PRE-RACE ACTIVITIES

• Photo 01:  At 8am in the morning, on the terrace above the Bethesda Fountain, we found a bunch of people hopping on one leg.  This is strange behavior, even for New York City.  What is going on here?
• Photo 02:  Oh, we get it --- it's Coach Mindy Solkin and her Leukemia Society's Team In Training.
• Photo 03:  Pretty soon, this group hits the road after having done their stretching exercises.

THE RUN

• Photo 11:  At West 72nd Street and only about one mile into the race, Stuart Calderwood has already forged a big lead with no one else in sight behind him.
• Photo 12:  Stuart Calderwood nears the finish and puts in a hard sprint.  Since this is the first leg of a relay race, every second counts as money in the bank.
• Photo 13:  Here is the person that Stuart beat --- NYRRC Runner of the Year, Dr. Kim Griffin.  In this race, it is common for the woman to be running and for the man to be cycling.
• Photo 14:  And then someone completely unexpected zipped up so fast that we only caught her back.  Who is this?  It is Margaret Angell, who said, "I must have run slower today than my last three miles at the Boston Marathon less than a month ago."  Still, this was a top 10 finish.

THE BIKE

• Photo 20:  To get the maximum performance, it is important to get the best equipment.  Here is Stacy Creamer's new bike, similar to the one that Lance Armstrong rode in his victorious Tour de France last year, less than 12 hours in her possession.
• Photo 21:  The first to get out on the bike was Stacy Creamer.  Under normal circumstances, as was the case last year, Stacy would have been running and Stuart cycling.  This year, Stacy has a heel injury which forced the switch.
• Photo 22:  After the first loop, Stacy holds on to first place as she scales Cat Hill.  This must have been an odd experience for her to be leading in a bike race for such a long time.
• Photo 23:  Then we spot Stuart Calderwood talking on a cellular phone.  Is Stacy's helmet wired for communication?  Is she in the mood for a chat?
• Photo 24:  This is Margaret Angell with her friend Pat, as both wait for their cycling partners.
• Photo 25:  Stacy Creamer now finishes in about fourth place overall.  This is actually very good for someone who is habitually self-effacing about her cycling ability.
• Photo 26:  Then it is a mad sprint by the couple to the Loeb Boathouse.

THE BOAT

• Photo 31:  The leaders in this race were quite close to each other in time.
• Photo 32:  But disaster strikes as soon as Stuart and Stacy got into their boat.  One of the oars would not stay in place, in spite of using the Randy Ehrlich bungee rope trick.  This just about writes off their chances in this race.
• Photo 33:  So there is nothing to do but to row cautiously and slowly.
• Photo 34:  Stacy Creamer has always asserted that the rowing is easy for her --- all she does is to raise her hands to point the direction.
• Photo 35:  But even if Stuart knows the proper direction, it is impossible when the oar keeps slipping.
• Photo 36:  This is our favorite skyline view of Central Park West.  Unfortunately, this was a cloudy, foggy day.
• Photo 37:  Earlier, we had speculated that Stuart was calling Stacy on the cellular phone.  Now who is Stacy calling from the boat, and it could not possibly be Stuart?  The National Weather Service?
• Photo 38:  Just so we have a sense of proportion --- here are the boats completely dwarfed by a Central Park West building.
• Photo 39:  And let us not forget the birdwatchers and the dogs.
• Photo 40:  And the architectural beauty of the cast-iron Bow Bridge designed by Calvert Vaux.
• Photo 41:  Here Stuart and Stacy are about to be rammed by another boat.  Collisions are routine in this race, partly due to uncontrollable equipment  plus the fact that rowing on these boats is not a common skill.
• Photo 42:  Here Stuart and Stacy have gone back to Bethesda Fountain.  Given the density of the boats in the area, collisions are not totally unexpected.
• Photo 43:  A final determination of the optimal course.
• Photo 44:  Finally, Stuart and Stacy reaches the arch of balloons that marks the finish.  As frustrating as it was, at least their boat didn't sink like some others.