On Monday -- the day after the 40th running of the ING New York City Marathon -- the champions of each of Sunday's races met the press at Tavern on the Green. The transcript from the press conference is below:RICHARD FINN: Thank you. We're going to ask each of our four champions to say a couple of words. Maybe upon reflection, looking back at what happened yesterday. So we'll start with Edith, Kurt, Derartu, and then Meb. Edith?
EDITH HUNKELER: I'm still very happy that I won yesterday. Here it's the fifth win in five starts. Now I can believe what happened yesterday.
And it was a tough race. I've never seen such a big women's team, you know. To be the winner, it's super, super cool to be the best. Yes, I enjoy it today, the whole day, it's great.
RICHARD FINN: It's always a little extra super cool to win here in New York, isn't it?
EDITH HUNKELER: Yeah, it is. New York is a big city. Everyone knows it, and to win here is fantastic.
RICHARD FINN: Kurt went to the Jets game afterwards, so maybe that wasn't the best part of his day.
KURT FEARNLEY: I'm a bit of a fan of NFL, so this is the first game I've seen one. And I've been traveling to the states since I was 14, and I always wanted to go to a game. This is the first time that I've been in the right city at the right time. Although I had to catch a car immediately from the press conference to get there, and hadn't showered and kind of stumbled up a few flights of stairs to get to my place, it was worth it. It was a fantastic atmosphere.
The day yesterday, I don't know what it's saying, but I won my first race here by 5 minutes, the next year I won by two, the next year I won by 40 seconds, and yesterday I won by. 15 of a second. So I don't know what's happening next year if I'm going to get a win up here. But I'm a little nervous already.
It was a tough race. I haven't hurt like that in a long time. Hopefully, I don't have to hurt like that for a long time to come. But, you know, the guy that I was racing is a dead set legend, and to push with him for the last ‑‑ he's 44 or 45, and I've never seen him push like this. And he's been racing since '88. So it was a good day.
MARY WITTENBERG: I'll add, because I don't know, I didn't see the television broadcast how much this was coming across to all of you. But a perfect temperature of 52° at the start, 54 at the finish. 55% humidity at the start, 49% at the finish.
But I realize now why you might not have had such a good sense of it at the Mandarin or at the Tavern where miles per hour was 5. But what we felt at the start and that I felt all through that course like I haven't felt it in a decade, winds 14 miles per hour from the northwest.
RICHARD FINN: Derartu, as Mary said, a towering figure in this sport, on track, now on the roads. Possibly some reflection of what this means to your career, especially, again, coming back after several not as good years.
DERARTU TULU: He yesterday I had been asked how it felt to have had this victory 17 years after my first major victory. Yes, yesterday's victory was a great one for me. And as you said, it was a big victory.
I consider this to be a really great accomplishment in my life, and yesterday was a great day. It is a day that I shall never forget for the rest of my life. I'm extremely happy.
RICHARD FINN: Has it sunk in, Meb?
MEB KEFLEZIGHI: Well, first, I want to say thank you to Mary and her team and ING, and New York Road Runners for bringing me here. It's good to be back in this room again because I was a little emotional at the start.
But focusing on the great things what a wonderful day it was yesterday, it's just a dream come true. I don't know, a lot of people ask which was sweeter, the silver medal or the gold medal in New York? But it's pretty close, but I think yesterday was the day that sealed the deal. I think.
But to have that big of a field, and to be able to win it over those guys who run 2:04, two times Boston champion, lot of 2:05, 2:06 guys, to win over that was a huge accomplishment.
And I got a really great message from Alberto Salazar congratulating me, which was not just for what I've done for the U.S. distance running, but for myself and my family. It was just the sweetest voices mail you can get. I want to say thank you to him, and sent him a text this morning because of the time change.
But has it sunk in? Some did. I didn't sleep much last night. I don't usually do, but I was writing down what texts, and I got an email and voice mails, and all full from everywhere. A lot of people said it brought tears to their eyes. They never usually cry in entertainment, with the Super Bowl or things like that, but yesterday was.
We were at dinner last night with Mary and they said usually nice guys finish last. But she said it's nice to see nice guys finish first. And that tends to be the word on the street. I'm just going to be happier wearing that USA jersey in New York where I got my Ph.D. I don't know what I've got now, but I've been here many times. Second place, third place. 20th place in the last showing. To overcome the injury, it's just perfect time. It's just much more sweeter. Thank you.
RICHARD FINN: Questions for the champions.
Q. Not only did you win, but you obviously had some time to savor the win. I think there were a few minutes there where you were pretty sure you were going to win it. I'm just wondering in a couple of minutes from the finish when you got there, what kind of thoughts were going through your head at that point?
MEB KEFLEZIGHI: As soon as I have broke up right before 24 miles, I was confident that I was going to keep going, you know. Just to be able to along, expand the lead a little more, little more. That gives you a little cushion toward the end, so to savor it, fifth tries and finally get a ride. But when you get a ride, you've just got to enjoy it.
I celebrated with about a mile to go. I started pointing a little bit. I said just enjoy this moment. And Coach Larsen always said enjoy the moment, you can't go back. My wife also says after the injury, she said this is a limited time. Enjoy what you're doing. You're not going to look back later on. It just sinks in. She was in tears just because we stayed up late watching the video of the New York City Marathon, talking about the strategy and things like that. Just reflecting what nobody can do.
To see me not be able to walk or lift my leg without assistance of my hand, you know, that's what it was emotional. I didn't think I could run again or walk straight again at that point two years ago. So to be able to come and win this, what you dreamed of.
In 2002 I think I can do this, but when you can't walk, you can't walk. That's the bottom line. And to be able to win is just much more sweeter.
Q. There's a poster from the New York Marathon which says New York City, Helen Beck 26.2 Miles. Do you think that reflects a little bit your past years where you have been injured and you were ill?
MEB KEFLEZIGHI: Yeah, I mean, the marathon is a marathon. And 26.2 Miles, a lot of things can go wrong. But, you know, when things go right, you know, you recover faster. You'll be able to walk normal. The distance is just grueling itself.
But congratulations to the great champions here, and the great champions that are outside that saluted us as we came in. They're all wearing their medal. That is the pride of finishing a marathon, go with what you are capable of doing within your limits. We're obviously a little more talented than others. But to put their hearts into four hours, five hours, six hours‑plus, is a huge accomplishment on their part.
RICHARD FINN: What will this mean or what kind of reception will she get when she goes back to Ethiopia? First Ethiopian woman to win here?
DERARTU TULU: It is a great victory, because as you know after child birth I had been away from the sport for some time. But when I am training and a lot of Ethiopians back home see me, they would ask me, where have you been? We long to see you back again.
But I used to be surprised thinking there are so many other runners, how are you still expecting me to accomplish things? But they would say to me, we always long to see you running again and doing great things again. And I realize how much they still expect from me.
So I started to tell them, well then, wait a little while for me. I may be able to accomplish something yet. I hope that I can do something good this year. Now I know that they will feel great joy because I am a senior athlete, and I know that all Ethiopians will be very happy with this and will greet me with great joy.
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