2009 NYC Half-Marathon Local Photos

August 16, 2009 [Complete Coverage]

At this year’s NYC Half-Marathon, local runners proved they could compete with—and in some cases beat—some of the invited professional athletes. Three local runners made it into the top 10 among men, and two area runners broke the top 10 among women.
Stephen Chemlany of WTC was the top local; he was seventh overall in 1:04:10.	Ketema Nigusse of WSX finished three seconds behind Chemlany.	Worku Beyi, the NYRR Fred Lebow Runner of the Year, was the third area runner in 1:04:28.	Tesfaye Girma of WSX finished 13th in 1:05:38.
WSX’s Fikadu Lemma posted a 1:06:40 finish that earned him 16th place.	New York Athletic Club’s Chris Pannone made his debut, and it was a fast one: 1:07:27.	WSX’s Halefom Abede Tsegaye finished 18th in 1:07:28.	WTC’s Genna Tufa, 25, earned 21st overall with his 1:09:28 finish.
Felipe Vergara placed second in the 40-44 age group in 1:17:21.	Greg Diamond of TRR ran 1:21:00 and was the second 50+ finisher.	John Grant of Brooklyn, 65, finished first in his age group in 1:34:29.	Nevio Dobry, 70, finished in 2:50:25 and was 13th in his age group.
Buzunesh Deba of WTC ran a PR of 1:13:17 and finished fifth.	WTC’s Ilsa Paulson overcame a fall at the start and was sixth in 1:13:20.	Lindsey Scherf of WTC ran 1:14:56 to take ninth in her first half-marathon.	Hirut Mandefro of WSX ran 1:16:17 and placed 11th.
Katarina Janosikova of RDNY averaged a 5:59-per-mile pace to finish in 1:18:23.	WSX’s Serkalem Biset Abrha, only 22 years old, finished in 1:19:03.	Rebecca Yau of CPTC, also 22, was eighth in her age group in 1:20:13.	Muliye Gurma, a WSX runner from Ethiopia, was the 21st female finisher in 1:22:20.
Sheila Casey of RDNY was the top masters competitor in 1:24:18.	NJM’s Lisa Swain was the third 50+ woman to cross the line in 1:37:14.	Diana Dimeo, a 63-year-old MERM from Staten Island, finished in 2:23:44.	Billie Moten, 72, of WS won the 70-74 age group in 3:01:28.