NYC Marathon

I believe its important to write something today about the NYCM and marathons in general. I was lucky enough to be able to travel across the Hudson and watch the NYCM on Sunday. Andrea went with me and was whooping it up for all of the runners but especially those we knew or any TNT runner that passed by. It was a beautiful running day and I was a bit jealous of the runners as it was the best day at NYCM weather wise that I ever remember. A friend, Drew M, owner of Ridgewood Cycle and a Friend of TNT, commented to me that it was the best weather day he ever experienced and he has run NYC 7 straight years now. For the spectators it was equally as beautiful although when not moving it got a bit chilly at times. It is an incredible experience to watch as the number of runners making the turn from Fifth Ave onto Central park South by the Plaza Hotel increases dramatically...at that point they have about .7 of a mile to go and I know from personal experience that the crowds cheering make all the difference in the world...your body is about done but the crowd will not LET you walk...and when you pick out a runner whether by the name on their shirt or by their organization or color of their shirt and encourage them individually and then they pick up their pace or start to run again...you know that you made a little bit of difference.....seeing Andy and my sometime running partner Rob I, run by on their way to a sub 3 hour finish and then Drew, Andy V, Kevin M, Kathy B, Carrie, Varda, Kevin H, Carlos P, Beth O'C, Beth M, Joann B (I did not see her), Jenn M, Megan M...the list goes on and on everyone running their own race against their watch and their mind and body...its inspiring....

Then this morning I mentioned that a second runner had died and Andrea asked whether that people dying was a usual or unusual circumstance...and that made me realize that many people may be asking the same question ....do people die in every marathon? is marathoning safe??? NO, people do NOT die in every marathon, the two deaths this year were the first since 1994 at NYC....so in 14 years approximately 500,000- 550,000 runners had finished NYC without a death....in Chicago last year one young man died in the terrible heat but he had a pre-existing heart condition....did these men die because of the marathon? who knows..only the Doctors can say...were these men in good health? did they train properly? did they take something which contributed to their deaths? we may never know ....BUT marathoning is safe..you have to prepare but its safe...in fact a study by Stanford University was just completed that studied long distance runners over a 21 year period and found that LD running reduced the risk of all major diseases by 40% AND there was a reduction in knee damage in comparison to non long distance runners so running actually improves the health of your knees.....HOWEVER, it is important to check with your doctor at least yearly and especially before starting a long distance training program to determine whether you have any condition which would prevent you from running long distances safely...even the most fit athletes in the world...elite marathoners are not immune...Ryan Reed Shay, one the USA's most promising marathoners died during the US Men's Olympic Marathon Trials in Central Park in November 2007....he had a pre-existing condition which resulted in his death...his brother flew in from Korea and ran with some of Ryan's Notre Dame teammates on Sunday...his family including his widow Alicia, a world class runner in her own right spectated from the spot in Central park where Ryan died last year...as I watched the runners in the ND singlets pass by I smiled and got emotional at the same time and then read how several of the ND runners and Ryan's brother had a rough patch but Ryan pulled them through...know that in each run that you do (race or training) that there are Ryan Shay's out there helping push you through as you raise money to wipe out blood related cancers...so RUN Safely and be proud of your accomplishments.

Run well!!!