Nice story about New Orleans runners in NYC
Group gets great mileage in marathon
Katrina recovery message goes forth; good time had in NYC
Thursday, November 17, 2005
By Andrew Canulette
New Orleans Times-Picayune Staff writer
Daniel Simpson had competed in the New York City Marathon before, so he knew there would be more than two million people lining the streets offering encouragement.
But he couldn't imagine the outpouring of support he received as one of 24 New Orleans-area runners who ran this year's race Nov. 6 to call attention to south Louisiana's rebuilding process after Hurricane Katrina.
"It was like a 26.2-mile Mardi Gras parade," Simpson said from Houston -- his temporary home after Hurricane Katrina ruined his house in Arabi. "Everyone was cheering for us, screaming 'We love New Orleans!' We ran together for the most part and worked the crowd the whole time, jumping up and down, waving our arms in the air. The crowd was really receptive."
The local contingent was assembled by Catch 22 director Andrew Lilly, who was scheduled to run the New York City Marathon, but dropped out of the race shortly after Katrina made landfall. After some soul searching, Lilly thought running in the Big Apple would be a perfect opportunity to show the world that New Orleans' running community continues to thrive and that it wants to play a part in helping rebuild the Crescent City.
Lilly was granted permission to re-enter the race and found 23 other locals who were willing to join him at the marathon. In the few weeks between the storm and the marathon, the group trained together as often as possible.
When they arrived in New York City, they were greeted with a welcome typically reserved for the elite runners who populate the field each year.
Three days before the marathon, race organizers held a party at the finish line for the New Orleans-area runners. A chef from the renowned Tavern on the Green restaurant prepared beignets for the group, and reporters kept them busy with questions for nearly two hours. The next two days were filled with television, newspaper and magazine interviews during which the runners shared the stories of how their lives and the lives of so many others in south Louisiana have been effected by the storm.
Lilly said the reception was more than he expected.
"People embraced our group," he said. "The message definitely got across. I think just our presence on the course was message enough. But we made quite a few friends there. Everyone had something positive to say."
The majority of the group finished the race in just less than four hours. Though many of them could have run much faster times, Brandon Wingate said staying as close together as possible was more important.
"We had 'New Orleans -- Proud to call it home' on our singlets," Wingate said. "So everyone knew who we were. This is probably the most exciting thing I've ever done in my whole life."
Other Catch 22 runners in the marathon were Aimee Shuey, Darlene Burke, Erica Muller, Brendan Minihan, Heidi Melia, Keith Clement, Kevin Clement, Kirsten Feil, Leigh Ayn Drye, Junyong Pak, Patrick Melancon, Rebecca Newman, Sean Valliant, Tim Phillips, Vilma Cervantes, Jeff Nittrouer, Scott McCraw, Tom Sawyer, Bill Plunkett, Brian Jackson and Tina Abbott.
. . . . . . .
Andrew Canulette can be reached at (985) 645-2855 or acanulette@timespicayune.com
Katrina recovery message goes forth; good time had in NYC
Thursday, November 17, 2005
By Andrew Canulette
New Orleans Times-Picayune Staff writer
Daniel Simpson had competed in the New York City Marathon before, so he knew there would be more than two million people lining the streets offering encouragement.
But he couldn't imagine the outpouring of support he received as one of 24 New Orleans-area runners who ran this year's race Nov. 6 to call attention to south Louisiana's rebuilding process after Hurricane Katrina.
"It was like a 26.2-mile Mardi Gras parade," Simpson said from Houston -- his temporary home after Hurricane Katrina ruined his house in Arabi. "Everyone was cheering for us, screaming 'We love New Orleans!' We ran together for the most part and worked the crowd the whole time, jumping up and down, waving our arms in the air. The crowd was really receptive."
The local contingent was assembled by Catch 22 director Andrew Lilly, who was scheduled to run the New York City Marathon, but dropped out of the race shortly after Katrina made landfall. After some soul searching, Lilly thought running in the Big Apple would be a perfect opportunity to show the world that New Orleans' running community continues to thrive and that it wants to play a part in helping rebuild the Crescent City.
Lilly was granted permission to re-enter the race and found 23 other locals who were willing to join him at the marathon. In the few weeks between the storm and the marathon, the group trained together as often as possible.
When they arrived in New York City, they were greeted with a welcome typically reserved for the elite runners who populate the field each year.
Three days before the marathon, race organizers held a party at the finish line for the New Orleans-area runners. A chef from the renowned Tavern on the Green restaurant prepared beignets for the group, and reporters kept them busy with questions for nearly two hours. The next two days were filled with television, newspaper and magazine interviews during which the runners shared the stories of how their lives and the lives of so many others in south Louisiana have been effected by the storm.
Lilly said the reception was more than he expected.
"People embraced our group," he said. "The message definitely got across. I think just our presence on the course was message enough. But we made quite a few friends there. Everyone had something positive to say."
The majority of the group finished the race in just less than four hours. Though many of them could have run much faster times, Brandon Wingate said staying as close together as possible was more important.
"We had 'New Orleans -- Proud to call it home' on our singlets," Wingate said. "So everyone knew who we were. This is probably the most exciting thing I've ever done in my whole life."
Other Catch 22 runners in the marathon were Aimee Shuey, Darlene Burke, Erica Muller, Brendan Minihan, Heidi Melia, Keith Clement, Kevin Clement, Kirsten Feil, Leigh Ayn Drye, Junyong Pak, Patrick Melancon, Rebecca Newman, Sean Valliant, Tim Phillips, Vilma Cervantes, Jeff Nittrouer, Scott McCraw, Tom Sawyer, Bill Plunkett, Brian Jackson and Tina Abbott.
. . . . . . .
Andrew Canulette can be reached at (985) 645-2855 or acanulette@timespicayune.com
posted by WalkSports.com | 11:23 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home