PRE-RACE

• Photo 01: Do you know the song California Dreamin'?  On such a winter's day, Tyronne Culpepper did not stop in to a church and get down on his knees to pray.  He just sat on the bench outside the Church of Heavenly Rest to affix his race bib.

• Photo 08: Quick!  You are a dual runner family --- when mom and dad both want to race, who do you call?  The Ghostbusters?  No, it's Nathan Klejman's runner-babysitting service, seen here tending to Sammy Ruben.

• Photo 09: We present His Royal Happiness, Joey Ruben.

• Photo 10: A cute (and especially a cold) baby inevitably attracts attention, in this case from Betty Marolla.

FOOTBALL THROWING CONTEST

• Photo 02: Arthur Cooke was the second person to step up to the line.

• Photo 03: Here is Arthur's heave.

• Photo 04: Tyronne Culpepper gets ready for his throw.

• Photo 05: Brian Barry blows warm air on his hand before his throw.

• Photo 06: Erik Goetze gets ready to throw, while David Diviney is next up.  David said, "This is the only reason that I am down here today.  If there were a football throwing team competition, I would be able to score for the team."  And if there were a cyclocross competition, David should lead the team.

• Photo 07: This is David Diviney's throw.  According to our records, he is the official champion among the Central Park Track Club participants today.

2.9 MILE MARK

• Photo 11: For many (and many there were) recent races, this team has been led by an old British bloke, Alan Ruben.  So it was a shock for us to see young John Scherrer ahead of the Ruben chap at this point.  Unfortunately, good things don't last forever, for the old guy came back.  Alan Ruben's race summary contains two quotations: (with a grin) "I caught him!" (meaning John Scherrer and not his arch-rival Don DiDonato) and (shaking his head) "5K is not my distance" (meaning that it is the distance for the two masters runners in front of him, Jerry Marcari and Don DiDonato).  Meanwhile, John Scherrer's analysis was, "Even though I have traversed this course many times, I somehow thought that the final straightway was around the bend coming back.  Unfortunately, when I sped around that bend, I saw that there was another bend!"  John also said, "My mother will be checking for my photos on the website."  Hello, Mrs. Scherrer,  your son was terrific today!  As a bonus, here is a photo of John at the starting line, between his teammate Peter Allen and a French mec from another team (technical note: we do not give the names of people on other teams in our photos --- unless it happens to be Kari Ann Bertrand).

• Photo 12: It was an exhilarating sight to see a whole wave of orange singlets coming through in a mass finish.  In the preceding picture, there should be eight Central Park Track Club runners in sight.  Right after John and Alan was Erik Goetze in this picture, and just out of this picture was Richie Borrero.

• Photo 13: ... and right behind them were Paul Stuart-Smith and Stuart Calderwood.

• Photo 14: ... and right behind them were Peter Allen and Craig Chilton.

• Photo 15: We admit that we love seeing our teammates try to 'kill' each other, as Isaya Okwiya and Eric Aldrich were trying to do here.  We are curious as to whom you would bet on --- as for us, we placed our money on the guy with the longest stride on the team and we lost.  By the way, these two would make a total of 10 of our runners under 17 minutes today.

• Photo 16: Gordon Streeter

• Photo 17: David Diviney says, "Tough guys wear shorts."

• Photo 18: Rick Shaver

• Photo 19: Stacy Creamer was just ahead of new member Olivier Baillet in his first team race.  Our long-time member Stacy took a peek at him during the race and wondered, "I have no idea who he is.  Is that possible?"

• Photo 20: Theo Spilka

• Photo 21: The fashionably coordinated Yves-Marc Courtines seems to be making this assertion, "If the photographer cannot see me today, then his driver's license ought to be revoked."

• Photo 22: Jim Olson is another person who made the mistake about the double bends.  He was still looking good at this point, but he said that the final 100 meters was done on an empty gas tank.

• Photo 23: Tyronne Culpepper

• Photo 24: Sid Howard got to the start late.  Being a scrupulously honest person, he ran through the mob going the other way in order to touch the starting line before turning around to join the race.  His first mile was timed at a very slow 6:46.

