PUBLISHED 11/04/2007
On the always volcanic First Ave, Ramaala burst to the front again, and this time he managed to whittle the leaders to five: himself, Lel, Goumri, Rodgers Rop, and James Kwambai. A few miles later it was just Lel and Goumri. Ramaala struggled to finish more than two minutes back, 2:11:25, and some of the others imploded even worse. This allowed Olympic Marathon champ Stefano Baldini to work himself into fourth place, higher than expected, 2:11:58. Kwambai was fifth in 2:12:25.
Tour de France legend Lance Armstrong finished in 2:46:43, a big improvement over his 2:59:36 last year, and said the race was easier and more enjoyable, principally because he had trained harder, didn't have nagging injuries, had lost 7 pounds, and knew what to expect from a marathon. "My goal today was to break 2:50," he said. "I'd say a 2:46 is pretty fast for me. I could run faster if I trained harder, but then I'd have to cut out all the things that are important to me, like my kids and the foundation and having some fun.
"The marathon is good for me because I fully believe exercise should be an integral part of our lives, and it's good to have a goal to motivate you every year. I'll continue to run because for me, with all the travel and my busy lifestyle, running is the best type of workout. All you need is a pair of running shoes and you can enjoy it in any city of the world."
While warming up for his marathon start on the Verrazano Narrows Bridge, Armstrong visited with Vic Navarra, the longtime NYC Marathon start coordinator who has an incurable cancer. Armstrong also wore a black ribbon on his singlet to honor the memory of Ryan Shay, the elite marathon runner who died the previous morning in the USA Olympic Marathon Trials. Many of the other elite runners also sported the same black ribbons. "You know we all had a hard time yesterday when we heard about it," said Goumri. "We take a lot of time for that man because he was a big athlete. I was very sorry for him and for his family and for the United States, too."
Late in the afternoon, race director Mary Wittenberg said that Shay's autopsy had been completed, but that medical authorities were not yet ready to issue a report. They had told her that they might need as much as an additional week. Before starting the ING New York City Marathon, she asked the entire throng of 39,000 starters to observe a moment of silence for Shay. "It was a tragedy for all of us," she said. "I hope it will just help us appreciate today all the more."
