Hey, Fred? I know I'm late for the meeting, but it took longer to walk 26 miles than I thought it would...

NYC Marathon, Nov 2008 - 062

A small example of how things have changed since the New York Marathon began back in 1970 (click here for more details about the history of this marathon): back then, there was no such thing as a cell-phone, so there was no way for the runners to stay in touch with family and friends who might be wondering where they were.

Now it seems that almost everyone in the race has got a cellphone, and it's not just for emergencies. This woman looked like she was carrying on a perfectly normal conversation with someone, blissfully unaware that she was surrounded by 30,000 other runners and millions of specttors...

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These photos were taken at the 24-mile mark of the 2008 New York City Marathon -- from the west side of the Park Drive, facing north and west. There was a water stand just in front of me, which explains the massive number of paper cups on the ground, as well as the large number of runners who were taking a much-needed drink. They had all just finished running up a slight uphill grade, had a quarter-mile of level ground, and then a nice long downhill stretch during the course of their final two miles ...