Dash to the Finish

Hours to Go: 18!
Money raised: $18 000+

This morning was the NYRR Dash to Finish Line! How excitement!! This is the warm-up race for many of the marathoners and something friends, family and spectators can take part in as well. As I said last post, I opted not to take part. Never having run a marathon before, I just want to finish. And I didn't want to do anything that might interfere with that. It is terribly tempting to get caught up in all the excitement and I didn't want to risk overextending myself before the big day tomorrow. So I was strictly a spectator this morning in beautiful Central Park.

Central Park looks deceptively empty of people in running gear in this photo.  

This was my first look at the actual finish line. 

I'm hoping the time shown on the clock here isn't a premonition

But the finish line today was all gussied up for the Dash to the Finish.

The winner, Chris Thompson of the UK, did it in 13:53. How crazy is that! I was right at the front of the spectators box as he walked past so I said 'Congratulations, well done!' to him and he replied 'Thank you so much'. What a polite young man. Well done Mr and Mrs Thompson. Your boy has lovely manners.

The fastest woman was Sarah Hall of the USA and her time was an amazing 15:56! I spent most of my time yelling out 'Beleza!' in support of the Brazilians (in honour of my Brazilian sister-in-law) and 'Allez, allez!' in support of the French (in honour of my French sister-in-law). I would have cheered for the Danes, as they have such a lovely country, but all I can say in Danish is 'I have a big daffodil' and this was neither the time nor the place for such statements. I didn't spot any obvious Australians in the crowd, other than the ones I know, but I saw some Japanese runners dressed as sushi and some Dutch people walking in clogs (not running, obviously. Tres uncomfortable.). This is a truly international event indeed!

A post-dash trip to le Pain Quotidien in Central Park for a warming cafe au lait and pain au chocolat was the least I could do to celebrate Rose from WorldVision and Amanda from Amnesty's fabulous efforts in the 5km dash. We sat next to some lovely women from Virginia who have all run the New York marathon many times and they were full of helpful tips. It's cold and sunny here - STUNNING weather, just beautiful - but it's going to be freezing, quite literally, tomorrow morning at 5.30am. The lovely Joan told me to get a newspaper to sit on to provide some insulation for my bottom on the cold Staten Island ground. Excellent tip. Thanks Joan!