Backwards Bill

With more than 330 disabled athletes  – in 150 wheelchairs, the TCS NYC Marathon has the largest fields of athletes with disabilities of any race in the world.  As part of our partnership with Runners World for this year’s marathon Amy Freeze caught up a New Yorker who has done more than 30 marathons on two wheels.

With arms that barely function and legs of diminished strength, Bill Reilly must use steady kicks in small motions to move his chair. What seems like a method against the odds – is actually the inspiration of an endurance athlete.

He’s become so familiar racing through the boroughs, the crowd gave him a nick name explains his guide Harold Chayefsky. “He’s famous on the course. They approve and they scream and they know him on the course after 25 years or so.”

“Backwards Bill,” is the nickname of Bill Reilly who has Cerbal Palsey yet claims nothing – not even training for 26.2 miles – to be difficult. He takes a trip in 1.5 hours to get weekly workout in every Saturday  with his team.

He meets up with his Achilles Team Guides – and they simulate the steering and breaking they will do on race day – where downhills can take them to a 7 minute pace amongst their 10 minute pace.  On the course when runners are shoulder to shoulder on the course,  “First ave is tricky and in harlem some of the hills are tricky and 59^th street brigdge…” Harold explains.

His never give up and never give in attitude comes from his family –

“Started with his mom – his mom they wanted to put him away – his mother said no he’s my son and I’m going to make him grow and productive.”  It’s the same  message Bill hopes others get from seeing him on race day.

Bill says, “Disabled people you can do anything you want if you put your mind to it!”

Marathoning Grandma!

See the story with video CLICK here   While most people her age are playing bridge, an octogenarian is training for this year’s TCS NYC Marathon. I joined a marathoning Grandmother from New Paltz for a training run in Central Park. We started by her stretching ME out.  “Work work it girl one more stretch.” At 80 years old Geri Owens can show you a thing or two.  Make no mistake about it.  This marathoning grandmother has taught fitness in New Paltz for a couple decades – she says runners are the best kind of people.

 Geri explains marathoners just watch out for each other, “if ‘ faster than me you slow down and I speed up and if I speed up and you slow down.”  She began running in the early 80s when her kids were all finally in school, explaining “the fourth  of my four children went to kindergarten…. So now is my chance.” And she was good at it.  Winning her age division at track meets and even qualifying for the Boston Marathon!

Geri says, “I think better I sleep better more energy more tolerance… clean cabinets after running 13 miles? I don’t think so…”  Geri has finished races from subfreezing 9 degrees to sizzling 90 degrees!  Her challenge in this year’s 26.2 mile race – finish under 7 hours as she pays tribute to those she has lost. 

Especially her siblings, “it’s the memory of my family… lost brother to Alzheimer’s and my sister died at 30,  my other sister at 57. I just want to do it and cross the finish line for them and I will get there because of them.”

Her strategy on race day is – high fiving kids on the course!  See you at the finish Geri and Goodluck from TEAM ABC7!  See her story on http://www.7online.com

Marathon Mom: Alexis Stoudemire

NBA Basketball Pro Amare Stoudemire is not the only athlete in his family –  his wife and mother of their 4 children is taking on the TCS NYC Marathon this year.  Amy Freeze joined his her for a run in Central Park to hear about her training.

Athletics is nothing new for their family but – now the spotlight is on Alexis Stoudemire  – who is literally turning in to a  a marathoning mom! “I have four children ages 9 8 6 and 16 months… I take the kids to school and then I’m running literally running after wards,” says Alexis.

Her training includes weekend training runs including all the ins and outs of marathoning from chaffing to goos. It’s a brand new sport mixed in with her duties as a supportive wife and doting mother – she’s pounding the pavement to help others!

 “My gf amber sabith whos husband plays for the ny Yankees signed me up!” Alexis said.  To run for charity!  What started as a way to raise money for the Sabitha’s inner city youth charity became a Bucket list item! http://www.pitcch.org/

Alexis was an athlete growing up – but that was before babies and being and adult life took over! Now, she admits training is tough! “Its one of the hardest things ive ever done the discipline waking up and setting a schedule – figuring out when I can run.”

After years on the sidelines encouraging Amare – she says her husband has become her biggest cheerleader – Watching over the kids while she does long runs on Sundays – and of course he gives her recovery tips!  “He knows how to recover rest and taught me to ice espon massage eat correctly have to recover –enough rest!”  And it’s all paying off!

