Hi fellow Penguins,

My name is Jeremy (Jerry) Worthing.

I have been on the supportive Disney

Dead list for the last 16 months.

I started running on the night after my daughter

was born. That was 20 years ago. Since

then it has been half an hour, 2 - 3 times

per week. I love travelling to running events,

visiting new places and meeting friends. The

competitive aspect of running is of insignificant

importance to me. I just like to run my own thing.

Last year I ran my first ever marathon. The

NYCM was my sixth.

On Saturday evening it was great meeting

many penguins at the NYC encounter. Everyone

was so very kind and friendly. Karen Bingham

awarded me a penguin t-shirt for being "the one

who had travelled furthest" (well, I had just arrived

straight from a business trip in the Middle East).

Nangel Lindberg gave me a pink cap, which I

wore for the marathon.

I look forward to being a member of the Penguin

list, and learning from the experiences shared by

fellow Penguins.

Thank you all and take care.

Jeremy Worthing

(Brit living in Austria)

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Here is my NYCM race report :

(1) Intro

Special warm thanks to Nangel for

her welcoming kindness and generosity

this past weekend. Thanks also go

to Daniel Wellner for the highly

successful and enjoyable Penguin

& Dead encounter on Saturday

evening. Sincere thanks to Karen

Bingham for the surprise t-shirt prize

for being the "one who travelled

furthest" at the encounter. Thanks

to Ron Horton and the other Penguins

for the pre-race gathering and great

race-start strategy at the head of

the red section. Thanks everyone

for making my first ever visit to

NYC, and 3rd time in the U.S. so

enjoyable. I just loved it! Despite

the huge mass of new impressions

collected over the past few days,

I'm hoping that this report will turn

out to be more or less coherent.

Nevertheless, feel free to skip with

abandon! :-)

(2) Pre-Race

Arrived Boston on Thursday directly

from a business trip in the Middle

East. Drove to NYC with Nangel.

Had a great time visiting the expo,

drinking Murphy's stout and eating

steak at the Irish pub where Penn

Station Fire-fighters hang out. Saturday

morning's cold 6K freedom run starting

at the U.N. building had a very international

flavour, and it was good to sit in a warm

diner for a hot breakfast afterwards.

Daniel Wellner's encounter with the

Penguins & Deads was excellently

organised. There was a moving speech

given by Karen Bingham. It was great to

meet Abe, Jeanette, Paulette, Debbie,

Mel and other Penguins, and to see the

Deads who were at the Boston encounters

in April, namely Joe, Lauren, Harriet,

Julia and Mike.

(3) Race report up to mile 20

The race started on the long high bridge

joining Staten Island with Brooklyn. The

view from our starting position on the left

side of the bridge was sensational. The

Manhattan skyline and the rainbow coloured

water display given by the fire tugs shone

clearly in the cold crisp late-morning sunlight.

Watchless as usual and high on adrenalin I

raced easily through Brooklyn and lower

Manhattan, hi fiving, chatting to other

Austrian and Brit runners, looking out for

pink hats like the one I was wearing.

Somewhere in Brooklyn I heard a "Go

Penguin Brigade"... but by the time I had

turned round, I couldn't see who was calling.

It was a lovely sunny afternoon, and the

sights and crowds were carrying me on a

wave. Ellen Druckenmiller had written that

she might be standing on the corner of 94th

Street, but unfortunately missed seeing her.

She later told me that she had yelled my name

but I didn't stop.... I was tiring fast at around

mile 18, and my mind was losing concentration.

(4) Beyond mile 20 (Or: What went wrong?)

In the Bronx the wall hit me like never before.

It was almost impossible to go on. My pace

slowed from the excellent 7:36 pace prior to

mile 20, down to around 9 minutes per mile

for the final 6.2 mile stretch. Gone were the

crowds and fascinating sights. I was on my last

legs, with a single thought screaming in my mind:

"Let this be over now!". Around mile 25 I

realised that I had forgotten to eat the small

sachet of salt, that had proven to be helpful

in the past. Suddenly eating gels or drinking

made me want to throw up.........

The finishing time was 3:27, nine minutes worse

than the PR of September. So what went

wrong? Was the NYCM course really as hard

as it seemed? Were the half dozen 20 milers I

did for training up to 10 days prior to the race

were too much? Was the tiring 7 day business

trip in the 110°F heat of the Middle East just 3

days previously responsible? Anyone got any

ideas? All suggestions will be much appreciated.

Thanks for reading this far, and look forward

to seeing you all at the Disney encounters.

Jerry Worthing

(Looking for a running watch)