BY ROBERT ELKIN | Last Sunday, a record number of more than 50,000 competitors from all over the world and all walks of life stepped onto the starting line for the New York City Marathon in Staten Island on a cloudy, cool day. For some of the runners, their goal was merely to finish. For others, especially for the better athletes, the goal was to set a personal best time, while for the professional runners, it was to win the whole thing.
Wes Turner, an East Villager, fell into the second category: His aim was to achieve a goal of around 3 hours 45 minutes.
It was the first time he competed in the New York City Marathon.
“If I do it, that would be a great time,” Turner, 34, said during an interview at his apartment a few days before the race. “If I don’t make that time, I would like to do a 3:47, a personal best for a marathon. If I don’t, a third goal would be just to finish.
“My strategy was to go out at an 8:45 to 8:50 pace for the first two miles, then move to an 8:15 to 8:20 for the first half, and then go fast during the second half. I didn’t want to be tired doing two hills [in Manhattan]. There’s a big hill along First Ave. and then again along Fifth Ave.”
Alas, his strategy didn’t materialize!
Instead, he covered the 26.2-mile course that ended up in Central Park in 4:04.33.
Of course, Turner was disappointed with his outcome.
“My performance was terrible,” he said afterward. “I went out too fast. The crowd in New York was great. I was impressed by the crowd, cheering us on in the streets and park. To finish in Central Park was a perfect setting.”
Some marathoners race for exercise, fun and competition, while others do it for a challenge or to break a record. Still others run to raise funds for a charity or in honor of loved ones.
Turner competed for Fred’s Team after he overcame cancer. The money the team raised goes toward cancer research, led by Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.
“I wanted to do the New York City Marathon for two reasons,” he said, “number one to raise money for cancer, and second, because it’s the greatest marathon in the world.”
About six years ago, Turner’s mother died from cancer.
It was his father, Gary, a runner himself, who introduced his son running.
During his high school days in North Carolina, Wes ran cross country and indoor and outdoor track. At Appalachian State University, also in North Carolina, he concentrated on academics more than sports.
After he graduating in 2004, he got back into running.
“My first road race was in Winston-Salem and I ran a 10K,” he recalled. “My time was slow but I really liked to run. After running the race, I was just happy to get a T-shirt.”
Turner can run almost any distance, from 10K or less and up. His favorite distance was the half marathon.
Then tragedy struck him while down South, when doctors diagnosed him with thyroid cancer and he had to quit road running for a while. He underwent two surgeries, then had to recuperate. His doctors eventually gave him the O.K. and he resumed his running.
He had hoped to be in last year’s New York Marathon but couldn’t and dropped out. He resumed training last May for this year’s race, and as part of Fred’s Team, wound up raising nearly $7,000 for cancer research.
Turner has been running for 20 years and hopes that he has a lot more left in him. He’ll take a break, then return to running competitively next year. And he anticipates to do a half marathon, his favorite event.
When he’s not literally running, he’s busy running his own company, Boomerang Transport, a nonemergency medical transportation company that partners drivers with injured workers that need to get to doctors’ appointments.
“Think Uber, just a lot smaller,” he said.
His company donates 1 percent of its revenue to charities, the chief one being cancer services.
As for his ’hood, Turner said, “I love the East Village! It’s the only place I have lived in New York City and I have a hard time imagining living anywhere else.”
