6 November 2018
Pictured: (please select to enlarge)
(Photos 1,2,3,11,12,13 courtesy Indigenous Marathon Foundation)
1. Otis Carter celebrates after crossing the finish line - Central Park New York City
2. Otis with coach Adrian Dodgson-Shaw after completing the gruelling event
3. Otis here with Rob de Castella, founder of the Indigenous Marathon Foundation and former elite Australian Marathon runner
4. Otis Carter, here with Steve Paul and Ross Bascomb after 2018 Grand Final at Wirrulla;
5. Otis playing for Mid West at the 2018 Mortlock Shield against Far North FL;
6. Route Map for the 2018 New York Marathon;
7. The 2018 Start - Staten Island, traversing the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge heading towards Brooklyn;
8. Manhattan Skyline from the start of the race (on Verrazano-Narrows Bridge);
9. View from Brooklyn, over the Brooklyn Bridge to the New York Financial District. The Freedom Tower shown here as the tallest building is located immediately to the north of the former World Trade Centre - Twin Towers site
10. Madison Avenue Bridge, with runners leaving the Bronx towards Manhattan in the later stages of the race
11. Otis with the Indigenous Marathon Team at Times Square New York City
12. Otis in New York City
13. Having been presented his bib for the NYC Marathon
Congratulations to Elliston champ Otis Carter, who completed the New York Marathon on Sunday. Otis has been training for the event and finished in the very respectable time of five hours 36 minutes, 43 seconds. This is a lifetime ambition for many people and in terms of the marathon, the biggest event in the world.
Competitors travel from accross the world with approximately half of the runners being internationals. Over 50,000 athletes ran the full 42.195 km (26.219 miles) course traversing the five New York Boroughs (Staten Island, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx and finishing in Manhattan). Over two million people lined the course to witness the spectacle, which in itself is phenomenal!
Runners write their names on their bibs, so the people lining the streets can cheer them on, shouting their names in encouragement. Runners are also encouraged to write the number of marathons they've done on the back of their bibs, which for some people can be upwards of 40 or 50 plus.
The 2018 race finish was at Central Park, Mid Town Manhattan - New York City.
This is an outstanding achievement for Otis at one of the biggest sporting events in the world.
Excerpt from Port Lincoln Times:
Port Lincoln’s Otis Carter pushed through to complete his goal of finishing the New York Marathon early Monday morning.
Mr Carter was one of 11 participants involved with the Indigenous Marathon project that entered this year’s marathon, running alongside more than 50,000 competitors from around the world.
In front of hundreds of thousands of spectators lining New York’s streets, all 11 runners completed the marathon, which was the culmination of six months of training and commitment.
Mr Carter, who completed the marathon in a time of five hours, 36 minutes and 43 seconds said his involvement with the program was something he would always be proud of.
“I wanted to push myself like I have in the lead up events so I went hard and fast until half way and did a PB (personal best) for the half marathon distance,” he said.
Mr Carter said he had hit the wall at the 35 kilometre mark but the energy of the crowd helped push him across the line.
“There were so many people and everyone calling out ‘Otis’, pumping me right up and it made me run faster,” he said.
Mr Carter said there were so many people who had messaged him saying how proud they were and he wanted to keep inspiring people in the community.
He said he had no plans to stop running but was yet to decide what marathon to take on next.
The Indigenous Marathon Foundation runs the program each year to select 12 young indigenous men and women to train for the New York Marathon as well as complete an educational component and celebrate indigenous resilience.
See Otis's race statistics, splits and official results here:
https://results.nyrr.org/event/M2018/result/17082?_ga=2.219504601.1194183880.1541639132-1719381092.1541639132
Last Modified on 08/11/2018 16:54