• Photo 25: Sarah Gross wanted to know if we saw her on the course.  Answer: "Only barely, especially difficult since you want to run on the wrong side of the road."  Which side is right and which is wrong?  The right side is whichever side the photographer is stationed.

• Photo 26: Diane Lebowitz is looking to pass some other women.  She would in fact pass her teammate Eve Kaplan (just over to the right and hidden from view or, in other words, on the wrong side) with 5 meters left to go.  Diane ran the first two miles in 13:48, the same time that ran for the entire Hot Chocolate 2 Miler, so the third mile in this race was a lot harder.

• Photo 27: Eden Weiss had those multi-colored shades.

POST-RACE ACTIVITIES

• Photo 31: We had no race photo of Kim Mannen because she blew by us in a green shirt.  She explained, "I was wearing double layers and it was too much to wear a singlet on top.  But I wore an orange scarf.  Isn't that enough?"  Answer: Apparently not.  But here is the worst part: as third finisher on the team, she wasn't scored!  It must be that singlet, Kim!  (Postscript: Kim protests: "I registered via fax from my office.  I have proof that I put down the club's name!")

• Photo 32: The NYRRC had a video cameraman out on the road today, and the video was played immediately afterwards at the cafeteria room where hot chocolate and bagels were being served.  Here, we have John Scherrer, Stuart Calderwood, Stacy Creamer and Jonathan Federman watching the video replay.

• Photo 33: Bola Awofeso and Richie Borrero also had their eyes on the television set.

• Photo 34: At this moment, the video shows Alan Ruben having just crossed the finish line while John Scherrer is about to cross.  John has issued this challenge to Alan, "When I turn masters in 16 years' time, I'll be ready to give him a fair race."

• Photo 35: Stuart Calderwood points up and says, "Oh, look!  It's Richie Borrero!"

• Photo 36: Meanwhile, in the auditorium, Carol Tyler, Diane Lebowitz and Sid Howard wait for the awards ceremony to begin.  Carol and Sid will both collect awards in their age groups, which unfortunately are the last ones to be handed out.

• Photo 37: Going up to accept an award and getting a tremendous round of applause was Joey Ruben.  That would turn out to be a big mistake, as Joey promptly dropped the ball, figuratively and literally.

• Photo 38: Here the Ruben family works on the impossible repair job.  This is just as well, as we are sure that there cannot be any space left in the household to add to the Ruben-Bakoulis collection anyway.

• Photo 39: In spite of the late start, Sid Howard still won his age group handily.  The award was presented by Mary Wittenberg, Exec V.P. of the NYRRC.  Mary also came over to compliment our web site.  Thanks, Mary.

• Photo 40: Carol Tyler picks up another age group award.

• Photo 41: Alan Ruben picks up the five medals for the third-place open team.  These should be Joey-proof.  One of these will end up underneath Alan's bed, right with the rest of the stash.

• Photo 42: There are winners and then there are real winners.  The real winner of the day is the overwhelmed Blair Boyer.  We don't think that he is about to share his winner's prize ... (technical note: we are being deliberately cryptic because we want to force you to click to see the photo.  How can you resist?)

MISSING PHOTOS

• The two triathletes Scott Willett and Julie Denney were running back and forth.  Since triathletes are inscrutable by definition, we did not even ask them why, in case they really try to explain.

• Just before the start of the race, a truck from Tom Cat Bakery tried to come through the park.  When it got to the starting line, it was directed by the patrol car to go back where it came from.  Is that how the owner of the bakery (someone named Noel Comess) comes to the races --- not by limo, but in the company car?

• Noel Comess, third master on the team and critical in that team's win, is still desperately trying to procure a singlet.  Will someone help him out!?

• Audrey Kingsley wore white long sleeves and ran close enough to tap the photographer without being photographed.

• Central Park Track Club people who won the raffle --- there were none!  Silly, you know that it's fixed ... !  (Wrong! says Kim Mannen, who actually won something once upon a time ...)