Race Report: New York Pioneer Memorial 100 Mile Trek

Memorial Day weekend, May 28-30, saw the 16th biennial running of the New York Pioneer Memorial 100 Mile Trek. It's a three-day stage race, 33 1/3 miles each day, that has been held every two years since 1981. The race honors the members of the Pioneer Club, who were true pioneers in long-distance running, going back to the 1950's. As race director Rich Innamorato says, it's the only thing Ted Corbitt ever asked him to do. The first day's winner would receive the Abe Fournes, John Sterner and Al Williams Award, day 2's winner gets the Nat Cirulnick, Aldo Scandurra and Kurt Steiner Award, and the third day's winner receives the Ed Levy and Harry Murphy Award. The overall men's winner receives the Joe Yancey Award, and the women's overall winner gets the Ted Corbitt award.

The first day's stage, along the old Vanderbilt Motorway in Alley Pond Park, was held in conjunction with a separate 50K. The 50K winners were Byron Lane and Jodi Kartes-Heino. The additional runners on Saturday made for a fun event on a hot day. The motorway, a 3.45-mile out and back, has some real ups and downs, and despite being mostly shaded, was a tough go in the heat.

I wasn't sure if I should enter the 3-day only two weeks after my 48 hour, but this race has such historical significance, and significance for running in New York, that I knew I had to try if I thought it was at all possible that I could finish. A week before the race, I was feeling pretty good, so I sent in my entry. The only lingering pain I was really feeling from the 48 was some strain in my left foot. But I really wasn't sure if I'd even be able to get through the first day. But I thought if I took a relaxed pace I might make it. I got through the first day in one piece, and even was the first day winner, ahead of Derrell Janey and Andrei Aroneanu. For the women, Hanna Ben-Shoan had the day's lead over Gail Marino.

The course for day 2 was moved because of downed trees on the intended course, so it took place instead in another section of Alley Pond Park, a course that had been used for the three-day at least a couple times before. The temperatures again rose into the 80's and was making life tough for all the runners. 1997, 2001 and 2003 winner Dave Luljak passed me a little over halfway through, but I was able to pass him back soon after, and finished only about 5 minutes ahead of him for this stage. Hanna again won the women's stage.

The final day's (today's) course was my home away from home (away from home), Crocheron Park. The forecast called for temps of 90 degrees, so Richie, with unanimous consent from the runners, agreed to move the start from 9:00 am to 8:00 am. Unexpectedly, a storm came through between 6:30-7:30 or so and dropped quite a bit of rain on the city. It let up in time for the start, but the skies remained overcast and sprinkles kept falling for two hours into the race - a very nice start! But the sun did come out, and the temperatures and humidity went up and up. I managed to take the stage again, and the overall win for the third time in a row, with a total time of 14:00:19, much better than I thought I'd do! Derrelle finished slightly ahead of Dave today, but Dave had a few minutes on him coming into today, so overall Dave took second and Derrelle third. Lucimar Araujo ran an excellent race, winning the women's stage and moving herself into second for the 3-day. Hanna got the women's win and Antana Locs took third.

Overall, there were 21 starters and 16 hardy finishers (in order by bib number): myself, Lucimar, Sal Carretta, 4-time winner Frank DeLeo, Derrelle, Bruce Kacen, Hiroshi Kitada, Antana, Dave, Gail, Frank Pellegrino, Al Prawda, Lydia Redding, Andrei, Hanna, and Jay Lustgarten. Congrats to all!!!!! It's really quite an undertaking to participate in this race, not just for the runners, but for the volunteers, who did an amazing job as always, and especially for Richie, so a big thanks to him! He says this was "definitely" the last edition of this race. Some have mentioned that he's said that before, but it really is a lot of work, and he's been doing it since 1981, so I can't say I'd blame him. But I can still hope for a 2013 edition.

Pics: 1. Dave Luljak, Derrellt Janey and me; 2. Hanna Ben-Shoan and me with our trophies; 3. Lucimar Araujo winning day 3; 4. Bruce Kacen with his trophy; 5. Bob Falk and Tim Ryan at the scorer's table

Race Report: 3 Days at the Fair 48 Hour Race

Pic: Lap 290, for the record

Pic: Early in the run, with creeply humanoid recycling containers in background

Pic: Me, Sabrina, Deb and Anna with our awards

Pic: Me with last year's 48 hour winners, Scott Brockmeier and Liz Bauer

Pic: Me with RD Rick McNulty

This race I had high hopes for coming into. After the 2007 24 Hour World Challenge in Drummondville, where I did better than expected, I was talking with Roy Pirrung and John Geesler about running a 48 hour race. They both encouraged me and gave me advice, and thought I might even be able to take a shot at the record, which was John's at 400K (248.55 miles) and was Roy's before that. So I had set my sights on the 48 hour record.

