It was fantastic weather for running, Saturday morning. The overnight rain kept things cool, and the clouds were still blocking the sun. These conditions made the 2009 NYRR, Fitness Magazine Fitness® Mind, Body, Spirit Games, 4 mile race, even more enjoyable.

The race was a NYRR club points race, and were divided up by gender. The mens’ race started at 9:00 AM, and the women’s at 10 AM. Both heats were had very exciting finishes that came right down to the final stretch.

Before the women’s race, Kara Goucher happened to be out for a run in the park, and Mary Wittenberg of NYRR, noticed her passing by. Goucher was a good sport about giving an impromptu address to the women runners, who were already all lined up in the starting chute.

The winner for the men, was Bado Worku Merdessa, with a scorching time of 19:08. For the Women, it was Aziza Aliyu, beating out Katrina Janosikova by less than a full step. Aliyu scored a 22:22, time.

In total, there were nearly 5000 finishers. As always, NYRR and Fitness Magazine put on a great event. Congratulations to all of the finishers. Full results can be found here.

Click here for the photo gallery.