Alexis said “I feel good about myself and I feel lean and healthy!!  It’s something that i’ve noever done before so that is the joy I’m getting out of it!

Goodluck – see you at the startline Alexis AMY FREEZE & TEAM ABC7

 

Bionic Man

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE STORY 7online CLICK HERE

Amy Freeze with Marathoner Fred Volpacchio

Natvie New Yorker Fred Volpacchio was concerned he would never be the same. the 55 year old had run 28 marathons when a high speed bike crash in Central Park took him off course.  Fred says, “I swerved to avoid a biker and I crashed.”  His wife got him trauma care at the Hospital for Special Surgery with Dr. David Helfet. “He fell off his bicycle – broke his pelvis and ball of the hip joint went into the pelvis… well, after this your lucky if you could walk without a limp,” Helfet says. 

Remarkably, Helfet performed a surgery that would put all the pieces back together using metal plates and screws. The process would allow the hip to heal instead of a total hip replacement.

Fred had not missed at new York marathon since 1995 and he still hasn’t!! Ironically his surgery was the year of Superstorm Sandy’s cancellation – now rebuilt, he’s become somewhat of a bionic man! “I’m actually in better shape now than I was before the injury.”

Dr. Helfet says “We are focused on an accident not being the end – get you back in the game back to what you were doing before…

Doc Helfet explains trauma care can make people whole again but he credits Fred’s pre injury active lifestyle and his marathon mindset to securing his full recovery. “For a guy like fred many marathons he had made up his mind mentally to get back to marathoning, back to doing that.” Fred ran new York last year and he’s looking for a 3:40 PR this race visualizing the last turn from Central Park South! Fred says, “tasting the finish and seeing it in front of you that little extra bit to spring and cross that TCS NYC Marathon finish line  is thrilling!”

See you at the finish FRED!

-Amy Freeze

GO DAD! Fred’s Wife and Daughter will be cheering him on on race day!

Chasing Amy: Running After an Artist

CAPTURED!  Artist on the Hudson Riverside Running Path

Storms come and go.  The River brings the wood.  The Artist finds his medium.  The runner wanders by and wonders…  Who the heck takes wood knocked over by a storm and carried down river and turns it into an art display?   I found him! 

I run along the Hudson on Riverside Park and for the last year I've been taking pictures of these mysterious sculptures crafted out of driftwood… I run early and late and everywhere in between but I have never seen them being assembled…I have asked the neighbors, the sailors, the park rangers, and I even left a note on one of them one time!  But today I caught him in the act… the artist was pulling driftwood by bicycle up the path!  

"Is it you?" I asked as I ran up in a full sprint.  "It's me, you caught me," as if he knew how elusive he has been for people who travel the Riverside Bike and Running Path.  I caught Howard pulling driftwood from the beach by George Washington Bridge (where the biggest pieces wash up) and he was taking it south down by Chelsea Pier.  His artwork, which is basically, driftwood put into special shapes, can been seen from the GWB down to Chelsea Pier.  Until now, I don't think anyone has revealed him!  But this is not a case closed… I asked him when he builds, he says usually at night….  But, get this, upon further questioning he says he has discovered some art *NOT* made by him… an imposter, a copy cat, or an inspired young budding artist? 

Howard www.artbygoddriftwood.com

Meteorologist Amy Freeze

Raised to Run: Deirdre Fitzpatrick

 

Raised to Run: Amy Freeze

Thought I'd kick off my part of the blog with how I started running.  I've asked several runners I know to do the same.  I'll be including their stories in separate profiles.  Please share your story of how you were Raised to Run!

Amy Freeze covering the running community in NYC's Central Park in 2012

Everybody has a story about how they started running as a sport. Mine started young. I began running road races when I was 8 years old growing up in Southern Indiana. My father Bill Freeze would get up on Saturday mornings and enter the local races of the 1980s. His example and love for running is why I am a runner today. He started taking my sisters and me along with him to races from the time we were in strollers.  

At first, we ran the kids “fun runs.” Looking back, I still think there was an energy and excitement to those Saturday mornings that is better than any party or concert or club. Plus, a race was my first brush with fame!  I remember meeting a local TV news anchor, the beautiful Jackie Hays (now retired from WAVE-TV) in Louisville.  She was so nice and even took a photo with us.  After years of running with my age group, I eventually got a number and joined my Dad in the 5Ks… and then 10Ks… and then my first Mini Marathon in 1983. It was such a thrill to run along side my Dad in the races. I grew up loving to run. In a time where there were not many sports for girls, I was taught a love of physical fitness that I have had my entire life. 

