On 2nd November Stephen Bygrave and Graeme East ran the ING New York City Marathon in aid of the Surrey Air Ambulance Fund.

More details to follow but the headlines are that Steve finished in 3:40:24 and Graeme in 4:18:10, a personal best, despite jogging like a zombie between miles 17 and 21. Neither Steve nor Graeme made the wave 1 start! Thank you so much for sponsoring us.

In other news, Paula Radcliffe won the women's race and Obama
the presidential election.

Steve's account:

Lots of people I spoke to had the same story as me: they ran a fast first half and were shuffling by the end. I had to stop and stretch my calfstrings in the Bronx, at which point my thigh cramped. Ho hum. By that point I'd forgotten the runner whose shirt read 'Please don't surpass me. My wife is here and she have a photocamera'. My family saw me at 16 miles as we came in to Manhattan on First Avenue and then again at 25 miles by the zoo and that just about kept me going. In the last few miles I heard myself using lots of US-style self-help mantras ('Come on! You can do this!' etc.) and they sort of worked: I loved the finish in the park. Slower than I'd wanted, faster than the first time I ran this. What a great event.

Graeme's account:

What can one say about this race? Well, apart from the usual superlatives which all apply, this is what stuck in my brain: The start: having arrived at around 5am, we spent four hours or so getting a taster of what it'd be like to be homeless - cardboard became a commodity more valuable than crude oil. Thanks to Steve, Amy, Sarah and Anthony for passing the time. Using a portaloo in the dark was an experience I'd rather not have had. The middle: the locals love this race (Americans do pride so well....) and the crowds were incredible. Despite slowing to the pace of a sloth between miles 17 and 21 while my body switched to reserve, I really enjoyed the Bronx. Perhaps it was the people shouting 'Welcome to the Bronx!' in slightly sinister, 'Tony Soprano', voices that gave the borough a bit of an edge. The Finish: in no other sport can you get as much encouragement and support as the elite and this was the best example that I've experienced. Despite running on empty the wall of noise dragged me along and salvaged my personal best. The weekend cost an arm and a leg (well, both legs, actually) but was worth every penny.

Thank you for visiting our fundraising page. We've raised nearly £1500, which all goes to the Surrey Air Ambulance Fund, in memory of Luke Holland.

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