2008 NYC Half-Marathon Presented by NIKE Event Gallery

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ING New York City Marathon 2004 winner Hendrick Ramaala of South Africa was escorted to the start line by one of the NYRR Foundation’s Mighty Milers.	More than 10,500 runners toed start line—the most ever—at the third annual NYC Half-Marathon Presented by NIKE.	Kathryn Laganza traveled from Norwalk, CT, and Joseph Moosbrugger (left) commuted from Lloyd Harbor, NY, to take part in one of the fastest-growing half-marathons in the U.S.	Energized runners rose to the challenge posed by the hills in Central Park, and emerged victorious. This year’s race had a 99-percent finisher rate.
Emerging from the park and onto Seventh Avenue, runners relished the fact that for one morning, the streets of Midtown West belonged to them.	Cheerleaders, spectators, NYPD, and Team for Kids fans enlivened a normally sleepy Seventh Avenue at half-past seven on a Sunday morning.	A brass-heavy swing band belted out lively tunes as runners headed past the NYRR 50th anniversary cheering zone outside Carnegie Hall.	WABC-TV Channel 7, the network that broadcast the race live and archived the footage on 7online.com, stationed an enthusiastic news team on the course to support the runners.
Sharlene Brown of Cambridge, MA, was one of the 200 Team for Kids members who raised money to support youth running programs.	Runners could catch a glimpse of the race on the NASDAQ screen as they continued through Times Square.	This year’s race hosted an event-breaking number of participants and spectators. Fans shot photos and cheered runners on with Toyota thundersticks.	The usual eastbound stream of traffic on 42nd Street contrasted with the flood of runners on the westbound side of the street.
Reema Choksi of Cliffside Park, NJ, waved happily to cameras as she headed down the West Side Highway; she knew that she was in the home stretch.	For the second consecutive year, WABC-TV Channel 7 anchorwoman Heidi Jones ran the NYC Half with a microphone to record her race-day experiences. Jones formed a training group and blogged on 7online.com.	Fans crowded the final stretch of the West Side Highway; they knew that the runners needed to hear their cheers of support.	Miriam Gustafsson of Branford, CT, waved her arms to celebrate her 1:56:07 finish.
Fun-loving finishers sunk their teeth into their hard-earned victories.	The post-race festival was a fun-for-the-whole-family event that featured music, massage, free Jamba Juice smoothies, stilt-walking entertainers, and fantastic raffle prizes.	Women’s winner and world marathon champion Catherine Ndereba of Kenya graciously acknowledged a city full of fans at the awards ceremony.	Race finishers and fans lined up for autographs from the pros.