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My Dad was usually a “middle of the packer” but that didn’t keep him for admiring the guys that won the races. He met many of them and had his photo with them. And for many years, a personally autographed poster of Bill Rodgers hung in my father’s home office.  “Boston Billy” is still the only American born (Hartford, CT) US Citizen to have won the NYC Marathon.  I think I knew his name before I was able to write my own!

 

Bill Rodgers 1979 NYC Marathon

Rodgers was the King of the Marathon boom of the 70s. Track & Field News ranked Rodgers #1 in the world in the marathon in 1975, 1977 and 1979. Of the 59 marathons Rodgers ran, 28 were run under 2:15. In all he won 22 marathons in his career.  My dad tells the story of meeting Bill Rodgers in the early 1980s in Louisville KY at a Cherokee Road Runners 10K Race in Iroquois Park — where Rodgers actually placed 2^nd.  He finished behind a young man in his 20s.  When asked why he lost, Rodgers replied, “this is a sport of fitness and he was fitter than I was today.”

The summer after my first Mini Marathon my Dad sent me to camp to learn how to run better.  I attended a running camp put on by the legendary Swag Hartel.

 

Rare Video of Swag Hartel in 1983 Mini Marathon http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O56dWHXroew

At Swag's running camp, I joined other preteens learning form, how to run sprints, drinking just enough water before races and how to chose the right shoes. I still think about the tips Swag taught me during that camp:

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Form – holding my fists gentle enough to carry an egg!
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Sprints – sprints can be incorporated into any run… it’s called tempo training

• Water- drink the day before a race, sip on race day

• Shoes- ALWAYS get them at a Running Store so you have the right size

I ran Middle School and then High School Cross Country with my Coach Robert Calbert.  We traveled all over the State of Indiana to attend meets. I loved running and my teammates.  When I was a senior, two of my sisters and I made up half of our high school cross country team.  I didn't win many races but looking back, the most important victory was learning to run.

Amy Freeze crossing the finish line in a JHS Cross Country Meet

JHS Cross Country Team 1992 Coach Robert Calbert

Running is a habit that I have had throughout my life.  Doing it I have found some of my fondest friends.  Training for races, I have learned to cope and endure.  Competing I have been able to travel and see great places.  And running has given me humility time and time again.   

“If you run enough marathons, you’ll learn that the race can humble you.  If you’ve been humbled, you can go on to greater glories.”

Bill Rodgers 

By Meteorologist Amy Freeze

on Twitter  Amy Freeze

Raised to Run: Josh Cox

Josh Cox, the 50k American Record Holder (31 miles), is a 4-time US Olympic Marathon Trials Qualifier and 3-time US National Team member. In 2009 and 2011 his 50k was the fastest in the world, the latter effort was the second fastest in history, and missed the world record by a scant 7 seconds. Cox starred on ABC’s Bachelorette show and currently offers his professional perspective for NBC Universal’s marathon broadcasts. You can get tips, giveaways and be inspired by following him on Twitter and Facebook

Josh Cox is one fast, cool runner. I remember the first time I met him.  He came to visit the TV studios before the Chicago Marathon.  We talked about his high altitude training in Mammoth Lakes, CA and how he would take "natural ice baths" in the freezing cold waters of local creeks after runs.  Josh is easy to talk to about running and he's a curious guy who was interested in the weather.  I thought I'd give him a challenge in front of the green screen – but then again, is there anything a quick guy like him can't do?!  (See photo at the end of this artile of Josh in front of the weather wall!)  As you might imagine, he was a natural and has gone on to have some assignments of his own calling races on TV Broadcasts!  Since then, I've seen Josh race, met his beautiful family and shared time with him at the expo talking to other runners about race preparation.  His life on the run is motivational to me in more ways than one! For this year's TEAMABC7 blog Josh took time to answer some of my questions about his current career and shared insight on how he was "Raised to Run."  

AMY FREEZE:  Why do you run?

