NYC Central Park Race

[Wells]

Hey y'all, I took some (about 400) photos on Saturday. These are the halfway decent ones.

First, thanks to the race organizers. Big shout out to the New York Longboarding Association and Earthwing skateboards for putting this all together. It was a great event.

Second, let's have a big round of applause for Nervous Ned for his rockin' after-party out in Queens.

Third, shout out to the cop who reminded us that this wasn't an organized event that required permits, and that we were all just out for the nice weather. I'm glad we avoided a crazy critical-mass-like showdown with the NYPD.

Special thanks to the sponsors: Earthwing, Gravity, Sector 9, Seismic, Randal, Shut Skates, Never Summer, Concrete Wave, Loaded, Comet, and Silverfish.

On to the photos!



Brian Petrie, the man behind Earthwing and the unofficial head honcho of this race.



The prizes arrived camouflaged in stealthy cardboard boxes.



Anton looking fly.



Anonymous person in neon yellow shorts, hawaiian shirt, and custom high tops, I salute you. Best dressed skater at the race, hands down.



Sweet homemade aluminum speedboard.



Long Island, what?



1987? 2007? Who cares?



Rodney of Shut Skates stylin' out near the starting line.



Fanny pack schralpage.



The media!



Slide gods. I'll give you a hint: both of these people have tricks named after them.



A lot of people showed up. They're not all in this shot.

There was no official start to the race. People didn't line up, and nobody yelled "GO!" They just sort of started. I had gone down to where the race was supposed to start to shoot the beginning, but people just sort of started coming down the path fast and furious:



Here they come!



They kept on coming.



Crashes out of the gate.



A police van showed up. Everyone freaked out.



They bunched up behind the van, then kept going.



Because the race didn't have an official start, some people didn't know it had started and ended up starting late.



Other people showed up late and missed the start.



Brian had people sign this prototype of the 38" drifter for Mike D.

Continued in the next post, hold off on the replies.

[ragefan]

nice pictures

[Anton Milioti]

i am looking fly! make sure my shoes get into concrete wave

[Wells]

Kaspar was first across the finish line, beating everyone out by at least a minute.



He got really sweaty (sorry about the unflattering photo).



Handing out the prizes. The sponsors sent loads of sweet swag. Thanks for the R2 150s!



This kid's pants were a casualty of the race.



Malakai Kingston, Silverfish godfather, holds court with the young whippersnappers.

That's it from the sprint race from me, look out for the party and slide competition photos.

[Wells]

As a point of clarification, there were no official winners because there was no official start or finish.

Any list of the first people to come across the finish line will be an inaccurate measurement of who went around the loop fastest because people didn't all cross the starting line at the same time. Also, some people thought the race ended at Columbus circle instead of at the entrance to the park loop.

[drummer pig]

Awesome photos! I'll definetley be there next year!

[worldridr768]

The pics are sick! Can't wait to see all the others. If you have a link to all the other photos you took, post it up! I'm only in 1 picture!

[Arbor11]

sweet photos, I want more, haha

[nervous ned]

great shots Wells!!!

clarification -- 'Anonymous person in neon yellow shorts, hawaiian shirt, and custom high tops' is Theo -- he won the race last year.

[mcgoon]

Wicked pics mang...thanks for postin them!

[Kong]

i love the pictures. its my frist time doing the race.

i'm gonna go every single year until i die.

[HerBDerb]

Looked fun.... I'm sad now.

[Wells]

The rest of my photos are uploaded into the NYC Central Park Race gallery here on silverfish. They're not post-processed, so they're not as polished as these, but check 'em out if you're looking for photos of yourself. I've got shots of the first couple dozen people coming across the finish line, too.

[pyrate]

nice shots wells!
thanks to everyone involved. i had a kickass time as usual...
and thanks for the signed board guys! it will hang on my wall as one of my most treasured pieces of skate memorabilia.

[Rabid Skunk]

great shots Wells!!!

clarification -- 'Anonymous person in neon yellow shorts, hawaiian shirt, and custom high tops' is Theo -- he won the race last year.

And he always wears those shorts.

[solarvibe]

i am looking fly! make sure my shoes get into concrete wave

i meant to complement you on those shoes ton. i give you my vote for best dressed! thanks for the coverage and pics, wells! see ya again soon!

[sexualharrison]

mine wore more expensive.

[Crappysurfer]

slide comp photos?

[lurker2000]

hi y'all ... i would just like to make an important correction/distinction here.

brian petrie from earthwing has been a terrific supporter of the NYC Longboard Club's Annual Spring Race for all of the 8 or 9 years that it has been running. he has helped the event with prizes, skills and word of mouth.

however, the "unofficial head honchos" are Club Founders and official organizers Ian Nichols and Fred Mahe. these two guys are responsible for years of cultivating this event on the streets of new york from a 12 person event to a 100 racer blowout, and, of course, organizing the infamous broadway bomb from a 16 person event to an 80 racer blowout.

since most of you internet people probably missed that little detail, here is a picture of the two of 'em - ian (shirtless) and fred (tied-dye). make sure to say hi to them at the next race.

see you -- and them -- at bway bomb 2007

[midnite-cruiser]

when is the broadway bomb? im so out of the loop of everything lately.

Im down in baltimore and would love to check our the sites of NYC, and also get a little skating in as well. Are there any planned meet N skates during the next few months?