Marathoners Run Fast

It was a beautiful day in the city yesterday for the running of the New York Marathon.

Nobody seems to mind that a lot of the city shuts down for the race. Most New Yorkers are running from something, and admire people who can run away from their problems, if just for a day.

The winner, Gebre Gebremariam, ran the course in 2:08:49. This is less than 5 minutes per mile, for 26 miles. He had to pull away from his nearest competitor in the final mile. This means he was still going fast.

This is also what it means. I go to the gym, but I can't run a 5-minute mile. So if Gebre Gebremariam and I were to race each other 26 miles, and he spotted me the first 25 miles, letting me sit in a beach chair with my feet up at the 25-mile mark until he showed up after running that distance, he would still kick my ass.

I'll go to the gym today anyway. Congratulations to all marathoners.

Steve Burke
for Ithaca NY Blog