2022 TCS New York City Marathon

On November 6, 2022, over forty-seven thousand runners finished the TCS New York City Marathon on one of the hottest and most humid November race days on record in NYC. Fifty-five of these runners were Harriers. Scoring for our men’s team were Alexander Simon, Gary Frankland, and Alan Yorke. The women’s team was led by Kristin Lunghamer, Susannah Davies, and Amrita Ramamurthy. Top Masters points went to Gary, Alan, Luke Kennedy, Stephanie Hodge, Briana Guiney, and Ellen Foley.

Men’s Captain (and former Harriers President) Gavin Goldstein was kind enough to write the following recap for us from his unique perspective as a longtime member, spectator and, as you will see, a genuine fan of every member of our team. Enjoy!

I joined the NY Harriers around 2006, after training with some of the “morning crew” guys and being told I needed to run the NYC Marathon with them as a Harrier. I had done the marathon once before in 2004 and said “never again.” I loved running with the Harriers, and since then I have been a NYC Marathon regular – either running past or (I can’t count how many times) cheering at the infamous White Castle at 103rd and 1st. The 2022 marathon was one of my favorites, and I was so proud of my teammates, all looking like rockstars as they either ran past the 18-mile marker or cheered their lungs out for their fellow Harriers.

This year’s marathon was not an easy one, and I could tell you, even from being on the sideline, it was not ideal. According to one resource, it was at 72°F at the start, and compared to the most recent marathon with a full field (2019, which started at 49°F) we saw that, overall, the average finish times went up by 15 minutes. For women, the average finish time went up by 12 minutes and for men, by 16 minutes. Everyone who ran that Sunday, everyone who got to that starting line, should be proud. The day itself, the months of training beforehand, everything about Sunday’s race, was not an easy feat. So, as I stood with my teammates on 1st Avenue, and was greeted by smiling Harriers running their hearts out, I cannot help but be proud and impressed of every single one of you.

*Alexander Simon (photo by Bruno Everaert)*

Fifty-five Harriers finished the 2022 New York City Marathon. FIFTY-FIVE! I can tell you from being on 1st Avenue and looking at photos subsequently, I saw a lot of smiles among those fifty-five. I can’t write about every one of them, but I can tell you again, every one of them deserves our respect and praise. I did not put in the grueling miles beforehand, or know the feeling of running an unusually warm marathon, but I’d like to report back on some of you from the proud perspective of a teammate. Again, every single one of you should be extremely proud, and I personally thank you for ROCKIN the H!

The first finisher for our team was Alexander Simon. Alex is relatively new to the NY Harriers, and from my understanding, new to running marathons generally. Which is another reason his 2:44:46 finish time was so impressive. Alex said, “It was so cool to wear the H in its hometown marathon! I felt in control through halfway, almost spot on with the pacing, and hydrated fairly well. Words can't describe the difficulty of the second half after the Queensboro Bridge. Definitely a challenging day, but the race as a whole was pretty unforgettable. A huge thanks to all the Harriers out there along the course, those cheers really picked me up!” I cannot wait to see how Alex’s running progresses from here. He looked cool as a cucumber running past us at 103rd.

Similarly, Gary Frankland looked like the pro he is as he smiled past us. “One moment that best summed up the tough conditions was when the 3:05 pacer passed me on 59th Street. I clearly knew I had missed my D goal of staying below 3 hours but it was a final kick in the backside to be passed by him. I tried to keep pace but couldn’t. Then I realized that he was running by himself. Everyone following him had fallen off. So strange to see a pacer running solitary. That kind of summed up the day. Everyone was well off their target pace. Can’t control the weather!” I can’t tell you how many marathons Gary has run at this point, and I know that this was not a PR, but Gary continues to impress me every time he laces up.

Shortly after, I remember a rash of Harriers working together and rolling up 1st Avenue. Alan Yorke, Luke Kennedy, Matt Coneybeare, and Jonathan Gerafi strolled up together looking impressive. Sergii Pershyn, Geoffrey Ching, Andrew Cai-Li, and Myles Fennon rounded out the pack, looking strong.

