Marathon Tales

Ninety-three runners from Scarsdale were among the 50,740 entrants in what the NY Times said was the largest marathon in history. Scarsdale runners joined representatives from 109 countries and all 50 states at the NYC Marathon on Sunday November 3. The oldest person to complete the race was 89 year-old Colin Thorne of New Zealand, who finished in 6:30:09.

Among the Scarsdale runners were doctors, a dentist, several married couples, a banker and a family of three. Some had signed up last year for the ill-fated 2012 marathon that was cancelled due to Hurricane Sandy, and had been waiting a year to conquer New York. Read their stories here:

Melanie Bernitz
Melanie Bernitz, MD, MPH, began running shortly after moving to New York in 1999 to do a residency in family medicine at CUMC. She is now executive director of the Student Health Service, a faculty member in the Department of Medicine at P&S, and a two-time participant in the NYC Marathon.

Dr. Bernitz's training consists of two or three moderate runs during the week, a long run on the weekend, and gym work on the days between. Running, she says, relaxes her and allows her to do her best thinking. She has adjusted her diet to five small meals a day.

After breaking an ankle in 2011, she set her sights on a return to the NYC Marathon.

Bernitz said "A marathon is a mental goal as well as a physical one, and with motivation and commitment pretty much anyone whose mind is set to it can run the marathon," she says. "I wanted to be able to run the marathon again, so I set myself this challenge. Many of my students run, and they were a tremendous motivating factor. I had the most incredible experience yesterday. The crowd support was phenomenal and the organization impeccable. To witness the perfectly orchestrated event after Hurricane Sandy and the Boston Marathon made me proud to be a participant. Running allows me to stay active and healthy. I hope that by watching me train, it inspires my kids to set their sights on a goal and not stop until they achieve it."

Daniel Burton
It was actually my second marathon. It was supposed to be my first because I registered for the NYC Marathon last year, but after last year's NYC Marathon was cancelled, I was fortunate in that I was able to get into the Philadelphia Marathon two weeks after NYC was cancelled (Philadelphia opened some extra spots at the last minute last year for those who were supposed to run NYC). I ran some of the race with my good friend Marty Keltz. For me, the best part of the NYC Marathon is the feeling of togetherness you share with everyone who runs, cheers, or volunteers. Everyone is pulling for each other - to keep moving forward, to accomplish a goal, to reach the finish line!

My favorite moment of the race was when I saw my family and friends smiling and cheering for me at Mile 19 on First Avenue - that gave me a much-needed boost!

Jen and David Chan: The 5:30 am bus from Westchester and the three-hour wait to begin the race in Staten Island were tough-- but the experience of running the NYC Marathon was well worth the initial discomfort. We met people from all over the world – and it was amazing to see thousands of runners streaming over the bridge. Each borough brought it's own surprise and we were buoyed by the crowds that lined the streets for the entire racecourse. A friend met us at mile 8, and my cousin appeared at mile 12 and then again at the end of the race which really cheered us up. The temperature was perfect for running and David and I ran together the entire time. (David is pictured at top)

Joan Frankle
Last Sunday, I ran my second NYC Marathon. After my first, I knew I wanted to run it one more time. I waited eight years to run New York again, in honor of my fiftieth birthday. With no goal, other than to finish, I was pleasantly surprised to have improved on my 2005 time (by seven minutes). Marathon Sunday is always a great day for New York and, after last year's cancellation and this year's Boston Marathon tragedy, it was an awesome experience to be able to participate. I met some great people along the way and I had an incredibly supportive following of friends and family cheering for me, helping me on to the finish.

Rosanne and Rich Klein
Here is a photo of both my husband and I with our medals! While we didn't run the marathon together (our start times were different), we did both complete our first marathons! It was an amazing experience - we loved it! We both ran for charity, I ran for St. Judes and he ran for JDRF (our niece has juvenile diabetes). It was terrific. Thank you so much for including us!

Donna Lau
I had a great time on Sunday! I was actually supposed to run last year before it was cancelled. It would've been my first marathon. So instead of letting all the training and hard work go to waste, I decided to run the marathon in Richmond, VA, two weeks after the New York race date. This year, I completed my second marathon, running in the Nike Women's San Francisco marathon, just 2 weeks ago! It has been an emotional journey for me, getting to finally run the NYC Marathon. It was an awesome experience and nothing beats the NY crowds cheering you on! I finished in 4 hours, 37 minutes.

Cara Roberts
Cara had registered last year but the race was cancelled due to Superstorm Sandy. "While I hadn't trained as seriously this year, it was an opportunity not to be missed while living in NYC." Her parents, Bill and Cynthia Roberts, used the subway system to catch sight of their daughter. Cynthia said, "We missed her by three minutes in Green Point, Brooklyn, but thanks to the subway we were able to cheer for her at three spots in Manhattan. The other key to finding her was that friendly spectators shared their smart phone runner tracking app to check on her progress for us. This race was a refreshing celebration of the strength of the human spirit."

Art Rublin
I had a great experience doing my second New York City Marathon. I didn't exactly keep up with the elite runners with my 4:27 time, but I was very happy to have a smile on my face high-fiving my three sons and hugging my wife at Mile 19, and a kick and a smile at the Finish Line. I had fun training on the roads of Scarsdale, using the Rec Department's 5 and 8.5 mile loops through many of Scarsdale's neighborhoods and parks. That hill going up Cambridge and then across Mamaroneck up Cooper is great training for the Queensboro Bridge!