I got my first chance at the prestigious invitation-only race in Surgeres, France in May 2008. I had one of the greatest experiences of my life and ran very well, but fell short of the record, with 235 miles. Due to various circumstances, I didn't get my next chance until Across the Years this past New Year's. I started out well at this race, but was slowed down by the cold the first night, then after about 25 hours I had to pull out with an inflamed achilles.

So after Across the Years it was actually Deb Horn who reminded me about 3 Days at the Fair, which takes place at the Sussex County Fairgrounds in Augusta, NJ. I was free and I signed up. The event also includes 72 hour, 24 hour, 12 hour and 6 hour races, all of which (except the 6 hour) concluded at 9:00 am Sunday morning, May 15. I enlisted the help of Lydia Redding to drive me to the race and home again after.

My plan for this race was the same as my previous 48's. I mapped out my intended splits for each 50K. My first would take 5 hours, then 5:30, 5:30, 6, 6, 6, 6:30 and 6:30, which left an hour for a cushion. I had originally thought I could easily run a 6-hour 50K on a basically flat course no matter how tired I was, but I learned at Surgeres how hard it can really be. But I decided to stick with that plan.

I arrived at the race site and race director Rick McNulty gave me a quick tour of the facilities, which looked nice, indeed. The start/finish area was on what could be called the fairgrounds' "main drag", with the large kitchen/concession stand on one side, a large hall of some sort used for special events on the other, and a large, clean restroom facility (including showers) at the far end. (I can't tell you know nice it is to be able to wash your hands during a race like this!) This stretch would be a bit of an uphill, but nothing too strenuous, and I thought could be a good place for walking breaks. I knew the course would not be pancake flat, which was fine with me.

I set up my table under Deb's canopy, which I was thankful for, since the weather forecast during the race called for scattered showers, and set up my little pup tent, which I was hoping would go unused. Sabrina Moran set up next to Deb and me, and her parents came by later to provide a more substantial setup for her.

So at 9:00 am we 48 hour runners were off on our adventure. The course was a .8578-mile loop that ran counterclockwise from the start uphill towards the bathrooms, around and down the other side and after jutting out 50 yards or so headed down around a long bell-type curve. This curve is a gradual downhill to the bottom and gradual uphill coming back. Then a turn onto a grass/gravel section before coming back towards the main drag.

The race started comfortably enough, and I was settling into a stride and getting comfortable with the course. I decided that I'd take my walking breaks at the little section that juts out on the downhill stretch, since it's a slight uphill between downhill sections, and could become mentally discouraging later on. I also decidded to keep my walking break there to 36 steps - just enough to stretch my legs and catch my breath a bit. Early on, I caught onto a stride that felt very comfortable and sustainable. My physical therapist, Dr. Jack Mantione, had told me that I had been working my hamstrings too much, and that I should let the glutes do the work, and here I felt like I was letting my glutes propel me forward. I hit my first 50K split ahead of schedule at about 4:45.

I continued on, and no issues arose. I had decided to take more liquid calories in this race, mainly from Hammer Perpetuem and Sustained Energy, as well as Cytomax. The kitchen was offering some incredible food - besides the usual ultra food, they had a wider selection of fruits, including blueberries, raspberries and grapes, soups, and hot foods like hamburgers, grilled cheese, pizza, quesadillas, lots of good stuff. I went through quite a bit of the chicken broth - that really hit the spot! But lot of it would slow me down while eating, so I only occasionally took part of a hamburger or grilled cheese (but they were soooo good).

Through the first night, I was still keeping pace, and I only stopped once to rest, laying down about 10 minutes without sleeping, just to rest my feet. I did start to have a recurrence of my achilles problem after about 20 hours, but this time I brought a brace that I wrapped around my ankle, and the achilles was not an issue after that. Once at about 20 hours as I went by the timing tent, they gave my mileage and said, "You're in second." Second?!!! Last year's winner, Scott Brockmeier, and Darren Worts were both running well, but I didn't think they were ahead of me, who could it be? Next time around I asked and they said Sabrina was ahead, but we were on the same lap. Yes, she was running well, and she was well on track for the women's record of 234 miles, if she could keep the pace. She is definitely a young runner to watch. And her parents very kindly volunteered to fill my bottles for me.