JOSH COX:  My first  response is to maximize the gifts entrusted to me, to discover what I can get out of the machine, to push limits. But in reality, running is so much more than that… it’s my outlet, my alone time, my thinking time, my praying time, my creative time, my time away from the calls, social networks and the busyness of life. Running has always served as my daily reset button – my therapist. It’s an easy thing to take for granted but dealing with an injury this year has brought it all back to why I first fell in love with running in high school… I love it for the act itself.

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This past January, I injured my foot at mile 8 of the Olympic Trials. I tweaked my left plantar fascia in December, had some therapy, and never thought it would be a limiting factor in the race. The race went out hard, I reached 8 miles in 39:20. At that point, there was a 180 degree turn and in one stride it felt like a knife was thrust into the back of my arch near my heel. With every stride I felt the same pain, for a moment I thought about stopping but I stayed in the race because at this stage in my career I know the Olympic Trials is one of those races you always remember. I finished, in 2:13:50, but it came with a price. I couldn’t walk without limping for a month and couldn’t run for the next two. Initially, all I could think about was the next race, the next marathon I could run where I could pace myself to a PR but eventually I just missed running. Not the intervals, the tempos, the long runs and races but running the roads with friends, running the trails with my music, the feeling of the lungs burning, the heart pounding, legs light in flight and heavy in labor; I missed reaching the mountaintop and taking in the postcard perfect views that serve as the reward for the climb… I missed it all. I don’t intend to romanticize it but I really, truly just missed it, it was like losing a close friend. This was just my third injury since I started running my freshman year in high school back in 1989, so I don’t have too much practice with the whole injury thing. Normally when I have any sort of life issue I head out the door and running seems to bring clarity to just about everything, but when your issue is “you can’t run” – well, it’s problematic. Having an ElliptiGO allowed me to get outside and experience running without the pounding. It was really the only thing that kept me sane.

AMY FREEZE: How did u start running?  Did someone or some event trigger your running?

JOSH COX:  I was a soccer player, I started playing year round in 5^th grade. My first race, the first race that mattered anyway, was that same year, the Presidential Fitness Testing. This year, the sixth graders were the first to go. When I heard the result I was mortified, a girl had beaten all the boys, but that wasn’t the bad part, the bad part was the girl was my sister, she took first place in 7:15. 

I grew up in a family of six kids – 3 older sisters, and 2 younger brothers. Our family was divided, girls had one bathroom, guys had another, girls had certain chores, guys had the others. My sister, Merae, is 11 months older than me. Growing up, we were close friends, in that I love you but there’s no way you’re going to beat me at anything sort of way. For a time, our sibling rivalry was intense. This race was about one thing and one thing alone, beating my sister’s time. If I didn’t, life as I knew it would be over. She would own me. The race finally came. We started out on the far side of the field; it felt easy, as starts always do. I made a left turn toward the sandbox, ran off the grass and onto the blacktop, and heard someone was shouting from the street, “Goooooooooo, Josh!”

I looked to my right and saw my mom’s large brown station wagon; she was right outside the chain-linked fence. She came to watch me race. I still have no idea how she knew what time we’d be running, but she was there. I was leading but we were only 30 seconds in, lots of race left. There I was – all 53 pounds of mean, lean, ten year old soccer playing machine – tearing around the sandbox and soccer fields. Faster… faster… faster…  head down, arms pumping, knees driving, feet pounding. I finished in 6:05.  I was exhausted but excited. I gave my mom the thumbs up.

We returned to class and after fifteen minutes or so the secretary came on the PA system, “Congratulations to Joshua Cox for setting a new school record in the mile this morning, he ran 6:05. Great job.”  My buddy Mike patted me on the back. I was all smiles, not because I broke the record, and not because the secretary announced my time over the PA, but because I knew my sister was in the next room over and had just found out she was not faster than me.

When I got home that day I was as gracious as a 10 year old could be to his older sister. Mainly, I just smiled a lot, Merae was actually impressed and told me good job. For years I had dreams of playing professional soccer but I soon realized running was the road to take.

AMY FREEZE:  What are your current running habits – are you training for a race?

JOSH COX:  I’m currently in the base building phase of training; a good base is the foundation for everything we do. Everyone wants to know the secret to running fast, and certainly there are lots of tips, specific workouts and diet but if you want one tip it’s this: lace ‘em up and get out the door for weeks, months and years and you’ll start reaching your potential. The truth is, most of us don't need more information & inspiration, we need more implementation & perspiration. We know what we need to do, we just need to do it.

