THREE THOUSAND CHEERS FOR THE BLUE PLANET RUN! This weekend I was in New York City with BPR founder Jin Zidell and teammates Rudy, Brynn, Sean, Richard, Simon and Will to accept the Runners World 2007 Heroes of Running award presented to the Blue Planet Run Team as “The Environmentalists.” Hopefully you’ve all had the opportunity to see our BPR photo in the December 2007 publication of Runners World. BPR shared the honor with an amazing cast. The honorees included Ryan Hall who won the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials the morning before the awards ceremony.

I arrived early Thursday morning, checked into our hotel and walked to the NYC Marathon Expo at the Javits Center on the west side. There I met Jin at the booth set up by Runners World for the “Heroes.” Jin and I worked the booth for four hours on Thursday. We had plenty of traffic and interest in BPR. The new “just off the press” Blue Planet Run coffee table book by Rick Smolan and Jennifer Erwitt was front and center.

On Friday I ran down the East River riverwalk to Pier 17 at South Street Seaport where the Blue Planet Run finished on September 5, 2007. The weather was much the same as on finish line day, sunny and breezy. The run was very reflective for me. I even took a loop around Shiri’s old training track near Houston Street. I arrived at Pier 17 to find that the Bodies exhibit was showing there but, alas, I had not brought enough money to get in. I phoned David to reminisce and then ran back to the hotel, followed by another walking tour around upper Manhattan before returning to our booth at the Expo. By now Rudy had joined us and Richard showed up shortly thereafter followed by Brynn and Sean. At the end of our stint we were joined by “running heroes” Tegla Loroupe and Amy Palmiero-Winters, both truly inspiring athletes and human beings.

Tegla Loroupe, “The Peacemaker,” won the NYC Marathon in 1994, becoming the first African woman to win a major marathon. She is from Kenya and formed the Tegla Loroupe Peace Foundation to promote conflict resolution between warring communities. Since water is something communities battle over, she had lots to share with BPR.

Amy Palmiero-Winters lost her left leg after a serious motorcycle accident in 1994. Since then she has run a personal best 3:04 marathon, and won the Ossur National Leg Amputee Half-Marathon. She aspires to compete in the Hawaii Ironman, qualify for the Olympic Marathon Trials and run a 100 mile ultra. She has redefined the meaning of “disability.” She wants to be on the 2009 Blue Planet Run team.

The Expo was hopping on Friday and Saturday. We saw old friends and made new ones. We spread the word about BPR. On Saturday morning I joined an ultra friend to watch the U.S. Olympic Trials Marathon in Central Park. Ryan Hall was running only his second marathon and was favored for one of the three Olympic slots. His performance was incredible, staying in a pack of five runners early on, then down to three, and then breaking away at mile 18 to run the last eight miles alone and win unchallenged in 2:09:02 We could watch his every stride on a large screen from our seats at the finish line, and see him in the flesh each time he came around the loop. Ryan Hall was flawless and smooth. He spent the last mile engaging with the crowd, waving and shaking hands. That night he fittingly received “The Frontrunner” award.

A cloud hung over the festivities because of the death during the trials marathon of Ryan Shay, a good friend and training partner to Ryan Hall. It was also tough to see Ted Corbitt, the father of ultrarunning, appearing fragile and reduced to a wheelchair having recently been diagnosed with a serious cancer. But Ted would not miss the occasion. He was the first to take the stage, recipient of “The Pioneer” award. Ted, at 88 years old, has run at least 199 ultramarathons and marathons, and set numerous distance records. He is familiarly known as a father of ultrarunning and was the first president of the New York Road Runners Club.

The other recipients included “The Phenom” Alan Webb, holder of the American mile record in 3:46:91, “The Visionary” Nancy Brinker, founder of the Susan G. Komen for the Cure now celebrating its 25th anniversary, and Dave McGillivray, “The Leader,” founder of DMSE Sports and the Children’s Fitness Foundation, race director of the Boston Marathon, and himself an accomplished marathoner and Ironman triathlete. Sister Madonna Buder received “The Ironwoman” award as the oldest woman to complete the Hawaii Ironman. She has completed 34 full Ironmans and set a world record for 65 to 69 year olds at Hawaii in 1996. I had the honor of having lunch and dinner with her on the day of the awards which she attended with a friend from Vermont.

I also had the great honor to share a meal with Jamie, Lynn and Annalyn Parks from Illinois. The Parks are “The Inspirations.” Lynn was seriously injured in an accident and confined to a wheelchair after recovering from a coma. Since then she and Jamie married, had Annalyn their daughter and have been running as a family. Jamie and Lynn are qualified for next year’s Boston Marathon and have completed more than 170 road races with Jamie pushing Lynn in the chair at a total weight of 170 pounds. They have run a 2:57 marathon.

Last but not least, the honorees included Martin Franklin, “The Philanthropist,” who collected the largest single donation ever received by a non profit organization, in this case for the Wounded Warrior Project, by completing the 135 Mile Badwater Ultramarathon in Death Valley for which he raised pledges. More information on all the recipients along with pictures appears in the December 2007 issue of Runners World.

Presenters and guests at the ceremony included celebrities like Deena Kastor, Dean Karnazes, Amby Burfoot, Ted Deboom, and Bart Yasso, to name a few. Every one in the room was inspired not only by the athletic performances of the individuals but by each one’s commitment in their own way to helping others and making the world a better place, and by each individual’s mental stamina and focus. This committed group included the management and staff of Runners World. For myself and for the Blue Planet Run Foundation I thank Runners World from the bottom of my heart for this fitting celebration.

I finished the weekend off by having breakfast with Jin and an amazing conservation photographer named Allison Jones. Then I ran the last ten miles of the New York City Marathon reveling in the ethnicity of this great city, the wonderful and varied live music along the course, the diversity of New York City, and the camaraderie and good cheer of the participants and people. As we passed a water fountain and ran through Central Park to the finish line, I celebrated the spirit of life that will make the difference in solving the problems of the world, home and abroad, including the lack of access to safe drinking water - a problem with a solution.

Water is life! Pass it on.