Marco’s Roger Raymond says there are no better people than the New Yorkers he met and saw on his family jaunt to run in the New York City Marathon.

Raymond spent a four-day weekend there with his wife, Karen, daughters Jenna and husband Cory, and Jessica and boyfriend Chris Farmer.

“The human spirit is alive and well in New York,” Roger said. “In every aspect of our stay, I have never met more gracious people.”

The Raymond clan arrived on Friday, two days before the marathon.

“Just flying in we knew it was going to be a special trip as we saw the Statue of Liberty, U.S. Open Tennis Center and Shea Stadium from the air,” said Roger.

The only hectic part of the trip was the cab drivers.

“They drive like crazy people!” Karen said.

Staying in downtown Manhattan afforded them an opportunity for walks to tourist destinations. They enjoyed Times Square, had their photo taken in front of David Letterman’s theater and even went to “Hello Deli” where they had their picture taken with Rupert.

Courtesy of Cortney Warren

Roger Raymond and family in front of Dave Letterman Show's studio.

Letterman is constantly getting Rupert involved in his show schemes by using his deli.

“He was really making the sandwiches as he does on Letterman,” Roger said. “He was like he appears on Letterman, dry and boring, which is what makes him amusing on the show.”

They also went to Greenwich Village, for cupcakes at the Magnolia Bakery, as featured in Sex in the City.

The day of the race Roger boarded a ferry to Staten Island and was in awe as he passed the Statue of Liberty. A tour bus took him to the starting point at Verrazano-Narrows Bridge.

“It was a perfect day, 52 degrees, no wind,” he said. The runners were bunched in groups of 1,000, based on their qualifying time.

His number was 8181.

“Cannon shots started the race as Frank Sinatra sang ‘New York New York,’ ” Roger said. “As we went across the Verrazano Bridge tugboats were blowing their horns and decked out in red, white and blue. Someone asked how I liked going over the bridge because it was uphill and long. I hardly remembered going over the bridge as I was mesmerized by seeing the New York coastline as we started.”

Roger was impressed with the people as he ran through the boroughs, including many ethnic neighborhoods.

Courtesy of Cory Warren

Roger Raymond and family wearing Roger Raymond fan club shirts after he finished NYC Marathon, which qualified him for the Boston Marathon. Pictured from left, Jenna Warren, Chris Farmer, Jessica Raymond, Karen and Roger Raymond.

“It was unbelievable how well we were treated all along the route,” he explained. “People were five and six deep, cheering, handing out water, tossing bananas. They probably had already seen 5,000 runners, yet they were still there for us.”

Roger was wearing a chip that allowed him to be tracked by Cory’s sister in Orlando.

“He was really moving,” Karen said.

Roger said he went out a little fast, going about half the route in one hour, 42 minutes.

“I purposely slowed down, mostly because my legs were asking ‘what are you doing? We didn’t practice like this!’” he said. “I wanted to qualify for the Boston Marathon and I was ahead of the pace needed.”

The last three miles was in beautiful Central Park, but it wasn’t so beautiful for a lot of runners.

“We were running up hill and I saw a lot of people limping, walking, one guy not even able to move because he was so cramped up.” Roger said. “The guy looked like an ice sculpture.”

He said the final meters came up, with signs providing a count down.

Submitted photo

When the Raymond family visited New York to cheer on Roger Raymond, one of the tourist stops was Hello Deli to have their photo taken with Rupert, well known for his appearances on the David Letterman Show.

“By then you are tired and the finish line is hidden until the last 100 meters,” explained Roger.

“Honestly, I went by the 1,000 meter sign, then the 800 meter sign and still couldn’t see the finish line,” he said. “I wondered, ‘How far is this?’ But it was a beautiful experience.”

Roger finished the 26.1 miles in 3:35, 10 minutes under his necessary Boston qualifying time. He finished in the top 5,000 and in the top 1,000 of his 50-54 age group.

The Boston Marathon is April 21, 2008.

“Some of the runners from the area’s Gulf Coast Runners Club are running in Boston, but I will decide closer to the date,” he said.

The reason won’t be for not being in shape.

Thursday marked his fifth anniversary for running every day. His efforts are noted in the U.S. Running Streak Association Magazine.

To qualify, runners have to run at least one mile every day.

Raymond averages six miles a day.

“I went from a Neophyte to Proficient, sure doesn’t sound like much,” he said.

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