Coni Bowen has once again tackled – and completed – the New York Half Marathon, finishing up 20 minutes faster than her previous time. 

In her second year competing in the half marathon, Bowen once again raised money for Give’r For Liver, a charity that contributes funds to the Liver Foundation. The race was put on by More/Fitness Women’s Magazine and the New York Road Runners. 

Bowen completed the race in a team of nine other women; three of which were also former Jasperites. The group raised $40,000 for the Liver Foundation altogether through Give’r For Liver.

One of the best things about the marathon  is the thousands of people lining the streets cheering every runner on, Bowen said. 

“It’s awesome. The support is amazing.”

Bowen trained for the marathon, but credits New York lying at sea level as an advantage. 

“I probably don’t train as much as I should,” she said. Before the race, Bowen spent five weeks in Mexico running there. She participates in fitness classes and did a bit more training this year than last. 

Many of the runners are just regular people looking for a challenge, but there are serious racers who finish while the majority of runners are starting their second round of New York’s Central Park. 

“I just do my best,” Bowen said. “I was out to beat my own time.”

And she did just that – Bowen finished the 21-kilometre half-marathon in two hours, 25 minutes – a whole 20 minutes ahead of her previous time. Bowen is unsure what she actually placed, but said she was somewhere in the 4,000s. 

While the race was satisfying in itself, Bowen’s real pride was the money her team of nine raised. 

“It just gives you a really good feeling to know we raised all this money,” she said. “It’s just a really worthwhile cause.”

The Liver Foundation is something that is close to her heart. Bowen lost a friend who was unable to get a liver transplant in time. Her friend and former Jasper resident Debra Lee Fernets created the Give’r For Liver marathon group. 

The race had 7,400 registered runners this year, ahead of the previous year’s 6,360. Bowen said the volume of racers meant that it took a full five minutes to cross the finish line once the race began. Each runner had a chip attached to their shoe that recorded when they actually crossed the line, and sent information to the announcers along the race so that some racers could be featured. It also recorded the finishing time. 

“It was really cool,” Bowen said.

The runners spread out once the race started. Bowen said she was never crowded, and the race was well organized with runners on one side and walkers on the other. 

“You were never clustered.”

Bowen also enjoyed the camaraderie between the runners, and the constant cheers and support from the sidelines. 

“You encourage everybody.”