At the halfway point, the 24 hour runners joined us, including good friends Anna Piskorska and Shannon McGinn. So that brought a new energy to the course. I had hit my 200K mark just under 22 hours, just ahead of schedule, and was still feeling comfortable. As the second day passed I just kept plugging along, and was surprised that even after 36 hours I was still keeping the same pace I was running at 12 hours.

I don't generally like to talk a lot during a race, even a long race like this, but I did get some enjoyable chatting time with a number of runners and was rooting for many of them to reach their goals. Sabrina, however, had struggled just before the halfway point and went home to re-energize and regroup. Deb wasn't having the race she was hoping for, saying she was having trouble eating enough. Charlotte Vasarhelyi was running the 72 and shooting for the Canadian 48 and 72 hour records. She had her ups and downs, but well into her third day was running as well as I'd seen anyone running that late into a 72 hour.

Saturday evening there was some sort of large event going on in the hall on the main drag, which looked like a lot of fun, but it was crowding the course a little, and I was looking forward to the time when they'd all go home. But it did provide something new to look at and think about. At 9:00 pm the 12 hour race started, which brought still more fresh runners to the course. It's always a little boost to see runners who are clean and fresh. And I was told that the course can be very sparsely populated on Saturday night, so the more runners out there, the better.

Through the second night I took a couple more short non-sleeping rests - about 5 minutes and 7 minutes, and another few minutes on a park bench - for my feet's sake, but my legs were still feeling good. I kept monitoring my stride, and I was still using my glutes to propel myself, my feet were still going "pat-pat-pat" instead of "clomp-clomp-clomp", and my nutrition plan was working. I was not taking extended walking breaks, and I was still running roughly 10-minute laps (11:30 miles). I needed 290 laps to break John's record, and I was counting down and silently celebrating every 10 laps. I was feeling very confident that it would happen, but still anything could happen, especially on the second night. After 220 laps, about 34:00, I decided to take one last rest break before making a final push for the last 70 laps.

Lydia came back to crew for me at about 11:00 pm, and it was very nice to have her help. I didn't feel like I was getting sleepy, but my mind was definitely a little out of it. Going past the timing station and having Rick call out my lap number, and with the people in the kitchen, by the time I went out on the lonely back stretch (which seemed to get longer and longer all night), it felt like the timing station was a dream, they were two separate worlds. The time in the race was winding down, and I was hoping I'd be able to stay out there and not take any time off the course.

Then at about the 41 hour mark (2:00 am) the rain came down, and it got heavy for a while and was creating some puddles on the road. Fortunately I had my rain jacket with me, but my feet were getting wet, and I suddenly felt awake, although I couldn't tell if I was still maintaining my pace. The rain let up to become a spotty drizzle, and I was determined to push on and get that record, it was too close now, and I might never be in this position again. The splits were well ingrained in my head and I was still on pace.

At about 45 hours it poured again, for almost an hour straight. By this time I had 280 laps, and I was going to push for those 10 laps, even picking up the pace. I was thankful for Lydia being there to help keep my supplies and extra clothes dry. My own clothes were soaking wet, which at this time was shorts and wind pants, a long sleeve shirt, short sleeve shirt, wind jacket and rain jacket, much bulkier than I'd prefer, but I didn't want to get sidelined by hypothermia at this point.

Rick was at the timing station counting down the final laps for me, and there was an enthusiastic group at the picnic tables by the kitchen cheering me on as well, and I kept up sub-10 minute laps. Finally I crossed the line at 290 laps - 248.7 miles at 46:18, more than an hour 40 minutes left. After some hugs and handshakes to celebrate I was back on my way. I was still feeling good, and although there was a part of me that wanted to relax and be happy with anything I could get now, I still was motivated to get as high a mileage total as I could. Pulling away from the main drag, it felt strange that this was now uncharted territory for any American runner, everything I did now was covering new ground.

