I'd like to congratulate our team and 3,002 athletes from all over USA and Canada that participated in the September 21, 2014 Rochester Marathon. Thank you to DaTwan for a great job of organizing the event! And as always, for your viewing of the past events, here are the images of 2011, 2012 & 2013 Rochester Marathons, and my 2013 and the recent 2014 Sprint running events in commemoration of my mother in Vinh Long, Vietnam.

Best wishes,

Chau

DaTwan, our sports journalist, hilariously summarizes the 2014 Rochester Marathon:

Another one in the books!  We had 4 relay teams!!!  We had people doing the half.  We had people doing the full. This year was full of surprises as usual, but we managed to make it through the race, and can all laugh about it now that it’s over. During my leg three run someone yelled: “NOW THAT’S A TEAM!  Great job.“ On another occasion, we saw Lauren approaching the end of the race. We joined in and ran with her. The announcer said: “I recognize that team. That is team Xerox. Look at them finish as a team!”

There were tons of teams out there, but no one worked as a team the way we did.  You all have a lot to be proud of.

Ok, so I have to keep up the tradition of giving individual blurbs.

Support:

Chau: Seriously.  The one constant over the years has been the photographer.  You showed up and stayed for an hour this time.   One hour? Come on; tell us the real story of why you had to leave, and what you left to take pictures of.

Naji:  Winona was a tough act to follow.  She has been driving people around for years now.  I could tell you were a bit nervous about making it to each leg, but wow did you come though.  Sorry you got injured before the race, but happy that you stepped up to help us out.  Sorry for getting sweat on your luxury vehicle.

Spectators:  As usual we saw family and friends in the crowd.  There’s nothing like running and seeing someone you know cheering you on.  Thanks for coming.  They need a spectator medal.  Seriously! My grandmother even showed up.  That’s dedication.

Full Marathoners:

Nitin: Just like your mansion in Webster, you have a tendency to set yourself apart from everyone else.  The full!!! I remember when you were doing a quarter.  What were you thinking?  I get it, you were trying to get rid of a house full of kids for 5 hours blocks of time.  Lol. Congrats man.

Half Marathoners:

Ben: You have been doing this for how many years and you show up late.  Seriously?  Way to pick up the pace to catch up though.  I couldn’t even get a picture you were moving so fast.

Roberto I: You said that you were going to do the half and you nailed it.  You trained, and you bought the blinding sneakers to help you move faster.  I was definitely able to spot you in the crowd.  You asked me why I call you Roberto I.  You don’t want people confusing you with Roberto R.  While you were conquering your goal, he was home sleeping on his couch.

David B: He’s not a man.  He’s a machine.  You barely broke a sweat.  I think you may end up joining Nitin soon in the full marathon ranks.

Kenyon:  This guy.  You went from I hate running and I’m not running again, to I’m doing the half this year.  You also said something about Oprah motivating you.  I watch action movies myself, but if that’s what you into then hey.  Ok, I’m kidding.  Binns you trained and it showed.   You were on cloud 9.  You were hilarious.  Flexing after the run; cheesing.  You deserve it.  I’m still not a fan of that Dora backpack that you train with.

Relay Leg 1:

Shauna: You, Andy, Jordan, and Lebron.  What more can be said?  People who are in a league of their own.  You can even see that FOCUS when you’re training.   You can really take Xerox to the next level.  2015.  Come on.

Jason:  I met you on race day, I snapped a picture of your and you brother Bejan, and within seconds you were off.  Way to run man.  Wow, I remember running that fast when I was.  Oh ya, I was always a slow runner so that saying will never apply to me.

Bejan: You freaking comedian.  You named your team “DaTwan’s Dust” You should have seen the lady cracking up when I went to pick up my packet.  Nice run man.  I’m glad you gave up a couple of rounds of golf a week to practice.  It showed.

Andy: There’s a bunch of us playing a game of checkers, and there’s one person playing chess.  You are in a league of you own.  Keep inspiring us.  Year after year you do the relay, and we know that you can do the full at record breaking pace.  Thanks for taking it down a notch.    You’re like a playground legend.  You think the stories are made up, but then you find out that it’s not.   You are in awe when you see the legend in real life:  Andy Bolt Roberts does exist.

Relay Leg 2:

Sharon: I never saw you run on Sunday, but I know you ran.  The pictures looked like you broke a sweat so way to go.   I bet you can get even faster next year by adding one run a week beforehand.

Joanna: My phone never rang so much. You showed up late for your leg almost giving everyone a heart attack.  I have no idea how you managed to barely train, and still catch up to other’s in your leg.  Thanks for not giving up. Remember how sore you are now.  Share the story, and get everyone to train together next year.  You can do it.

Esha: This was your first relay.  I know you aren’t that into running, so you did a bit of walking.  The fact that you said you weren’t sore at all yesterday means something.  Uh-huh.  You’re on a team called “DaTwan’s Dust.” That should have pushed you a little.   Next year, I know you can run the whole thing.  When you put your mind to it you can do it.  Look at what you’ve done for your other challenge.  Thanks for sticking around at the end.

Mohanish:  Wow.  You flew.  We had you down for 12 to 14 minute miles, and you did 10.  That was crazy. Come join us next year on some practice runs.  You’d have fun.

Relay Leg 3:

Mike Kinn:  Talk about being a team player.  As usual you were holding back.  At one point you slowed down to run with me for a few miles, then you stopped to check on others and caught up to me a mile later.  It was a piece of cake for you.  Kenyon said that during one of the practice runs he was jogging up a hill, and you were walking up the hill at the same pace.  Ridiculous!

DaTwan:  Well in 2011 I sprained my ankle weeks before the race. I repeated this in 2014.  No trail runs in my future.  Last time Andy got my mind off the pain, this time Mike did.  Ankle braces are great for your ankles, but they just transfer the pain to your knee.   Ah who am I kidding: I’m just old and out of shape.

Prashant:  Sometimes when people run, the conversation revolves around training, working out, and results. When you run with Prashant it turns into conversations about financial advice.   I learned so much on this race. He managed to offer advice to the poor, while he was running, and always with a smile.

Scott:  I talked about family and friends in the crowd.  Did you really know all of those cheerleaders?   As far as being ready to run, I have said that Basketball can get you through 3 miles and Cross fit can get you through 5 miles.  You felt it after mile 5.  I was dead on.  Thanks for filling in for us Mr. Cross fit Rochester.  

Relay Leg 4:

Biruk:  I finished my leg and saw you fly.  I don’t even think you had the belt in your hand all the way.  I saw you knocking people over to make sure you had that 8 minute / mile pace.  You started and finished with a frantic pace and had the whole family there to cheer you on.  Awesome!  Most competitive: Biruk Gossaye.

Lauren:  Voted the coolest runner ever.  Every picture she is smiling with the shades on without a worry in the world.   She had every excuse as to why she wasn’t training, but when she started coming out to the practice runs, I think she enjoyed it.

Daniel:  Your first race. CHECK!  You said that you were in pain for two days.  I believe it.   As you said in your note, “crossing that finish line made it all worth it.”  Way to go, and thanks for not quitting.

Alex:  You finished your run at lightning pace, and went back to run with the other from your leg.   “Water? I don’t need water; I have to pose for pictures.”  Thanks for running the relay with us mere mortals.  You made it look so easy.

Trevor, Kim:  Vegas!

Winona, Leslie, Dedrick, Roberto, Duane, Mark, Parul: 2015 Relay?  Come on.

I can’t play basketball for a while with my sprained ankle, so look for notes from me for Tuesday runs while the weather is still good.

See you later.
DaTwan