* Moments from the NYC Half Marathon on August 16, 2009 *
Paula Radcliffe of Great Britain and Tadese Tola of Ethiopia triumphed in the women’s and men’s professional division, each taking home a prize of $10,000.
Paula ran 13.1 miles in 1 hour, 9 minutes, and 45 seconds—not bad after a nine month hiatus and recovery from foot surgery. Paula is a three-time ING New York City Marathon winner. She won last year and could take the prize ($130,000) again on November 1st. I’ll be rooting for her but right now my favorite runner is Nadia Ejjafini from Bahrain who placed 4th in the half marathon (1:12:47).
As I was rushing to my assigned corral at the start of the race (late of course), I passed Nadia and was star struck. She caught me staring and smiled. It was a bashful moment and one I’ll always remember because she was literally walking to the start line to take her place. I was touched that she broke her concentration to smile at me. Nadia, you rock.