Oscar-winning movies have been made about the noble struggle of the dazed motorist, but there is a point when comedy turns to tragedy, and that point is probably two days. After finishing last week's marathon in 3 hours and 16 minutes, Albany resident Charles Petraske couldn't remember where he parked his car in Manhattan for 48 hours. "I was completely disoriented. I had no idea where the heck I was, or where my car is parked, and I had no phone and no money," Petraske tells the Post. This is exactly why we never exercise under any circumstances. more ›

A marathon runner suffered an apparent heart attack toward the tail end of today's 42nd NYC Marathon. FDNY said that the call about the man, said to be in his 30s, came in around 12:30 p.m. at the 22-mile mark on the marathon route at 5th Avenue and 117th Street— only four miles short of the finish line. “He fell on his face on Fifth Avenue, he just dropped like he was was shot,” Harlem resident James White told the Post. more ›

Looking at the hourly observations in Central Park it appears that the cold front passed through the city between four and six this morning, but that it took until almost ten a.m. for the cool Canadian air mass behind the front to arrive. You don't need to look at a website to know that we've now got a healthy north wind. The dew point has also dropped considerably, which means that after an afternoon high in the mid 50s we'll see a chilly night tonight. Look for the temperature across the city to be in the upper 30s tomorrow morning. more ›

The New York City Marathon might be a headache for those who want to get across town (or even cross the street) on Sunday, but it is a serious windfall for the city. And not just because of all the cash being spent on carbo-loading and tree cutting. According to Mayor Bloomberg the 26.2 mile race (and its 47,000 runners from all 50 states and 135 countries) generates more than $10 million in tax revenue. "It’s one of those events that really does set us apart," Bloomberg said yesterday before painting the orange and blue finish line in Central Park. "The race is a major boon to our economy." more ›

This weekend, thousands of freakishly fit people will willingly subject their bodies to 26.2 miles of cold, hard asphalt-pounding for the NYC Marathon. Most of these fine athletes will be engaging in the time-honored tradition of carbo-loading before the big event, in the attempt to maximize performance by storing extra glucose in the muscles. But enough of all that science! Let's say you just want to show your support for all those marathoners who've trained so hard, without that pesky "donating to their cause" thing. In the spirit of solidarity with the runners, here's a quick rundown of some of the best places for you, Average Joe Who Runs A 12-Minute Mile, to carbo-load along the route. more ›

The MTA has posted a time lapse (they're so into time lapses these days) from the marathon, which begins with the first wave of runners over the Verrazano-Narrows bridge around 9:45 a.m. yesterday. The whole things looks pretty neat, especially that hovering helicopter in the beginning! more ›

Not sure what you were doing yesterday, but Tim Sweeney, a personal trainer from Connecticut, was one of 43,000 athletes running the NYC Marathon. It took him almost 7 hours, which wouldn't be impressive if not for the fact that he's a cystic fibrosis sufferer who got a double lung transplant last year. "It was so much more than I expected. It was overwhelming," Sweeney told the Daily News after the race. "I didn't care about time. I really wanted to finish." more ›

Tonight we turn back the clocks for Daylight Savings Time, and get to sleep in two hours later than normal (that's how this works right?), and tomorrow we will awaken to the start of the 41st ING NYC Marathon! More than 43,000 people, including Chilean miner Edison Pena, are expected to run in the race, which starts at the Verrazano Narrows Bridge in Staten Island and takes runners all the way through the four other boroughs, ending in Central Park near West 67th Street. more ›

Edison Pena, the slight 34-year old Chilean miner who spent over two months trapped underground, gave an interview to the Daily News yesterday in which he detailed his experience in the mine and discussed his decision to run in the ING NYC Marathon this Sunday. He said of being trapped, "I became two people: the weak person who wanted simply to give up, and the person who chose to be strong - to run and to survive. Eventually, I chose to live." more ›

The ING New York City Marathon is this Sunday, and they've got you covered. In previous years we'd grown accustomed to the usual live broadcast on NBC, but this year there'll be complete media saturation, starting tomorrow. more ›

Meet Tim Sweeney: When he was two years old his parents found out he had cystic fibrosis, a genetic disorder in which the body produces a thick mucous that clogs the lungs. But they didn't tell him because they wanted him to have a normal life. He actually didn't find out until he was 26, when his girlfriend "heard something in his chest" and made him go to the doctor. Last year his condition deteriorated so badly that he could barely walk without wearing an oxygen mask. But now, after a double lung transplant, CBS2 reports that he's running the NYC marathon! more ›

During last year's NYC Marathon, Michael Goulding, 51, had a heart attack near Mile 19 in Harlem. Firefighters, who happened to be near by and were not assigned to cover the marathon, were able to resuscitate him. Though he trained appropriately, his mother spoke to the Times, "I told him that he was too old to run a marathon." Now, six months later, Goulding came back to run the final seven miles on Thursday and thank his rescuers. Since his heart attack, he ran a half marathon without any issue; he said to the Post, "It felt good [to run the final seven miles]. It shows how close the line is between life and death. I’m just very humbled." more ›

Alberto Arroyo, a familiar face to decades of joggers around the Central Park Reservoir, died on Thursday at age 94 in a nursing home. Arroyo had said he was "the first man to run in Central Park," and the NY Times writes in his obituary, "Who could dispute him? What is certain is that generations of runners came to treasure the leathery-skinned gentleman with flowing white hair and matching mustache as a peculiarly New York institution." more ›

In the wake of Meb Keflezighi's stunning NYC Marathon victory on Sunday — the first win by an American citizen since 1982 — a battle has erupted in the running world over whether or not the Eritrean-born athlete qualifies as an American runner. Though he didn't start training or running competitively until he immigrated to the United States at age 12, many claim the Keflezighi should be considered an East African runner because of his heritage, the Times reports. more ›

Reader Sherri Jackson took this picture during the NYC Marathon yesterday and wonders if someone could help identify the people in it:

This runner stopped along the NYC Marathon course, right after mile 16 (coming off the 59th St. Bridge into Manhattan) and proposed to his girl. He pulled a ring out of his pocket (I'm assuming it was a ring box - it was something black and square) and they had a few moments. I didn't think to get a shot of his bib number to identify him, so I'm hoping that people might link to this pic on facebook or twitter in hopes that it'll get to this couple. I'm sure they'd love to have it. :-) I have a couple more photos, so if they find me, they can email me: sherri [at] sherrijackson.com (Plus, they might need a wedding photographer)

Yesterday's 40th running of the ING NYC Marathon saw over 40,000 people traveling across the five boroughs to clock in 26.2 miles of running, walking, handcycling, and more. Besides the men's and women's race winners Meb Kelflizighi and Derartu Tulu, there were other champs: more ›

For the first time in 27 years, an American man has won the NYC Marathon. Meb Keflezighi — who achieved Olympic bronze in Athens — crossed the line at 2:09:15. The 5-foot-5½, 122-pound Eritrean immigrant set a personal best in his 13th NYC Marathon, crossing the line about 40 seconds ahead of second-place finisher. more ›

And they're off! Over 40,000 runners are on their way to finishing the 2009 New York City Marathon, which snakes across all five boroughs before its dramatic — and surprisingly hilly — finish in Central Park. All eyes are on three-time winner Paula Radcliffe, the British champ who this summer won the NYC Half Marathon. On the men's side, the Brazilian runner Marílson Gomes dos Santos is fighting for his third NYC Marathon victory against a field of formidable contenders including Kenyans James Kwambai and Robert Cheruiyot. more ›