NY Marathon, The Big Apple, 60,000 runners, 26 miles, one girl and a ball of yarn.
This past Sunday, after weeks and weeks of preparation, the day finally arrived. Our friend, Meredith Parmalee ran one of the most famous marathons in the world, while knitting a scarf with her fingers.
She surpassed her own record over the 26 mile course, completing the marathon in under 5 hours, averaging 11 minutes per mile. Beginning the race in the thick of thousands of runners, she didn’t stop knitting until the marathon was done.
The day was not particularly cold, with temperatures averaging in the 50’s, although it did start to seem a bit warmer with a ball of yarn quickly becoming a scarf and expanding to encompass more and more of her as the race continued.
Today, Meredith is feeling a bit tired; “when I work up this morning, I couldn’t move my legs, but it was worth it – I feel very happy and proud.”
Although knitting was a big part of the race – it was far from the only part. Meredith ran to help support the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, fundraising over $3,500 in donations for the organization.
In addition to raising money and awareness for a great cause, the run was an enjoyable experience too! Meredith tells us that many of the other runners were surprised or amused by her choice to run while knitting. “I had three other runners ask to take selfies with me while knitting. Some even asked if I could make them a sweater!”
For the moment, Meredith says she is going to take a break from running and knitting at the same time. But who knows? Maybe she will be back to racing and knitting and completing marathons around the world.. But just maybe 😉
