NYC Marathon 2008 my B'klyn side view

For the 2008 NYC Marathon I decided once again to catch it live. After all watching it on TV for people in other states and equally far-flung and otherwise foreign places.

The thing about the marathon that TV doesn't prepare the spectator for is it's speed. for example I've been fortunately enough to live near the marathon over the course of several addresses and yet every time I've been close to the route I've watch the marathon leaders close in on my neighborhood expecting to go out and watch them and everything i barely catch a glimpse of sneaker bottoms.

today i decided i'd fight fire with fire so i grabbed my blades and headed out, this way I could get multiple shots of the leaders at one locale Clinton Hill, then I'd speed down hill and grab shots over in Bed-Stuy at the turn on Lafayette. Yeh, right.

I watched the camera helicopter like a google map marker gradually making it's way toward Vanderbilt Avenue and then just as easily it moved past and away. I missed the women's leaders just like that. The men were still 10-15 minutes behind them.

So when I got to Vanderbilt and Lafayette Aves I had time to set up, focus and take in the scenery. Did all that. Here come the leaders. I have the camera on multi-shot. All I saw as a freakin blur. I'm hoping the camera did better. I saw all the leaders run past me including Marilson Gomes dos Santos who would go on to win the Marathon. Did I get the shot I wondered? No time to check I'm on wheels after all and now I'm tearing down dekalb against traffic to get to my next firing position.

Like a 70's movie car chase I'm streaking down the street catching a blurry glimpse at every intersection of my target one block away. I'm looking toward the route to check my position relative to the pack leaders and where, where are they?
They. Are. Gone.

Um seeing nothing but the guys who were trailing them. I can't believe it, I'm wearing rollerblades for jeez sake, going down hill and the guys at the head of the race have just left me in the dust.

For a second I consider that is the Brooklyn Born blog, and I got no boundaries short of Queens. But I know the terrain between Bedstuy and WillyB, it's poorly paved and mostly uphill. Deciding I'd ate enough runner dust I settled in and took these shots through the Bed-Stuy Clinton Hill area.

Enjoy the shots most connect with details of the fun I saw and the cool people I met I'm writing it now hope to post in the next few hours...