*Matt Coneybeare, Luke Kennedy, Jonathan Gerafi (photo by Mirjam Lablans)*

Luke Kennedy, a Harriers Board member, was one of many Kennedy brothers running that day. Luke said this was his “first NYC as a Harrier, and I'm not sure I would've gotten through that race without the team support… I knew I was close to a BQ but didn’t care and had no interest to pick up the pace in the last couple miles. When I finally got to mile 26 I had ninety seconds left, and I said some choice words and went for it. I came in with seven seconds to spare. We all did it and completed the toughest NYC Marathon ever!” I remember David running by, not looking pleased, but all the Kennedys are impressive specimens, including their father, who finished his umpteenth-millionth marathon that day. The legend of the Kennedy clan from Northport, Long Island and the patriarch continues (that’s right Kennedys, we expect you to tell Dad that he earned a shout out in the Harrier blog). The Harriers are proud to have the Kennedys as part of the team.

Around then, we had our first women rolling up. Kristin Lunghamer ran past the 18-mile marker, and after she passed us, we all looked at each other and commented about how smooth and nonchalant she looked. Kristin, you looked great! Your time, and sixth place finish for the Harriers (and first place Harriers woman) is amazing. Nothing else to say, but wow.

Speaking of impressive women, not too far after Kristin was Susannah Davies. Susannah rolled by the 1st Avenue crew with huge smiles and excitement. Susannah, did I detect tears in your eyes?!?!? It was well deserved. You ran and looked awesome! Susannah finished “feeling very loved and nothing but love for the city and its people, and especially this team. Getting to the White Castle kept me going and wowza, the Harriers showed up! I also felt a sense of camaraderie to all the Harriers out there that pushed through bizarre (brutal) November conditions.” Also, to “quote” Susannah [from her Strava], “Don’t worry Mayor Adams, we will all spend a lot of money today, and make sure everyone else does too.”

Up next, we have two of my favorite “newer” Harriers, but really it is as though they have never not been part of the team. Coach and Board member Amrita Ramamurthy, only you can get away with running by and casually grabbing a 5-hour Energy drink to finish off an impressive day. Particularly after running the Chicago Marathon just a couple of weeks before. “I didn’t come home until like 10:30pm, and I was not that tired.” Ah, to be young again. Amrita, you are the best.

Speaking of being young again, Ethan Seltzer, you ole son of a gun. The kid celebrated his 25th birthday the day after running the NYC Marathon. This was preceded by celebrating his birthday with drinks two nights earlier, running the Chicago Marathon, and running the Berlin Marathon! WTF?!?!? With all of that, Cool Ethan (as he is known), ran by the cheering crowd on 1st Avenue pumping us up. Lots of fist pumps and smiles!

Around then, we got some good smiles and cheering from Corinne Sejourne, Kathleen Queenan, Jen Muse, Hannah Graffeo, Stephanie Hodge, Michael Stevick, Hanon Jhung, Kevin Bulvanoski, Alex Rainsby, Briana Guiney, Maddie Rizzo, Marc Lopez Llopart, Gerard Hoban, Jason Gray, Santo Brocato, Kelsey Cook, Tim Berger, Luci Cooke, Frank Orlando, Celia Martzolf, Conor Vonderahe, Tom Ryan, Gia Diaz, Francesco Babini, Alexandra Saveanu, Chris Stevens, Ellen Foley, Daipan Lee, and Sandro Belvedere, Barbara Maliardi, Rick Rosenbluth, Kimi Chappelle, Diane Kenna, Steven Joseph, Connor Essick, Elvira Sihvola, Jillian Tofukuji, Zöe Costanzo, and Tess Radunovich. All of these champions deserve recognition and admiration.

