 |
| Dan and his wife Bopper, my college roomie |
Settle in for a nice little story about the 2010 NYC Marathon, from one heck-of-a-nice guy's perspective.
Take it away, Dan....
 |
| My trusty steed |
A friend of mine coordinates a group of 21 "spotters" for the NBC broadcast of the NYC Marathon...
...so he asked me if I wanted to be a spotter and since I'll try most anything (that's pure and wholesome) once, I said sign me up.
So I got to ride the marathon route with super cool guys like PJ...
and Dave.
We waited at the off-ramp of the Verrazano Bridge at mile 2...
...and watched with anticipation as the helicopters hovered overhead and the police escort came down...
...and then the timing truck....
...and then some of us peeled off to track the splits and locations of the elite women. Go Shalane!
And then the elite men.
But the most coveted spotting job was all mine. As soon as the flood of the first wave passed, I got a glimpse of my assignment...
That's right... Today show funny man Al Roker! Is he still the weatherman, too?
As I made contact with Al, I was told that he had just recently completed the Chicago Half Marathon...
 |
| Meredith, Meredith's trainer, Al, Al's trainer |
...in just over 4 hours. Wait. DID HE SAY 4 HOURS? Hey, that's Meredith Viera in the pink jacket...
Yeah, I don't know who she is either. Anyway, I quickly did the math and realized that I could be out here for six hours. No wait... EIGHT HOURS! Eight hours?
While most of my cycling comrades finished in under 2:30, drinking something hot and eating catered food back in the trailer, I'd be tailing Al...Roker for EIGHT very long and cold hours.
I was up for the challenge though. I would not let the viewing audience down. Does anybody really watch a marathon when there's football on? At least he was RUNNING down 4th Avenue in Brooklyn. Right?
But then kinda shuffling through most of Queens...
And then walking very slowly down 1st Avenue in Manhattan. When all of the sudden an angel spoke to me through my headset after five hours on the bike...
"The TV broadcast is over. Any riders on the course, come in!" YEE-HAW! GREAT RACE AL! HOPE YA MAKE IT!
I made it back just in time to see the Chilean miner cross the finish line...
...which was pretty cool. Who was happier to see him? The race organizers...
...or his wife?
Anyway, it was A TON of fun and I'd do it again in a heartbeat. Thanks Keith! And great job AL! He finished in just over 7 hours! I'd like to think my final words of encouragement made the difference.
Dan, you're my man. Thanks for the story, the photos and as always, your wit! And give Kristen a big hug from me!
Very cool Dan the man!
ReplyDeleteI say, who cares if it took AL 8 hours, HE DID IT and that is a great accomplishment for him... what a fun day thanks for sharing
ReplyDelete