In 1970, 270 people ran the first New York City Marathon for a $1 entry fee. Only 55 of those people actually finished, and the winning time was 2:31:38 by Gary Muhrcke of the US.
Yesterday, over 47,000 people took up the charge 41 years later. Geoffrey Mutai of Kenya clocked in at 2:05:06 for the men and Firehiwot Dado of Ethiopia won the women’s race in 2:23:15. Interesting that Firehiwot of today would have beaten Gary of 1970! Run girl run! But that’s a different blog.
Besides the big winners of the race, there is a story to be told by all who line up. This morning on the CBS Early Show (and in the New York Times), we were introduced to Kevin Dwyer who was born with Cystic Fibrosis (CF) which has settled in his lungs. When he was young, he was told he wouldn’t live past 25. At 25, as technology has changed, he was told he wouldn’t live past 40. At 39 he ran the marathon with his girlfriend shooting for 12-minute mile so they could, “Take everything in. Take everybody in. Make it a celebration.”
He ran to raise money for Team Boomer, a foundation that supports research and treatment to fight CF, putting himself at tremendous risk for the cause. Running at about 60% lung capacity, when reporters asked him why he was doing it, he his mantra reply was, “because I can.”
Upon reaching the finish line, he dropped to knees… Gasp! Not due to exhaustion or complications, thankfully, but rather to reach up to his lady-love with a diamond ring.
Run, walk, dance, jump, pedal, move because you can, because you’re here and you’re meant to do so. And when you do, watch out for those who seemingly can’t as they come up alongside you, pass you by and kick your behind for inspiration.
Oh, and so-as not to leave you hanging… She said yes.
If you have ran or moved these past few days, or if you just need a good stretch to keep your blood flowing, here’s a good one from Olga:
It’s a 3-for-1 in that you’ll stretch your hips, lower back and inner thigh. This region – your core – is where we store a great deal of stress. We all know that we tighten up our neck and shoulder muscles as we grit our teeth and deal with the days woes. What we tend to forget is how we slouch forward, smush our internal organs, and shorten our hip flexors, groin, and other hip muscles as we give in to gravity, and the huge proverbial weight on our shoulders.
Lighten up, stretch it out and get on the move. If Kevin can, so can we!