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More 2008 NYC Marathon Notes
By
Jen Chung
Published Nov 3, 2008
Modified Nov 3, 2008
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By
Jen Chung
Published Nov 3, 2008
Modified Nov 3, 2008
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More than 38,000 runners ran for over 26 miles in front of a crowd of 2 million-plus spectators spread across the 5 boroughs. Here's more about what happened with race:
- Women's race winner Paula Radcliffe referred to her disappointing losses at the Athens and Beijing Olympics, which were then followed by NYC Marathon wins, "It does make it frustrating, You think, 'Why can I get it right in New York and can't get it right there? But you have to take what life gives you."
- Men's race winner Marilson Gomes dos Santos discussed his unexpected 2006 win, "I proved it wasn't a fluke last year. I've seen many races decided in the last minute. I didn't lose hope. I kept pushing: That's why I won. In the marathon, you know you've won when you cross the finish line, not before."
- A 58-year-old man who completed the race in about 4 hours 30 minutes complained of chest pains and later died at a hospital. Other runners collapsed, one on the 59th Street Bridge and another at Fifth Avenue and 107th Street.
- Cabdrivers suffered through the day, which they think is the worst day of the year for driving, what with chunks of all boroughs shut off.
- Howard Stern's wife Beth Ostrosky finished the race in four hours 15 minutes, raising $300,000 for the North Shore Animal League in the process. Actor Ryan Reynolds ran the race, too, raising $79,000 for Parkinson's disease research; he vowed to the Daily News' Joe Piazza that he would eat his body weight in raw dough.
- Firefighter Matthew Long, injured when riding his bike to work and a bus hit him during the 2005 transit strike (he was hospitalized for half a year, had surgeries and many blood transfusions), finished the race in seven hours and 21 minutes.
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Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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