Manhattan Half Marathon 1998

PRE-RACE

Photo 1: Audrey Kingsley knew that she was going to have a tough day when she looked up to see the camera.
Photo 2: Group portrait with Mary Rosado, Tyronne Culpepper, Raphael Devalle and Carsten Strandlod right in front of the baggage truck. Mary's big dilemma at the start was, "Should I bring a bagel with me in the race?"
Photo 3: Harry Morales' opening remark was, "I don't have time for this photo nonsense."
Photo 4: Harry Morales and Irene Jackson are veterans, who felt that they might as well as relax on the sideline to wait for the start instead of being jam-packed.
Photo 5: Audrey Kingsley, Carsten Strandlod and Tyronne Culpepper all sported bright orange today. The first two had been repeatedly warned about being out of uniform (and therefore out of the picture). Tyronne does not have a CPTC club singlet anymore, because he bartered it for a Russian one last week.

THREE-MILE MARK (near West 91st Street)

Photo 11: Harry Morales got to play the official team leader for today.
Photo 12: Raphael Devalle looked very strong in this picture.
Photo 13: In this picture, there are no recognizable Central Park Track Club runners. This is because the trio of Audrey Kinglsey, Carsten Strandlod and Tyronne Culpepper, all of whom were wearing bright orange, decided to play hide-and-seek with the web photographer. You would have to ask them what their point was.

EIGHT-MILE MARK (Harlem Hill)

Photo 21: Harry Morales was concentrating on the uphill climb.
Photo 22: Once again, the trio of Audrey, Carsten and Tyronne veered away from the web photographer. Maybe they did not want any photographic evidence that the two guys were paid pacers.
Photo 23: Irene Jackson still had energy to wave even as she came up the big hill.
Photo 24: When Mary Rosado came by, she had to ask, "Do I have to finish this?" Of course not --- after all, the only thing at stake is her self-esteem. Obviously, she did finish.

FINISH LINE

Photo 31: Harry Morales finished in 1:24, about the same as last year. He said that he felt really bad with two miles left to go, and he really had to dug deep within himself to finish.
Photo 32: Raphael Devalle finished in 1:26, a two-minute improvement over last year.
Photo 33: Julian Allen ran a very steady 1:28.
Photo 34: The trio of Audrey Kingsley, Carsten Strandlod and Tyronne Culpepper finished together in about 1:31. Earlier in the week, Audrey had been asking people about the mile pace necessary to finish in 1:30. So does this mean that the jobs for these two pacers have been terminated?

POST-RACE

Photo 41: Audrey Kingsley and Harry Morales looked remarkably fresh.
Photo 42: Audrey Kingsley and Tyronne Culpepper are discussing the terms of his dismissal as pacer.
Photo 43: Irene Jackson just came in from the refueling station.
Photo 44: Mary Rosado looked very relieved that she completed her first half marathon in 11 years. She picked up a third-place age-group award no less.
Photo 45: Here is the contemplative Central Park Track Club newcomer Eve Kaplan. What's on her mind?
Photo 46: Here is a view of the contents in Tyronne Culpepper's bag. Let's see: a towel, an extra pair of shoes, a dry t-shirt, long track pants, the club track jacket ... about the only missing is his tuxedo.
Photo 47: Tyronne Culpepper is feasting on the goodies.
Photo 48: Audrey Kingsley expressed her thanks to the web photographer for a hard day's work.

BANDITS

Photo 51: Carmine Petracca actually put in a decent effort, and would have finished in about 1:17. While we do not second-guess people for not running a race, we do second-guess Carmine's choice of uniform. Who is the color coordinator for Carmine's wardrobe (see also the matching purple garb at the Rain Forest 5K)?
Photo 52: Alan Ruben was also jogging in the middle of the pack.
Photo 53: Yumi Ogita finished with a time of about 1:32:30.
Photo 54: Stacy Creamer was jogging in the opposite direction.