I personally did not see every single one of you, but commend you all. I will share a couple of moments that I hope to not forget. Like Ethan and Amrita, Hanon rolled by us on 1st Avenue looking strong and happy. Unbelievable after racing the Dash 5K the day before! Hanon said “the heat got us around Mile 19. Nonetheless, it was such an awesome day of running, celebrating, and partying. The day reaffirmed how awesome the Harriers (both the people running and cheering) are and why I love running (for anything under 23-ish miles)!”

Harriers VP Hannah Graffeo had an impressive finish and looked great! Congratulations to Stephanie Hodge and Diane Kenna for finishing another NYC Marathon. I don’t know just how many marathons these two have chalked up, but I know they are impressive!

Like Diane and Steph, Gerard Hoban has been a longtime Harrier, but this was actually his first ever NYC Marathon! Gerard said he “wanted to do NYCM for a decade now but injuries etc. got in the way! It was a miracle it all came together in the end as I could not run a step for 8 months from Nov to July, but was able to build up my long runs over the last 2 months. Was hoping for sub-4 and felt I could do it, but when I got to 21 had to dig deep. Dedicated various miles to different people and causes (Alzheimer’s, mental illness, cancer). Mile 25 was dedicated to my Mum and my last mile was dedicated to my Dad who was there at my previous marathon 40 years ago.” Unbelievable, considering how strong and happy he looked!

It was also Jillian Tofukuji’s first marathon. Jillian said, “This was such a valuable learning experience and such a beautiful day in terms of feeling the energy of the boroughs, and I'm so glad that I got to rock the H on my first marathon!”

Shout out to Briana Guiney, for always looking like she is having fun, and for achieving a PR! And to Tim Berger for sporting the headband and being easy to spot… not just for the headband but the permanent smile. Similarly, to Gia Diaz, who despite being in the middle of the road, we caught the big smiles.

Chris Stevens, for flying in from across the pond (with his Harrier wife, Tara J who raced the day before!) and running! Sandro Belvedere, for looking like the coolest cat of them all, and flashing big hearts. Every single one of you did this old timer proud, and the 1st Avenue White Castle crew were thrilled to see you all.

Cheering was a huge amount of fun, and we should shout out to all the Harrier cheerers. Particularly our Harriers President, Ari Scott, who was behind the camera and caught amazing photos of everyone, and Harriers Captain Mirjam Lablans, who personally made my day by screaming at Elle Kemper that she was unbreakable! Elle looked over, and gave the best “Erin from the Office” smile, a thumbs up, and wave.

Coach Scott Bartucca was running up and down 1st Avenue getting his miles in, and making sure his team was doing well. Some choice words from our coach: “It takes just as much strength and grit to finish when you're having a rough day as it does when you're crushing a PR. Be proud of the work you did to get to that start line. It's about the work. And remember that your coaches and teammates are so so proud of, and inspired by, you. One of the frustrating things about marathons is their unpredictability. There are things we can control, and many things we can't--the weather is one of them. But the marathon gives us so many good things as well, and I hope you got to experience some of that yesterday as well.” Thank you Scotty, for your work and training.

A memory of cheering I will never forget was having about a block-long worth of Harriers waving their hands in the air to support our friends from the Achilles running team. Zöe Costanzo was running as a guide to deaf and blind runners. At one point, she had to swap who she was guiding as there were only a few guides available who knew tactile American Sign Language. When Zöe ran by with her runner, without a word, without hesitation, every Harrier on 1st Avenue raised their hands to sign “applause.” It was absolutely incredible. Zöe informed me that her runners continue to tell everyone how amazing it was, and I could not be prouder of our team.

Although there is always a bit of FOMO being on 1st Avenue cheering, being part of this team, in any format, makes the first Sunday of November in NYC wonderful and meaningful. Congratulations, New York Harriers, on finishing one of the toughest feats a person can take on, and thanks for making the New York Harriers the best team in New York City.

For more photos of the Harriers in action on race day, check out these albums by Mirjam Lablans and Ari Scott.

2022 TCS New York City Marathon

2022 Abbott Dash to the Finish Line 5K