| 11/2/2003 10:08:00 PM | Email this article • Print this article |
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| ON THE RUN: Madison’s Bert Fitzgerald, shown running in Louisville earlier this year, will compete in the New York City Marathon Sunday along with close friend, Dr. Bob Ellis. For Fitzgerald, the race will be his milestone 50th since 1989. Submitted photo. |
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Local runners taking aim at the Big Apple
By Mark Campbell
Courier Sports Editor
The Big Apple.
Bert Fitzgerald can make it there, because he’s made it everywhere.
When Madison distance runner Bert Fitzgerald laces up his shoes tomorrow morning — with some 30,000 other runners — he’ll be embarking on his first New York City Marathon, but it will be more than just 26 grueling miles through all five New York City boroughs.
It will be a true milestone.
Fitzgerald, who competes in the age 50-54 division and has been marathoning since 1989, will be on a quest to complete his 50th marathon. The fact that the milestone will come in The Big Apple is no coincidence.
Fitzgerald, who routinely runs 20-plus mile training runs in and around Madison, competed in No. 49 on Sept. 21, at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio, to set the stage for New York to be No. 50.
And when Fitzgerald sprints away from the starting line Sunday — actually with 30,000 runners and 60,000 feet trying to find a a toehold on the course it will probably be more of a shuffle — he’ll have one of his best running friends at his side in local doctor and fellow marathoner Dr. Bob Ellis of Madison.
“It’s such a big crowd with 30,000 runners that there are going to be times that you want to run but you can’t,” said Fitzgerald. “You just have to be patient and let things work themselves out.”
Fitzgerald and Ellis left Madison Thursday to catch a flight in Cincinnati for the trip to New York City. They planned to take in all the pre-race festivities Thursday and Friday before joining one of the most massive spectacles in sports Sunday.
Having Ellis join the trip for his milestone marathon will make the day even more special for Fitzgerald since the two runners have trained together for about 10 years along with a number of other marathoners in the Madison area such as Sue Livers and Judge Ted Todd.
But the fact that they both will be in the same field is more luck and persistence than coincidence. Unless you’re one of the world class runners like females Marla Runyon, Catherine Ndereba, Lornah Kiplagat or Margaret Okayo or top males like Kenyans Rodgers Rop, Christopher Cheboiboch or Laban Kipkemboi who will compete for a piece of the $532,000 prize purse, you've got about as much chance or making the field as hitting a decent payoff in the lottery.
In fact, runners must enter a lottery to make the field. That’s where luck is a factor. Those who enter the lottery for four years running — no pun intended — are finally awarded an invitation. That’s where persistence comes in.
“Neither one of us thought we’d get picked,” said Fitzgerald. “There were other marathoners around here who entered too, but they didn’t make it. I’ve been trying to get in about 10 years.”
Fitzgerald knows the wait will be worth it — maybe even more so since Sunday’s race will carry such milestone significance in his running career and the event can be run with Ellis.
Ellis, who competes in the 60-64 age division, has been marathoning since the early 1990s and he’s got more than 20 races under his feet.
So when the starter’s gun fires Sunday and the massive 60,000-foot human “centipede” starts shuffling toward the Queensboro Bridge, Fitzgerald and Ellis will be there along with the top distance runners in the world and thousands of other runners who have struggled their way into The Big Apple field.
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Editor’s Note: Highlights of Sunday’s New York City Marathon will be broadcast on NBC at 2 p.m. Sunday.
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