Race Report Part 2: The Finish & Kerry

When we left off I was in the park and struggling, and I continued to do so. But once you're in the park you're on familiar turf if you've been training there all summer and you have less than 3 miles to go, so you pretty much know you're going to make it. My friend Craig who I ran with last year ran with me for a bit, which was a great boost, so thanks to him. :-)

Then I started getting caught by my pace group members, first there was Greg. Interestingly enough he started off fast, then Nathan, Erik and I caught him at mile 20, we cruised ahead of him, Nathan & Erik maintained a good speed finishing at 3:17 and 3:18, but I died and Greg caught me. He had some encouraging words and wound up finishing 1:22 better than me.

Next was Coach Pete who I had caught up to in Brooklyn and sped ahead of with William, the guy who was going for 3:15 with me. Pete went by me just at the point where we peel off from the Park Drive to turn southeast and head out of the park. He finished exactly 2 minutes ahead of me, so he must have picked it up and went by Greg too.

11 days before the marathon is when I first learned how Kerry had died. She was a girl I met in the summer and was just starting to get to know when she was killed in a tragic accident in July. I hadn't heard from her in a while and tried emailing her in October to see how she was. I got a reply from her sister with the bad news but no details. It wasn't until I spoke to the sister on the phone that I learned that Kerry had actually died the last night I spoke with her, roughly 5 hours after we had gotten off the phone.

Kerry was a bright, beautiful and sweet girl. She had some problems I think I could have helped her with, but sadly there wasn't enough time. She was an athlete in school, a swimmer, and we had talked a lot about the triathlon which I had just completed the weekend before our last meeting. So I put her name on my shirt and let the crowds of New York cheer her name, something I'm sure she would have experienced for herself someday if things had gone differently.

As I approached the end of the race, I knew I wouldn't qualify for Boston, so I took my time running from Columbus Circle to the finish line and listened to the cheering of the fans. It was a big inspiration all throughout the race having people yell her name to me, and now I will always think back on this positive experience and remember Kerry.