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It’s not the most prestigious (that goes to Boston) or the fastest (has to be Berlin), but the New York Marathon is certainly the most popular marathon in the world—with celebrities. Sunday, tennis star Caroline Wozniacki—this year’s US Open runner-up—will be racing her first marathon, only a week after a semi-final loss to Serena Williams at the World Tennis Association Finals. While her longest training run was only 13 miles, she’s confident that she can go the distance. And she’s not the first celebrity to test herself in New York:
Lance Armstrong
In 2006 Lance Armstrong, who we all know, uh, goes to extreme lengths to perform at his peak, assembled an all-star pace team of legendary runner and coach Alberto Salazar, Olympic gold medalist marathoner Joan Benoit Samuelson, and mile world record holder Hicham El Guerrouj to pace him to a sub-3-hour finish. He crossed the line in 2:59.
Al Roker
The Today Show weatherman didn’t exactly set the race on fire, taking more than seven hours to cross the line. But he did finish!
Jared Fogle
Jared of Subway fame ran the same year as Roker, finishing in 5:13. Maybe there’s something to those sandwiches?
Diddy
Then known as P. Diddy, now back to Puff Daddy (for those keeping track), the rapper’s training regimen apparently included eight weeks of focused training and two weeks of abstention from sex. He fought through leg cramps to cross the line in 4:14.
Pam Anderson
The former Baywatch star ran a 5:41 and was sore afterwards:
Bobby Flay
The celebrity chef barely missed the four-hour mark in 2010 with a 4:01.
Haruki Murakami
The famed Japanese novelist is a serious runner—he’s run more than 30 marathons. He finished New York in 3:31 in 1991.