Franklin Park Coalition Runners Beat the Heat on Marathon Monday

If there was ever a day for a tough Boston Marathon, Monday, April 16, 2012, will go down in the record books as one of the toughest on record. Temperatures hovering around 90, asphalt temperature of 103-105 degrees, and cloudless, sunny skies created a recipe for dangerous running.
Fourteen of our sixteen team members donned their FPC singlets for an estimated 600,000 spectators and made the decision to "enjoy" the experience of completing 26.2 miles from Hopkinton to Boston. Besides friends and family on the course, we also had an amazing rest stop at Mile 13 thanks to staff and volunteers from the Franklin Park Coalition. That pampering resulted in the below time and the completion of the marathon for all of our runners who decided to go for it:

Scott Powell 3:19:37 (http://www.thedailycortlandt.com/sports/westchester-runners-beat-boston-marathon-heat)
Nichole Bukowski 3:42:50
Jesus Fuerte 4:07:25
Kristen Day 4:19:54
Piotr Krupa 5:06:30
Laura Derderian 5:08:49
Jason Gerrol 5:11:41
Jason Carraro 5:15:32
Jared Egan 5:17:46
Shari Hewson 5:25:21
Carleen Tucker 5:56:15
Julie Arrison 6:04:42
Paula Renzi Gibbs 7:09:28
Dale Libkin 7:10:45

Almost everyone's times were proportionately off from the planned goal times, but a testament to the coaching that Mike Toomey provided for the team as well. Without his advice and support, we may not be able to say that all of our runners completed the race upright.

The team will have more pictures and posts coming soon, highlighting our overall experience on both Marathon Monday and working with the Franklin Park Coalition over the past few months.

Paula Radcliffe Runs Franklin Park

Thanks to Boston Marathon Charity Team Member Jason Carraro for this tidbit of both Franklin Park history and running history.

Paula Radcliffe is the current female world record holder in the marathon (26.2 mile) distance with a finishing time of 2:15:25. In 1992, she competed in the Junior World Championships, held in Boston's Franklin Park.

Paula isn't the only dedicated runner who has used Franklin Park. Right now, our team is training hard and fundraising to support youth and athletic programs and facilities in Franklin Park--keeping it a world class place. To learn more or to support the team, visit our team page at http://www.razoo.com/story/Fpcmarathoncharityteam