Ficker, Crippen Shine at 2009 NYC Marathon

While the rest of the country enjoyed an extra hour of sleep on Sunday, November 1st, TYR-sponsored triathlete Desiree Ficker and swimmer Fran Crippen lined up with 43,739 other runners for the start of the ING New York City Marathon in New York, NY. Ficker, a past runner-up at the Ironman World Championships, finished as the 10th women overall (2:39:30), while Crippen completed his second consecutive race with a personal best time of 2:58:06. Ficker, a former track athlete at the University of Alabama, put her running skills to great use, averaging 6:06-per-mile in the 26.2-mile race. Although finishing 10th to the international field of competitors, the 32-year-old Austin, TX-native managed to finish as only the second woman from the USA behind 2008 Olympic marathoner Magdalena Lewy Boulet. The type to always look for the next challenge, 25-year-old Crippen, who most recently captured a bronze medal at the 2009 World Championships in the men’s open-water 10k race, turned to the excitement of running the NYC Marathon for a challenge as he nears the end of his break from the pool. “The race is such an amazing event. I had an awesome time, and would tell anyone to do it,” Crippen shared. “I wasn’t expecting to go fast. I just wanted to go out and enjoy the experience and it went pretty well.” The distance swimmer averaged 6:48-per-mile and finished 138th in his age group. Not new to testing himself both psychologically and physically, it was no coincidence he found himself doing marathons. “What interests me is how it’s (running) challenging mentally and you have to overcome those challenges throughout the race,” he said. “There are times where you might get down on yourself or doubt yourself, and you can overcome that with the proper mind-set. That is the biggest draw to me for marathon running-the challenging aspect in itself.” While Ficker’s triathlon season closes, Crippen will be getting back to training to prepare for the world cup series-slated to start at the end of January. Crippen is currently nominated for a 2009 Golden Goggle award presented by the USA Swimming Foundation. Go to HERE to cast your votes until Wednesday, November 18th. To follow both Ficker and Crippen’s accomplishments as well as the rest of the TYR team of triathletes and swimmers, continue to visit TYR.com.