Elizabeth Thompson
This was a very meaningful race for me. I wore my Boston Red Sox hat and my Boston strong T-shirt to show my solidarity and support for the crisis that have happened in Boston in April. But the race has personal meaning as well. My husband proposed to me in 1996 the night before the marathon and challenged me to run it in under four hours. If I ran it in under four hours I could keep my engagement ring otherwise I had to wear a knuckle ring instead.

(photo caption:) My official time was 3:56.55 despite what my watch says.

So, no matter what shape on then or how many miles I put in for training I always try to go under four hours. This year I was perilously close to not making it and each mile was painful. I was so happy to tell him that I could do it one more year

Fiona Silver
This was my first marathon. I ran in support of UJA's "sports for youth" program. New York Road Runners puts on an absolutely amazing day for the marathon and thankfully everything went off without a hitch. It's fantastic to see how many people come out to cheer and encourage you on. It was wonderful day for me and my family. I'd like to say a special thank you to all my friends and family for their support and kind words and thoughts leading up to and after the marathon.

Tracie Sundack
Here is my blurb. I have only been running for four years and it has changed my life for the better. This marathon was the fourth marathon I ever ran and the second in NYC. I ran The Chicago Marathon 3 weeks ago. It was great, but nothing beats running the NYC Marathon. Although I was still sore from running Chicago, I wouldn't have missed NYC for the world. My time in NYC was slower because of muscle soreness, but I had a great time and enjoyed the crowds. I am already looking forwards to running it again next year. I run with the Newro runners and 33 of us ran the marathon.

Steven Siegel
Steve Siegel, who lived on Crossway in Scarsdale for 35 years, ran his 30th marathon on Sunday and his 18th NYC Marathon. He is pictured here with his marathon number from his first NYC Marathon in 1978.

Michael, Jana and Benita Trenk
Michael Trenk and daughters Jana and Benita all ran the race. Michael Trenk finished in 3:14, Jana Trenk in 3:26 and Benita Trenk in 4:00.

Jana and Benita are both graduates of Scarsdale High School and were members of the cross country/track teams under coach Richard Clark. Benita, age 22, recently graduated from Barnard College as an architecture major and is planning on going to grad school in the fall.

Jana, age 24, is finishing her Masters Degree in Childhood Education at Bank Street College in December. She works as a Teaching Assistant at PS 77 Lower Lab School in NYC where she is an assistant coach at the school's running program that she helped to start last year.

Michael has been running competitively since 2000 and completed his first marathon in 2001. He has been coached by Mike Barnow of the Westchester Track Club.

Michael says, "I enjoy running because it is a healthy sport, convenient to do nearly anytime, anyplace, at any speed or distance, at any age for a low cost. It has proven to be a good social opportunity – runners have a special camaraderie that builds friendships at home, at school and in business. Runners enjoy a special benefit – you can eat as much as you want without gaining weight!

The New York City Marathon is my favorite race. I love the crowds, the bands, the competition, the people we know who meet each year to run or cheer. But most of all, I like it for the discipline. To get a good time in the marathon, one must train all year long. When the next race is always just months away, you have to stay in shape. No excuses!"

Elizabeth Gruber, Ann Sacher, Liz Somekh
It was awesome. The outpouring of support from our families, friends and the NYC community was overwhelming. We've been running together for more than ten years and decided last year to run the NYC Marathon together. Although it took us two years to get there because of Hurricane Sandy, we were thrilled to cross the finish line hand-in-hand. We loved every minute of it!

If you ran the marathon and want to be included, please send your photo and comments to [email protected].

Here's a complete list of Scarsdale residents who registered to run this year's NYC Marathon:

Melanie Bernitz
Dawn Byck
Martin Keltz
Richard Klein
Aaron Marks
Gregg Monterosso
Andrew Nicholson
Eric Premisler
Linda Rigano
Sonnia Sheridan
Elizabeth Thompson
Thomas Vinton
Henri Waelbroeck
Michael Pritula
Todd Sohn
Javier Chapochnick
Shinchi Kon
Joshua Trump
Helyce Sellinger
Jennifer Chan
David Chan
Fiona Silver
Helene Walisever
Isak Yahav
Brian Keefe
Liz Somekh
Kristen Fusco
Robert Cruz
Servaas Chorus
Elizabeth Gruber
Jonathan Katz
Amy Feilbogen
Kengo Tanaka
Gavin Duke
Jospeh Roth
Tetsuo Watanabe
Ann Sacher
Dawn Joyce
Jonathan Bender
Victor Munoz
Sean Dunne
Nicolas Friedman
Rosanne Klein
Neal Sheridan
Brandon Schubert
Alex Teeman
Jennifer Ruckdeschel
Alan Fitzgerald
Jason Ser
Phillippe Harousseau
Ted Piekarski
Alan Ivcic
Kristen Lynn Beades
Kinzang Tobay
Moh-Lim Ong
Kenneth Sherman
Eve Feurstein
Arthur Rublin
Cathy Biviano
Tracie Sundack
Daniel Burton
Shunsuke Tomioka
Cara Roberts
Henry Asher
Benita Trenk
Marios Damianides
Ann-Maria Rankis
Jana Trenk
Joan Frankle
Yumiko Shime
Vivek Pabby
Kenji Shime
Mike Kiser
Michael Trenk
Sandy Balkin
Simone Gentilini
Jennifer Li
Geoff Homer
Thomas Kline
Apul Im
Amanda North
Jason Krasner
Stephan Month
Cheong Sack Hoong
Sara Friedman
Timothy Dowling
Evan Halpern
Andrew Gorrin
Emily Ostertag
Frank Colella
Marc Gross
Donna Lau
Natalie Yellen