As far as races go, I’d like to run another marathon PR (aren’t we all), and would like to make a run at the World Records for the 50k, 50 mile and 100k – I’d like to do all that in the next two years.

AMY FREEZE:  What’s your most favorite running/race experience? When/Where, etc.

JOSH COX:  I’d have to say representing the United States is always a huge honor, I’ve had the privilege on a few occasions and there’s something humbling and incredibly awesome about representing a nation. I always enjoy the major marathons, Mary Wittenberg and the entire NYRR crew put on amazing events at all their races, and I love the Rock ‘n’ Roll Series, they’re relentless in their pursuit of providing a fabulous race day experience. On a personal level, I love getting really fit and running for hours on the trails near our home in Mammoth Lakes, California. It’s a runner’s paradise.

AMY FREEZE:  How do you overcome challenges in your running life – when you hit the wall, when injury strikes, when your life gets busy and it’s hard to get a run in, and all the other obstacles of life — what helps you keep running!

JOSH COX:  Obstacles: no one wants them but they’re a fact of life. Tough times are transformational, either for better or worse, and we each have the power to choose which path we take. Successful people learn from their mistakes, they get better not bitter. My biggest breakthroughs have always come on the heels of my toughest times and greatest disappointments. Now when dark times come, in running or in life, I see it as God’s way of preparing me for something bigger, something better. It’s in the tough times that we’re molded and shaped into the men and women we’re destined to become.

With respect to working out: don’t let what you can’t do keep you from doing what you can. Don’t get caught up in comparing yourself to others, be better than you were yesterday, be the best you, you can be. Don’t let being short on time keep you from working out, it’s not an all or nothing proposition. The shortest workout is infinitely better than no workout. Make your daily workout a priority, an appointment you keep everyday. Good health is the greatest gift we can give ourselves; without it we can’t enjoy anything else.

Thanks Josh! See you… on the Run!  Check out Josh’s Gear Bag:

Favorite shoe: K-Swiss Kwicky Blade Light

Long run fuel: Double Latte PowerGels

Water when I’m in NYC: Poland Spring

Recovery: CEP Compression

Watch: Garmin

Headphones: Polk UltraFit

By Amy Freeze

Raised to Run: Diana Williams

Watching someone on TV can make them seem invincible.  Well, Diana Williams is exactly the same in real life.  I’ve known her a much shorter time than all of her viewers in my time here at WABC-TV.  But what I do know, is that there is no distance she won’t go to be a friend, a light, and a motivation to others!  Last October I got to see her in action at one of  her favorite fitness events, the annual Strides Against Breast Cancer.  We will all be back at that event in the coming weeks so if you are out in Central Park or one of the other many Strides locations doing a long run — drop by and cheer on the American Cancer Societ Event.  Diana once had the ING Marathon on her bucket list…. but now, she’s on the Finishers list!  Here’s Diana Williams look back at her 2010 ING Marathon!

DIANA WILLIAMS:  It’s hard to believe it’s been two years since I ran the NYC Marathon.  It seems like yesterday.  I can still recall the rigorous long distance runs, and the hours spent discussing  food, potty stops and aches and pains with my training partner and “Live” producer, Lori Schulweis.  Many of my runs were in the suburbs – as I worked my way up from a measly 3 miles to 22 before race day.  I learned so much, about my body and my loving husband (hubs), who would plant bottles of water or a  banana along my running routes.  And if my long run wasn’t a full circle, he would drive 13- 15 or 18 miles to pick me up, occasionally driving by and cheering me on. 

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Here’s a link to Diana’s Blog aboout her marathon!

Race day was filled with butterflies.  My son was there, hubs too.  They picked spots along the way to cheer me on.   Good friends came too, including Tara Zimmerman, another Eyewitness News producer. She jumped in around mile 18.   We ran the More Half Marathon together the year before and she was welcome company.  She was with me until the final 2 miles—when the adrenaline kicks in and you know you are going to make it across the finish line.        

This year, I am back running again, but no marathon for me.  Instead, a group of us at Eyewitness News are doing a 5k –  the day before the ING NYC Marathon.  I am retracing many of the same training routes I ran before, but dong fewer miles.   The 5-K starts at the U.N., runs across 42^nd Street past Grand Central, and then up into Central Park where they are already set up for the marathon the next day.  We get to cross the marathon finish line without running the previous 23 miles.   

