Central Park in Fall

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Central Park in Fall

This was one of six shots I took with the 5D Mark II while walking through Central Park trying to figure out the best place to meet Heather at the end of the NYC Marathon. I had walked down from 90th-91st & 1st Ave. and figured I’d find the finish line and meet her there. Ha. Stupid. I ended up walking back up to 67th and then 72nd on Central Park West. I walked to the UPS trucks with everybody’s bags. Then I decided that based on the flow of the runners, I should head down 72nd to 9th Avenue. I had what can only be described as a Ralph-Fiennes-in-the-English-Patient-when he realizes he’s absolutely SOL. Most of the 2 million people who lined the marathon route had moved to 72nd and 9th. As I made my way back to the park, Heather called me from a phone belonging to a  teammate. I had gone the entirely wrong direction to meet Heather. Horrible. And stupid. Next time, I won’t rely on technology so much. At the beginning of the marathon, I had posted updates from a good wifi spot and my phone had excellent service. The second I got off the subway at 86th & Lexington, the technology was borked. I tried several times to call Heather’s mom to get updates and one of the calls went through. She was able to let me know where Heather was on the course. So 100 year old technology, FTW.

I share all of this to bring up the fact that had I just stood along the marathon course in Central Park, sure, I’d have seen Heather one more time, but I would also have been one of those people yelling at her in the last two miles.