Pamela Anderson might best be remembered for “running” on the beach in “Baywatch”. But her most impressive run came Sunday, when she not only ran the New York City Marathon but finished in a tidy 5:41:03.
“So proud of my brother Gerry,” Anderson tweeted. “Thank G. For running next to me today- love you lots.’’
Then she tweeted “Thank You New York City!” and a picture of her medal for finishing.
The 46-year-old Anderson — sporting a pixie cut, backwards baseball cap and a glowing natural look — ran for charity, raising almost $76,000 according to her fundraising page. It went to the J/P Haitian Relief Organization, which helps the impoverished Caribbean island nation devastated by the 2010 earthquake.
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London Marathon champion T segaye Kebede lost the race but won the prize, his 2:09.16 runner-up finish clinched the $500,000 bonus for the World Marathon Majors men’s title.
Adriana Nelson was the top American woman, finishing 13th in 2:35.05. Ryan Vail was the top American male, finishing in 12th in 2:13.23. Former champion and Olympic medalist Meb Keflezighi had been among the pre-race contenders, but ran through a calf injury and struggled in at 2:23.47, running along with — and a second behind — Staten Island’s Mike Cassidy.
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Security was redoubled in the wake of April’s Boston Marathon bombing, with roughly four dozen bomb-sniffing dogs, extra undercover cops, barricades blocking off much of Central Park and spectators going through bag-check lines to get in. New York Road Runners CEO Mary Wittenberg acknowledged the major change to have everybody screened, but chalked it up as the new normal.
“I remember 9/11 as a very emotional year, but this was different with a lot of celebratory feel to it but a real sense of running for meaning for New York and Boston. I’m not the NYPD, but (we had) zero incidents, zero threats, really smooth, very noticeable increased presence,’’ Wittenberg said. “It never felt too much at all to me. What it felt is it’s our new reality.
“I shot this picture. We had this big Run For Life banner and it says “When you hit the wall, fly over it” and the bridge is in the background. It’s absolutely beautiful, and I don’t even notice that there’s either NYPD or the Army walking across the roof. That’s our new reality. It’s probably been a reality since 9/11, and I think it’s a very supportive one. I never felt anything, but that it was a really good presence.’’
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American Tatyana McFadden completed an unprecedented marathon “Grand Slam.” The 24-year-old Maryland resident won the NYC Marathon women’s wheelchair race Sunday after taking the titles in Boston, London and Chicago in 2013. No other athlete has won those races in the same year.
— with AP