NY York Marathon - Escort for Elite Athletes
Almost as great as running one!
On Sunday, November 4th, my coach from Team in Training, Les Helfman, invited me along with a few of my teammates, to join him by volunteering to escort the Elite Athletes to the starting line of the NY York Marathon. I jumped at the honor of doing this and I am so glad I did. This will be remembered as one of the most wonderful mornings in my life!
As we were escorting these athletes one of my teammates, Carrie, nudged me to see Lance Armstrong join the group. I started snapping pictures of him and then he stopped and stood there staring at me. I couldn't resist...I asked Lance to take a picture with me and quickly passed my camera to Carrie. She snapped the below photo.
Lance posing for a photo with me,
what a nice guy!
My next goal was to cheer for my buddy Debbie Shapiro who was running that morning, and try to get a photo of her. One of Coach Les's friends Ray joked with me that it was a huge long shot that I would ever see her cross the start line in light of the fact that there were 35-40,000 runners there that morning. He bet me $1,000 that I wouldn't see her. Knowing the kind of luck I was having that morning, I should have taken him up on his wager!
Debbie toasting me with her water bottle,
just after she came across the starting line!
As if escorting the world's fastest men and women marathon runners, meeting Lance Armstrong, getting to cheer for my lifelong friend wasn't memorable enough, it was all topped off by having my "1 second of fame" by being on NBC channel 4 as I escorted the men to the start! My son David memorialized this by snapping a photo of the freeze frame on TV.
My 1 second of fame!
Coach Les and me
My heartfelt thanks to the man who made this all possible. My dear Team in Training Coach, mentor and friend, Les, you're the best!!!
On Sunday, November 4th, my coach from Team in Training, Les Helfman, invited me along with a few of my teammates, to join him by volunteering to escort the Elite Athletes to the starting line of the NY York Marathon. I jumped at the honor of doing this and I am so glad I did. This will be remembered as one of the most wonderful mornings in my life!
As we were escorting these athletes one of my teammates, Carrie, nudged me to see Lance Armstrong join the group. I started snapping pictures of him and then he stopped and stood there staring at me. I couldn't resist...I asked Lance to take a picture with me and quickly passed my camera to Carrie. She snapped the below photo.
Lance posing for a photo with me,
what a nice guy!
My next goal was to cheer for my buddy Debbie Shapiro who was running that morning, and try to get a photo of her. One of Coach Les's friends Ray joked with me that it was a huge long shot that I would ever see her cross the start line in light of the fact that there were 35-40,000 runners there that morning. He bet me $1,000 that I wouldn't see her. Knowing the kind of luck I was having that morning, I should have taken him up on his wager!
Debbie toasting me with her water bottle,
just after she came across the starting line!
As if escorting the world's fastest men and women marathon runners, meeting Lance Armstrong, getting to cheer for my lifelong friend wasn't memorable enough, it was all topped off by having my "1 second of fame" by being on NBC channel 4 as I escorted the men to the start! My son David memorialized this by snapping a photo of the freeze frame on TV.
My 1 second of fame!
Coach Les and me
My heartfelt thanks to the man who made this all possible. My dear Team in Training Coach, mentor and friend, Les, you're the best!!!
Lori,
WOW! Sounds like an awesome experience.
Ellen
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Was your father Milt Weiner that worked at Bristol Labs in Syracuse?
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No, that was not my Dad. We were all from Brooklyn NY and then moved to NJ eventually settling down in Cherry Hill NJ years later. He was a self-employed businessman.
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We at Tallwoods Care Center located in Bayville, New Jersey, are very proud of our dear administrator,DEBBIE SHAPIRO, for her association with this great cause. We wish her lots of luck in her charitable endeavors and look forward to many healthy more years of service to the community at large.
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