BLIND DAVE "FIRST" IN NEW YORK MARATHON

06-11-2006

Blind Dave Heeley brought glory to the West Midlands yesterday by arriving home as the first disabled athlete in the New York marathon - or at least we think he did,although there has been no official confirmation following mildly chaotic scenes at the finish of the 26 mile run.

What we know for certain is this - Dave and his guide runner Mad Mac completedthe course, which runs through the five boroughs of the Big Apple, in 3 hours 31 minutes, just outside sixty seconds outside their personal best.

They would have been quicker, but for a ten minute opening mile which slowed them down and ultimately cost them their PB chance.Dave blamed orginisational failures at the start, and commented "it wouldn't have happened in London. We were aiming at seven and a half to eight minutes per mile, so that shows how expensive the start was.

"It was also very crowded, and at one point Mac ducked under a rope to take advantage of an empty lanereserved for women, but we were spotted and had to rejoin the men."

New York's up and down course is a notoriously difficult one on which to achieve records anyway, although the cold, bright conditions were conducive to long-distance running. That said, the Black Country team thoroughly enjoyed their tilt at the world's biggest marathon, and the early indicators are that when wheelchair competitors are taken out of the equation, Dave and Mac won the unofficial "disabled" race.

"There was another blind runner, an American, who fancied his chances, but we showedhimwhat for" laughed Dave, who celebratedhis latest marathon success last night by taking his 16 year old daughter Grace toa slap-up meal at the Hard RockCafe on Broadway - you can tell it'sa tasteful joint by the16 foot high spinning guitar outside.

Let's just hope they remember to wash their hands afterwards - if they wait until they get back to their hotel it could be too late. Last night, both hot and cold taps came off in the sink - matching a trend set by the TV that didn't work, the phone that was unconnected and the towels that matched each other perfectly - they both had a giant hole in them. Can't imagine Lance Armstrong had the same problem at his gaffe - but you never know.

From The Stirrer's point of view, it was an amazing experience to witness such a great event first hand. Ordinary New Yorkers spilled out of their houses or came into town to cheer on people from all over the world who they had never seen before just to lend them some moral support.

There was a greyold geezer wearing his Yankees T-shirtbanging an old frying pan with a spoon shouting encouragement, and even the racestewards joined in, yelling endlessly tohelprevive flaggingspirits.It was awonderful occasion that brought some 37,000 runners and two million people into the city.

Dave reckons it was a privilege to run here, and it was a joy to watch him do it.