Manhattan Halfmarathon

Race T-Shirt

Got up at 4:30am to be on time for the 7am start of the Manhattan Halfmarathon. We had a good time. It was a bit humid, but the course is relatively flat and the scenery is beautiful. Jeremy, who now lives in Manhattan, provided some moral support and was richly rewarded with breakfast afterwards at Panorama Cafe (1640 2nd Ave @ 85th St). We then headed about 30 minutes north to visit my cousin Costa, his wife Barbara, and daughters Celine and Alix - recent arrivals from Switzerland. Trivia for the day: 5 things you probably didn't know about Switzerland: Beer is often cheaper and more readily available then soft drinks. The Red Cross was started in 1864 by Henri Dunant from Geneva. The symbol of the red cross is based on a reversed Swiss flag. The alphorn was devised by Swiss herdsmen to allow them to communicate across mountain valleys. The instrument was made of a hollowed pine trunk up to 4 metres (13 ft) in length. Originally built in 1891, the Jet d'eau fountain in Geneva is the tallest fountain in Europe at 130 metres or 425 feet. The legend of William Tell, Switzerland's best known folk hero, was based on Swiss defiance of the Holy Roman Empire in the 13th century and an overture was written by Wagner about the story.