Chicago-land races for TOC (hey Adam, you rock!). He helped me out big time with my training and I worked harder and smarter than ever before. Thank you, Adam!

Another big thank you goes to Kate, my dear pal, training partner and co-blogger. We bonded over two shower-less days in a van of strangers, running in a 200 mile relay race from Madison, Wisconsin to Chicago in June 2008 (that's us at left on Day Two in the van). It sounds funny, but on that adventure I felt like I met a kindred spirit. Kate's the only person I know who's as obsessed with fitness and nutrition as I am. But beyond that mutual passion, we have a lot more in common: a love of writing, similar college experiences, relationships and families....Plus, I look up to Kate because she is such a super-awesome little athlete and an extremely talented and accomplished swim-bike-runner (people, she's an IRONMAN, I mean..c'mon!!!). In July, I convinced her to join me for a few morning workouts each week. Two hours of cycling fly by when you're riding with Kate--even when it's 630am on a hot summer morning. Kate gave me so much advice about cycling, swimming, transitioning, training and more....I could never have done the tris this summer without her. She took me from scared newbie to aero-bar–loving cyclist in two months. I'm so psyched to be co-blogging with her and looking forward to the spring and summer of training ahead of us.

My last and biggest thank you goes to my husband, Matt. In 2008 he put up with dozens and dozens of psycho early morning workouts, my constant, OCD analysis of my training and my painful cases of nerves leading up to races. Matt is the guy who went out on a wild goose chase for throw-away sweats in midtown Manhattan (because I was too spazzed out to deal and hadn't thought to buy them in Chicago) and also came back with pizza and pasta for me in and then ate in the hotel room with me, calming my anxiety the night before the NYC Marathon...when he could've met our college friends for drinks and eaten in any restaurant he wanted. He prints out excel sheets with my predicted splits and makes sure he's at the right spot cheering on virtually every course I tackle. He doesn't even bat and eye when I try to relieve my achy muscles on the foam roller in front of the TV every night. He's a good, good egg.

I'm going to turn to Matt, Kate and Adam again and again in 2009 with a new year of goals. Thanks in advance, Team Liz. :) I want to run the Boston Marathon in the Spring. I want to tackle another tri--a half Iron Man distance this time. I want to do a little better than just survive the swim portion. I want to get much faster on the bike. I want to do a century ride. One final goal and promise for 2009: My future posts won't be this long-winded! Posted by Liz