It’s just 3.1 miles, but we are taking it seriously.  TEAMABC7 blogger Jason Holder is our training coach.  He recently had us in the park doing a simulation run, followed by drills and strides.  Tara is running with me again, and rather than distance, we have set time goals for ourselves.  I don’t know if I will run another Marathon, but I have a great appreciation for those who do and an understanding of the commitment involved, not just for the runners, but their families too. 

Best of luck to everyone on race day.   And don’t forget to look for TEAMABC7 both at the 5k and on Marathon day.  We will be tweeting and facebooking and looking to hear about your run! 

By the way, Lisa Goldberg was my food coach.  Yes, food (fuel) really matters, especially for first timers.  Her information:  Lisa Goldberg MS,CNS, CDN  President, HealthCoach LLC
Phone 212-920-0070 www.HealthCoach-Lisa.com  HER BLOG             

Keep up with Diana on the run … Diana on Twitter

By Amy Freeze

Race Day Weather NYC Marathon

Battling the Elements for 26.2 Miles in the ING NYC Marathon

 Climatology of NYC Marathon Weather:  Average maximum: 62ºF/17ºC  Average low: 47ºF/8ºC

In 2011… it snowed one week before the NYC Marathon…  just 2.9″ in Central Park but more than a foot in the Northern Suburbs.  Run a marathon with snow on the ground?   I’ve done that before…  it was 1999 Denver, Colorado and I ran my first marathon in the snow (for the record, we finished the run in temperatures near 50 and full sun.  

 

Amy in Purple

 

That is “Denver Weather” at it’s Best.) Keep in mind there’s nothing wrong wishing for pleasant weather but the conditions also gives you a chance to battle the elements… if this were to turn out to be the hottest, wettest, coldest marathon in NYC marathon history — just think of the bragging rights!  Just ask someone who has run the race, they may not remember every mile of the course but they remember what the weather was like when they ran 26.2 miles!!  My co-workers who have run the race have great recollections of the extrmes they’ve endured (Diane Williams – 2010’s Chilly Race and Bill Evan making it through cold, torrential downpours in 1995… whatver the weather – it becomes part of your race memory!)

Click here on TIPS ON HOW TO RUN IN THE RAIN

 

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The coldest morning low in New York City’s Central Park on the morning of the marathon over the past 20 years was 34 degrees on Nov. 5, 1995.  The warmest afternoon high in New York City’s Central Park on the day of the New York City Marathon over the past 20 years was 73 degrees F on Nov. 4, 1990.

Heat has actually been more of a concern than the cold over the years.  Hot temperatures were the reason the race date was changed.  It’s now run in early November instead of its initial date in October. That move was prompted by the 1984 race, in which the temperature reached 79 degrees and the race had its first fatality, a French runner who died of a heart attack.

Here’s some of the most dramatic weather moments in New York City Marathon history according to articles documented in the NYTimes:

• 1984  Also called “the disaster of 1984” by race founder Fred Lebow because of the death of 51 year old Jacques Bussereau who collapsed 14 miles into the race and died. Dozens more were treated at area hospitals for heat-related conditions. The humidity ranged from 96 percent at the start to 65 percent in the afternoon.  Of the 16,315 people who started that race, 14,590 of them crossed the finish line.  Orlando Pizzolato of Italy won the men’s race in 2 hours 14 minutes 53 seconds, which was six minutes slower than the winning time in 1983. Grete Waitz of Norway won her sixth women’s title, two minutes slower than the previous year.
• 1994 It was not nearly as hot as 1984, but the 68-degree temperature coupled with high humidity was so bad that 2 runners died of heart attacks becoming the second and third deaths in the race’s history.   
• 1995 A year after one of the hottest races, New York followed with a brutally cold, wet and windy day for one of the coldest ever NYC Marathons.  The temperature reached only 40 degrees, although it was colder at the start when the wind chill factor was 18 degrees, with a mix of rain and snow and winds blowing at 20-30 miles per hour with some gusts to 58 mph. Oddly enough, the same runners who won the hot 1994 race repeated as champions in 1995.

Here are some cool links to wild marathon weather preparations!

What to Wear in Marathon Weather

Doc Advice to Running in Cold

Event Alert Systems for some races  

www.twitter.com/amyfreeze7

By Amy Freeze