With a little over an hour to go, Rick told me I could get 300 laps - 257 miles. I thought it would be close, averaging 10 minute laps, and the last thing I wanted to happen, since partial laps weren't counted, was for me to run almost a full lap and just miss the finish line by a few seconds. But what choice did I have? I just had to push harder. But my last few laps I was running just a little faster, and my last three laps were even under nine minutes. Heading out on my last lap with 15 minutes to go, I was mentally saying goodbye to the landmarks I wouldn't see again. No more hill by the bathroom, no more downhill stretch interrupted by the right-turn uphill, no more long bell curve, no more recycling container that looked like a soldier, no more gravel section, then the road before turning back onto the main drag one last time, and across the finish line for 300 laps - 257.34 miles, with six minutes to spare. My last lap was 8:33 - about 10:00 for a mile. But it felt so good to finally be done, and to be able to celebrate.

With a good breakfast and a very nice awards ceremony, where winners of all races were given beautiful homemade pottery in place of trophies, I was able to enjoy the company of the other runners, who were so supportive during the race and as ultrarunners tend to be, just incredibly wonderful people. Sabrina came back and won the women's 48 hour, Deb getting second. Anna won the 24 hour. Darren Worts got second in the 48, with over 200 miles himself.

So I have to give a big thanks to Lydia Redding for crewing me and giving me transportation, and for cleaning up and breaking down after the race; to Jack Mantione for his pre-race tune-up; to the Morans for their help during the race; and of course for Rick McNulty and all of the staff of the race for putting on such a great event, and for being attentive to my record attempt. And a special thanks to John Geesler for being supportive throughout, as was Roy Pirrung before him. It's my pledge to be as supportive of whoever is going to break my record.

But the basic info, that people have asked about: my shoes were the Mizuno Wave Precision 11, socks were WrightSock double-layered socks, and I never changed shoes or socks during the race. My 24-hour splits were about 136 and 121. My 50K splits are below - intended splits and total time, followed by actual splits and total time:

50K: 5:00 - 5:00; actual 4:47 - 4:47

100K: 5:30 - 10:30; actual 5:06 - 9:54

150K: 5:30 - 16:00; actual 5:52 - 15:46

200K: 6:00 - 22:00; actual 6:04 - 21:51

250K: 6:00 - 28:00; actual 5:44 - 27:35

300K: 6:00 - 34:00; actual 5:59 - 33:34

350K: 6:30 - 40:30; actual 6:24 - 39:59

400K: 6:30 - 47:00; actual 6:19 - 46:18

P.S. - I haven't been able to keep up on my bridges, but they will return shortly!

Bridge of the Week #58: Little Neck Bridge

Continuing east on Northern Boulevard, this week's bridge is the Little Neck Bridge in Bayside, Queens. It carries Northern Boulevard over Alley Creek from the Cross-Island Parkway on the west to

The bridge carries six lanes of traffic, three in each direction, and a sidewalk on both sides. It is a fixed bridge, opened in 1931, and is at least the second bridge on that site, the first being a drawbridge built in 1822.

Northern Boulevard actually underwent a few name changes over the course of its history and over the course of its course. In some parts it was called Jackson Ave. (and still is on its far western end in Long Island City), and in some parts, including over Alley Creek, it was called Broadway. Little Neck is the piece of land in far northeastern Queens that kind of sticks out into the water (Little Neck Bay) and that includes the neighborhoods of Little Neck and Douglaston. This is as opposed to Greak Neck, a much larger piece of land that stick out into Long Island Sound just across the Nassau County line.

I don't know how much interest there is for runners in Douglaston (although it is a beautiful, very well-off part of town) or Little Neck (which I don't think I've ever visited). But on the western side of the bridge is a pathway along the Cross-Island Parkway that extends north to pass underneath the Throgs Neck Bridge (another neck!) and just to the south, south of the Long Island Expressway, is Alley Pond Park, and from there you can hit the Queens park corridor all the way to Flushing Meadows and even Forest Park with little traffic interruption.

Pics: 1. Little Neck Bridge; 2. View north; 3. View south

Bridge of the Week #57: Flushing Bridge

This week's bridge, the Flushing Bridge, is one that can be hard to find, and is nothing too amazing in and of itself, but it can be a nice connector if going on a long run through Queens.

