There is no way I would have done as well without all of that help from my teammates, especially during those last 6 miles. Slowly but surely I gained speed and kept the pain at bay. Another minute later I restarted begging my hamstring to give me 23 more miles. I stopped for a half minute, started up, felt the sharp pain and stopped again. Right before mile 3 marker I strained my right outside hamstring. Jimmy Drawings: “This race was one of my most incredible team experiences ever in any sport. We all know that Phil can (and will) run much faster, but Sunday was all about fighting through an entire training cycle and coming through for the team.” After a 1:16:25 first half, Phil went back to his old ways and spent the rest of the race chasing down the competition, showing off his experience and confidence to lead the way for the Open Men with an impressive 2:34:44. Starting conservatively and running smart, Phil attacked the day by working between groups, adjusting his pace to make sure he was never caught without a few runners to escort him through the headwinds. But on Sunday, Phil showed that he’s a true gamer. I knew that Phil was battling injuries, and time commitments forced him into lower mileage and missed workouts. To me, his struggles culminated in a tough day at Grete’s just 4 weeks before the Marathon. I have come to count on Phil to pass me in the final mile of every Thursday night workout and every scoring race. Greg was kind enough to pen this note: “ Phil Falk ran tremendously and deserves some accolades so I’m forcing him to add this. Hearing about great performances, seeing my teammates fight alongside of me, and feeling the encouragement from cheering sections throughout the city make me proud to represent CPTC. The support from the Club was, as always, remarkable. Things didn’t go the way I had planned or would have liked, but I tried to battle to the end. If you need an example of pulling through a race you would rather quit, or turning in a respectable performance in the face of a near disaster, look no further: “I knew that the conditions weren’t necessarily ideal from the minute I stepped outside of my apartment, but everyone had to deal with whatever weather was dealt to us on Sunday. Greg Cass came through the fall in tremendous shape – unfortunately his stomach refused to cooperate and he was forced to make multiple pit stops. The team had 25 men under 3 hours, including the ever-consistent Alan Ruben, taking a 6 th place in his age group.īut the story is best told in the words of some our athletes, who have kindly shared their post-race thoughts: The wall of orange, at perhaps the most difficult part in the race, cresting the mile-long climb on fifth avenue at 90 th st, gave me a jolt of energy and a swell of pride. Orange jackets dotted the crowds along the route, bringing much needed support. I’ve been inspired and uplifted by some of the race stories shared by my teammates. (Although I did my share of complaining – at one point, alone on first avenue, I gave a good yell to no one in particular.)īut more than anything it was also a story of teamwork and resilience. “The pessimist complains about the wind the optimist expects it to change the realist adjusts the sails.” I think most of adjusted the sails – stick with the pack, take turns in the lead, avoid getting stranded. Times were off by at least a couple minutes from the pros all the way back, and this was surely the chief culprit. That unrelenting northerly gale was the unseen handicap on Sunday. And, if it’s in the cards, to give it another go.” To take a look at what happened and go back to the drawing board. It’s nearly impossible to figure out exactly what went wrong and how to make it better next time. When you get it wrong, you try to analyze all 30 of those variables. When you finally get it right, it’s the product of 30 variables that you have maybe 50 percent control of. “That is both the gift and the curse of the marathon. Greg Cass brings us some necessary perspective: A few of our top runners dropped out, and several more brought home results many minutes behind their goal times. There’s so much training, build-up, nerves, anticipation going into a single race, and a few errant details can throw it off. I think our team was ready to compete in the biggest and best race in our grand city. It was a story of redemption, after an extraordinarily rough patch of marquee marathon racing: the tragedy in Boston 2013, the cancellation of New York in 2012, and the blistering hot day in Boston 2012. The marathon was a story of breakthroughs and breakdowns for the CPTC men’s team.
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