Elmont runner finishes first marathon

Elmont runner Dan Delahanty, a local resident running in his first New York Marathon, finished with an overall time of 3:45:20 last Sunday. Delahanty, who took up running about two years ago, said he never dreamed he’d be running in a New York Marathon, let alone participating in one as his second-ever 26.2 mile race.

“When I first started doing this, I never thought I’d be able to run a marathon,” Delahanty said in an interview last week. “When it comes to running, you really want to see how far you can take it, how far you can make your body go. The feeling of accomplishment that you get is great, and the thing you think to yourself as you finish a race is ‘What’s next? How can I push myself further?’”

After the race was over, Delahanty said he was thrilled with how it unfolded, and finished just five minutes shy of his goal time of three hours and 40 minutes.

“It was an awesome race. The crowds of people cheering were incredible,” he said Monday afternoon, sore and recuperating but ultimately very happy with his performance.

Out of more than 43,000 runners, Delahanty, a Sewanhaka High School graduate, finished in 9,303 place, leaving more than three-quarters of the racing field in his dust. For Delahanty, the most important element was being able to compete with himself.

“Unless you’re an absolutely elite athlete, going for a top three finish, then the competition is really with yourself,” he said in an interview prior to the race last week. “It’s a really supportive community, and it’s been interesting to get into.”

Going into the race, Delahanty said he was most worried about what would happen once he got to the 59th Street Bridge from Queens into Manhattan. The end of the bridge is the 16-mile mark on the race, and Delahanty said he felt he would have the most difficulty going over the bridge, forced to listen to the sound of just his shoes hitting the pavement, as cheering crowds were miles away on either side.

As it turned out, his biggest challenge came as the marathon wound its way from Upper Manhattan into the Bronx once he crossed the 20-mile mark.

“Around mile 20 it starts to get painful and you really have to dig down deep and tell yourself you can finish,” he said on Monday. “[But] the bands playing, people handing out water, orange slices and pieces of candy really help push you along.”

According to information from the marathon officials, the 20-mile mark has

a reputation as a killer, as crowds start to thin and the course winds through up-hill streets in the Bronx.

Delahanty, who trains in Long Island, running from his home on Lehrer Avenue through Garden City and Lake Success, said that in the end he felt ready to try for the marathon thanks to a training regimen designed for triathlons.

In the end, he said the marathon itself was an incredibly special and rewarding experience.

“I am a bit sore... but very happy I ran the race,” he said. “It’s something I will never forget.”