The Flushing Bridge carries Northern Boulevard over Flushing River between Willets Point and Flushing, Queens. The bridge is very close to the Whitestone Expressway/Van Wyck Expressway intersection (really just an extension of the same expressway), and the Grand Central Parkway is not too far to the west, and there are a lot of onramps and offramps for Northern Boulevard as well, all on the western side of the bridge. But there is also a nice pedestrian/bike path along the edge of Flushing Bay that runs from just east of LaGuardia Airport to the mouth of the Flushing River which is actually a part of Flushing Meadows Corona Park. But this pathway ends on the east at a rather foreboding unnamed one-way road (westbound) with a crumbling sidewalk that passes by heavy industrial areas and carries heavy traffic, including truck traffic, either coming straight off westbound Northern Boulevard or going from the Van Wyck to westbound Northern Boulevard. But the road is at least wide enough to avoid putting yourself in any real danger, and within about a quarter mile you will see on the right the pedestrian entrance to the bridge. The eastern end of the bridge is much easier, with easy access at the northwestern corner of Prince St. and Northern Boulevard. From there you can continue on to College Point or any of the other northeastern Queens neighborhoods bypassing the busier Roosevelt Ave to the south. From the Flushing Bay path, of course, you can also get to Citi Field and the rest of Flushing Meadows, although the area between the stadium and the bay is not the most pedestrian-friendly, either.

*Addition/correction: I originally called this the Northern Boulevard Bridge, simply because it was on Northern Boulevard, and I didn't see any name to the contrary. But just after posting this, I found a reliable source that called this the Flushing Bridge. Furthermore, I've discovered that there have been a few bridges on this site dating back to the 19th century. A drawbridge built in 1906, replaced by another drawbridge in the 1930's, and finally replaced by the current higher bridge which opened in October 1980. Northern Boulevard, by the way, was originally called Jackson Ave., and now only the very western end of the street retains the name Jackson Ave.

Pics: 1. View of downtown Flushing from the bridge; 2. The Flushing River; 3. A concrete plant (apparently) on the east bank of the river.

Race Report: Boston Marathon

April 18, 2011 was my fourth time running the Boston Marathon, and the first since 2005. I ran in 2003, 2004 and 2005 with mostly pretty disappointing results. 2003 was a fairly warm day, and I finished in the 3:15 range, and was the first time I'd ever walked in a marathon. 2004 was downright hot with temperatures around 85 degrees, and my goal eventually became to just cross the finish line on my own two feet, rather than on a stretcher, as I saw many runners being attended to in the medical tents. That is still my slowest marathon, in 3:54. 2005 was much better, and I finished in 2:56.

But Boston is a tough course, and many stories are told of those who start out too fast on the downhills and crash on the uphills between miles 16-21. Still, I was feeling in good shape and thinking that a PR was possible, my current PR being 2:52:06 in New York in 2007. I don't run as many marathons as I used to, in 2008 not running any at all. But I thought everything was looking good. Even the weather forecast was looking good, with high temperatures around 60 and a good tailwind.

I rode up to Boston with Mike Arnstein, who also arranged for a home stay with a family in Hopkinton. So right off the bat, I have to give a big thanks to Mike and to our hosts, Cecile and David. They were also hosting another runner, Jeff, and his wife Tania, so it was nice meeting them as well.

After being dropped off within walking distance of the athletes' village and finishing my preparations and dropping off my bag, I was on my way to the corrals and the start of my fourth Boston Marathon. Since I don't run many marathons, my qualifying time of 3:01 from the 2009 New York Marathon was a bit slower than my PR, so I was placed in the third corral behind the elite men. At the start, the field around me was running slower than I would have liked to, but it was so crowded I had no chance to move up for a while. My first mile, even on that steep downhill, was about 7:00. I was not just shooting for a PR, but for a sub-2:50, so I would have to average about 6:28 per mile to accomplish that. But I knew I'd have time to make up the slow start, and it might even be to my benefit to start slow.

Eventually I did settle into a 6:20-6:22 pace, a little slower or faster depending on the terrain, but always staying under 6:30. My 5K splits were almost exactly 20:00, just a tad under for the first 25K. My first half split was about 1:24:14, so in theory I was on pace for a sub-2:50, but those hills were yet to come. I did slow a little on the tough hill leading into mile 18, and the next couple of miles also were in the 6:40 range, but I was hoping I'd still be able to make up the time on the subsequent downhills and crack that 2:50. I was feeling confident about the PR still.

