It's great to watch you all crossed the finish line among 3,000 athletes from all over USA and Canada. DaTwan did a great job organizing the event. Congratulations to everyone!

I captured images of 2011 and 2012 Rochester Marathons. And here are my 2013 Sprint Race and the After-Party in Vinh Long, Vietnam, but where is the 2013 marathon's after-party DaTwan?

With all my best wishes,

Chau

DaTwan, our sports journalist, hilariously summarizes the 2013 Rochester Marathon:

Wow. Job well done. Hats off to those who did the half. We had a record of four relay teams this year. FOUR teams! As I was running on the canal path I saw a sign that was meant for someone else, but it really was a sign for all the runners. It said “Congratulations Jenny, just by making it here you have already crossed the finish line.”

I thought about that sign, and its meaning for a good 5 minutes which is a long time by running standards. In the end: pace didn’t matter, a trophy didn’t matter, just making it there mattered. Great job everyone.  

Individual blurbs is a tradition now. Let’s go.  :-)

Nitin - Since I keep forgetting to add you as one of the half runners, I think it was only fitting that I put you first. You showed up with your Dr. Dre beats headphones and you moved to your own beat as you crossed the finish line. Great job. I heard that shirtless Shenoy stuck again and women from all over were cheering him on.

Trevor -The only one I know that absolutely loves running in the cold. You may be able to boast about your fast pace, but I still remember your email after your 1st 5k. You emailed an “OutOfOffice: not feeling well” email. Wow have you come a long way. It’s probably the shoes right? 

Suraj - Back problem? That is history. Great job. You trained consistently and it paid off. You were training while most of us were sleeping still. Go Kumar. Get K2 to join us next year.

Edith - I heard that you were flying. When I saw you afterwards, it looked as though you hadn’t even ran. Great job with the training and thanks for slowing down the jets when we practiced together. I’m going to keep working on Craig. After one race he will be hooked, like us.

Alex - You went from a relay averaging 10 minute miles, to a half averaging 9:30 minute miles. What is next year going to be? A full at 9:00 pace? I see the trend here. I can do the math. Great job. I hope you enjoyed the half cake that your little woman made for you. You forgot to tell her that I was hoping for a quarter cake.

Leg 1:

Andy - He’s been called Jordan. He’s been called Bolt. He’s been called (K.G) Garnett. Now he has earned the name Money-Mayweather. 45 wins. 0 loses. Wow. This guy just keeps going and going non-stop. Andy Roberts everyone’s role model.

Shauna - Superstar.  When you can run 8 minute miles, you can demand that entire legs switch just around so you can get some rest after your run. Shauna: my role model. Did Naji really beat you in a race? Come on, I know you let him win. Tell the truth. He won’t read this. Oh shoot yes he will, he’s copied in. Get Naji and that clown Kenyon to join us again too.

Will - He didn’t believe me when I said that Andy was fast. I bet he believes me know. I heard that the two of you ran most of the leg together. Great job keeping up. I’m glad that you were on the team. I would love to have you on a dream team next year. Hint, hint.

Ravi - Yup, I‘m an idiot. Ravi showed up for a practice run and I thought that this was going to be his first race. I told him to slow down or he might run out of gas. Ha!  Not only is he a runner, but he is a fast runner at that. I am so happy that you were not on the same leg as me. Great job. You were flying.

Leg2:

Jose - Not only did you step up and join us again, but you made the relay better. I think everyone enjoyed seeing everyone else come in and cheer them on. That was a great addition to the agenda. Everyone waited and there was no confusion. Next time run pushing princess Juliana. This was Judy can join us again.

Joanna - No training? No problem! When you were done, someone asked if you ran. They said that you didn’t look like you ran. Great job. You should train next time though, so us mere mortals don’t look so bad. It’s gotta be the  vitamins that you take. Test her for roids. 

Parul - You do realize that this event wouldn’t be the same if you didn’t run the half or the relay. It’s a tradition, just like this email. You had a lot going on and you made it through. You are an inspiration. Great job Parul. Great job. I am still waiting on seeing a mother daughter run. Any day now.

Roberto I - You asked me why I called you Roberto I. I said because your last name is too long to say during a basketball game. I am changing that reason to me saying : “Roberto I wish I ran as fast as you for my first relay.”  How is that for a reason? Great job. I think it was the shoes man. It had to be the shoes.

Leg 3:

Mike Kinn -  My boy. My buddy. My pal. That’s it. You’re officially off my leg. You run too fast. You kept stopping to wait for me and I kept telling you to keep going. That’s it. You need someone to push you for a change. Dude, you’re 7 feet tall, you can crack 8 minute miles easily. I know just the right person to push you too. I know people in high places that are called Jordan, KG, or now Money-Mayweather.

Prashant - He looked unstoppable out there. He got a cramp that slowed him down for a few minutes. He came back in the game and got his team a championship. No I’m not talking about Lebron 2012 Game 4, I’m talking about Prashant the real 2013 Rochester Marathon MVP.

David - Your first race? Seriously? Seriously? He’s not a man, he’s a machine. This guy was flying. He and Mike ran great together. Keep up Crossfit and running man. Keep it up. It’s working for you.

Me - This was my fasted relay ever. 9:15 instead of 9:45 or 10. My highlight was feeling great afterwards. Little to no pain that day, or the day after. Crossfit all the way. Thanks Jason. I spent week cursing him out in my head, but in the end Crossfit paid off with basketball and for the relay. I still hate Crossfit though. Lol. Shoot, tomorrow is Crossfit Wednesday. $@%^@$%@$! @$@&^ amp;^! %^!^@$%!^

Leg 4:

Roberto - You joined, you quit, you found your own replacement, and we were able to reel you back in. Now that is someone who didn’t want to let the team down. I hate to say I told you so, but I knew you could run 6 miles. Just pace yourself. You did it. Keep making babies, and keep running. Great job.

Al - I heard that you were the inspiration that kept Roberto from falling too far back. Smooth Al. You have your second race behind you know. You are officially a runner. Welcome. Next year right? No turning back. Get Scott to come back as well.

Mark - Where do I start? You started training before everyone else, and then you injured yourself in the last week. You didn’t give up, and you ended up kicking butt. That is what champions are made of Mark. This is SPARTA!  Oops, I got carried away. Great job Mark. You were an inspiration to us all. Go X-cats. I had to throw that in.

Duane - We had a conversation a few days before the race. You weren’t happy about this at all. I felt horrible for roping you into this. Horrible. I look up and I see you crossing the finish line first. First!!! Are you kidding me? At the end of the race, you told me to sign you up for next year. That made my day man. Congrats. Job well done.

Winona - You wake up early, drive people all over the city. I have no idea how you manage to zip through and catch everyone, but you manage. Unbelievable job. You know it’s coming. It’s coming.  OK, people Winona is going to run on the relay team next year 2014. It has been announced. Jordan came out of retirement a few times. Winona can too. Press conference at 6pm. Just pace yourself and you will be fine. 

Chau - I kept hearing, where is Chau? A few minutes later he would pop up. Someone said that he was probably off somewhere taking pictures of good looking women. The proof is in the pictures. If he only has three or four pictures to show us, then we know he was really up to something else.

Supporters - We had former relay team members there, Xerox supporters, families, and friends show up. You may not believe it, but it always makes you push just a little bit harder when people have your back. Thanks for taking that time out to support us.

Great run everyone, and like I mentioned earlier: You won just by showing up.

Great job!!!

DaTwan