This'll be my fourth NYC marathon (others here, here, and here), and I'm just as crazily excited as ever. I found myself tearing up at this video, hokey and bombastic though it is.

As you'll notice from the photos on the right, the greatest long-distance runner of all time, Haile Gebrselassie will be running his first New York City marathon. This will be the only way I'll be ahead of him; as indicated by the other photo—Haile's just much fleeter of foot. He's likely to cross the finish line in under 2 hrs 10 minutes.

One hour and twenty minutes later (!) I will cross the finish line (with any luck). I only made 3:36:47 last year, but somehow I feel I've got six minutes of speed in my legs this year. So, I'll be starting with the Orange group at 9:40 a.m. and shadowing the 3:30 pacer, who'll be carrying an orange balloon and a stick on which is printed 3:30! Subtle, eh? If you want to catch me stumbling by, go to the course map here (PDF) and just multiply the mile number by 8 minutes and you'll get the time I'll be passing.

Here's the charity bit: First off, should you wish to help farm animals, please make a contribution to my man Jim Porcaro, who's running the NYC marathon for Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary. Secondly, should you wish to help the environment, please make a contribution to the Green Belt Movement, which is a grassroots organization that has planted 40 million trees throughout Kenya, and was begun by Lantern's inspirational guiding light, Wangari Maathai. Thirdly, should you wish to support the struggle for human dignity, then please contribute to a very worthy organization called Ubushobozi, which helps women and girls in Rwanda learn skills and trades.

Thanks so much. I'll see you at the finishing or final line.