On the downhill at mile 21 I did feel like I was flying, and except for some involuntary muscle twitches, was still feeling good, although exhaustion was setting in. Turning on to Beacon St. the course leveled out and I just tried to keep my focus on my pace. At mile 24 I remembered my first two years when I stayed with my cousin Kirstin who lived near that spot and she would cheer me on. No one was cheering for me now, but with only two miles to go, I could sense the end was near. But I always get frustrated because it doesn't look like the end is near. And it also became clear that I wasn't going to get in under 2:50, but was still likely to get a PR, as long as I kept pushing. Two weeks before, I let a 6-hour PR slip away because I let up at the end, and when you have a chance to run your fastsest time ever, and the conditions are good, you don't miss the opportunity.

But before you know it, you're on the familiar stretch leading into downtown Boston. The final right and left turns onto Boylston St., the finish line came into sight, still close to a half mile away. But it got closer and closer, and I finally finished in 2:50:55, a PR by over a minute. And just seconds after I finished, I heard the announcer say that Joan Beonit Samuelson had just finished, and I looked over and saw her come through. It was nice to be in her presence. In looking back over my splits and her splits, we were actually running very close to each other the entire race, and I didn't know it!

So I was very happy all things considered. When I heard Geoffrey Mutai's winning time, I thought I should have been able to run faster, under 2:50. But even with the downhills and the tailwind, it's still a tough course, and to get a PR at age 42 after 13 years of running marathons is not bad. I'll get that 2:49 yet!

Bridge Updates: Williamsburg and Queensboro Bridges

Here are a couple of updates and news items for our bridges. The Williamsburg Bridge now has separate entrances in Brooklyn for bikes and pedestrians. Pedestrians now enter on Bedford Ave. under the bridge. The other entrance, mentioned in my previous post, is just for bikes now. The two paths join each other partway across to Manhattan. Also, this week Mayor Bloomberg signed into effect the renaming of the Queensboro Bridge to the Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge, in honor of the former mayor. I don't like it and most New Yorkers don't like it, but there it is. I don't know how many people will actually call it that. A lot of Manhattanites still call it the 59th St. Bridge. At least they didn't name it after a Kennedy.

Bridge of the Week #56: Bronx Shore Footbridge

Well, how about that, another footbridge! This one isn't even done yet. It's a footbridge between the Bronx and the north end of Randall's Island over Bronx Kill, and it sits underneath the Hell Gate Bridge (train bridge) viaduct. It will connect what will apparently be some new bike paths in South Bronx at 132 St. and approximately Willow Ave. with a bike path under construction on Randall's Island and Wards Island, which will sit underneath said viaduct for its entire length on the islands.

I shouldn't call it a footbridge, since it will also get heavy cycling use. People can currently walk across the Bronx leg of the Triborough Bridge, only a few hundred yards to the west, but cyclists are supposed to walk their bikes across. And with that bridge's height and length, this simple footbridge will be much more convenient not just for cyclists, but for kids and older folk. I don't even know if I should call it the Bronx Shore Footbridge, but the web site for Randall's Island calls it that, so that's good enough for now.

This bridge was first planned way back in 2001, with funding from the New York Power Authority. It was to be community remuneration for some power plants they wanted to build in the Bronx. But eventually remuneration took the form of power-saving endeavors in the Bronx, and plans for the bridge were shelved. The plan was later revived with help from ConEd, who wanted to put power lines on the underside of the bridge. This is not without controversy, as canoers and kayakers say the with the cable ducts, the low-lying bridge will be impossible to get under at high tide, and at low tide the water of is sometimes too shallow to paddle. And the Bronx Kill is otherwise a perfect place to canoe or kayak because of its lack of commercial traffic. But it looks like the plan is going ahead. If you look closely at the top picture you can see the ducts and how close they are to the water. The bridge will supposedly be done (as of August 2010) in mid-2012. The bridge structure has been in place since at least May 2009. Doesn't look that tough, but what do I know. To be fair, they had to remove some old ducts and install the new ones before surfacing the bridge. But let's hope they git 'er done.

Actually it will be very nice, and is expected to really open up Randall's Island and Wards Island to Bronx residents. There are a lot of new ball fields that have just opened up in that northeast corner of the island as well, the "Sunken Meadow" area.

Pics: 1. The bridge under construction (it's fenced off, but I stuck the camera over the fence); 2. Location of future bike path on Randall's Island south from the bridge.