New York Marathon Delivers Another Exciting Finish
By Ron Coleman ‘07
News Reporter
Sunday, November 5, 2006, marked the thirty-sixth year of the New York City Marathon, sponsered by the financial giant ING for the past six years. The New York City Marathon has always been one of the world’s premier road races, but this year’s marathon received more attention than ever before. Of the forty thousand runners, one was the focus of the media’s attention. Last Spring, Lance Armstrong announced that he would compete in the New York City Marathon. After retiring from professional cycling, Armstrong’s spirited nature drove him to take on yet another personal challenge. In an exclusive interview with ESPN.com Armstrong shared his motives for running the race. Although he could have run a smaller marathon in his home state of Texas, Lance Armstrong decided to enter the New York City Marathon because “aside from [being] the biggest and most prestigious marathon, it’s arguably the greatest city in the world. New York has always been great to me. And then you get into the aspects you hear about later on, the support from the community, from the boroughs, the party atmosphere, that appealed to me. It’s not the fastest or the easiest marathon, but it’s such a great city.” There was little doubt in the minds of reporters that Lance, who has spent many years training for grueling cycling events, would be capable of finishing the race with a respectable time under three hours. This year’s New York City Marathon showed just how much inner strength and willpower the great cyclist has, as he achieved his goal of running the marathon in under three-hours.
In addition to Armstrong’s emergence on the marathon scene, the New York City Marathon attracted other quality professional athletes. Last year winner Paul Tergat of Kenya defeated the defending champion Hendrick Ramaala of South Africa by one second, the smallest margin of victory in the history of the marathon. In a recent interview Tergat was quoted, “to sprint as fast as I could after running 26 miles was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. Though I’ve won many races, I am also known for the races I’ve lost. I have five silver medals in the 10,000 meters on the track—three from the World Championships and two from the Olympics.”
The result of last year’s marathon was as frustrating for Ramaala as it was satisfying for Tergat . This frustration has pushed him to train even harder for this year’s event. Ramaala says that “the pain has motivated me to come back and run in New York again. I’m having a great year so far: I ran a personal best time in London in April and I just won a major half-marathon on October 1. But New York is the race I really want to win, one more time. Even if it’s by three tenths of a second.” Californian Meb Keflezighi finished in third place last year, only twenty-six seconds behind Tergat. This year, both Tergat and Ramaala were among the favorites to win. However, Marilson Gomes dos Santos finished first with the time of 2:09:58. Tergat, Ramaala, Rodgers Rop, and Stefano Baldini followed behind Gomes dos Santos for most of the marathon. Gomes dos Santos crossed the finish line eight seconds ahead of runner-up Stephen Kiogora of Kenya and twelve seconds ahead of Tergat.
On the women’s side, Catherine Ndereba of Kenya, Susan Chepkemeia of Kenya, and Jelena Prokopcuka of Latvia were the favorites to win. Ndereba, a two-time runner-up in the event, has been a dominant runner over the past five years earning silver-medals in both the 2004 Olympic Games and 2005 World Championships. Yet, it was Jelena Prokopcuka, from Latvia, who broke free from Tatiana Hladyr of the Ukraine and coasted to victory in 2:25:05.
Although reporters focused on the professional athletes and celebrities participating in the marathon, the majority of the forty thousand runners were amateurs who wanted to experience crossing the finish line of the most popular marathon the United States has to offer. To many, crossing the race’s finish line in the heart of central park was a thrill of a lifetime. The New York City Marathon attracted a vast amount of applicants because of its history and stimulating environment. The course itself runs through five culturally diverse boroughs and five bridges. Behind the scenes, a lot of planning goes into the event. Race officials set up signs and digital clocks at every mile marker to inform runners of their progress. The runners are able to stay hydrated and replenish their bodies with fluids every mile after the first three. In total, the race involves 26.2 miles through the streets of New York City. Anyone who trains for this type of event, let alone finish, has something to be proud of for the rest of his or her life.
