"What's the weather like in Oslo this time of year?" "Should we bring our spikes?" The questions were many when some very excited young runners made their final preparations for the trip of a lifetime, from New York City, to Oslo, Norway.
5/11/2007 :: The runners - with their arguably equally excited parents - gathered at the Norwegian Consulate General in New York City this week, for a final meet-and-greet before taking off to a nine-day visit to Norway on May 15th. It's now a yearly tradition that the Norwegian Consulate General in New York City, the New York Road Runners Foundation, and the Norwegian Athletics Association host a runner exchange program between Oslo and New York City.
The runners are part of the many running teams organized by the New York Road Runners Foundation, a charitable organization associated with the New York Road Runners. which organizes outreach projects in some of the less privileged areas of New York City.
Last year, 5 runners from Oslo visited New York City, participating among other things in the Norwegian Festival in Central Park. The lucky runners who get to go to Norway were selected based on, among other things, essays and leadership potential, by the New York Road Runners Foundation. The Foundation's Chrissy Odalen gave the selected runners from New York the good news earlier this spring:
"When we told them the news, one of the boys we told was with his father," Odalen said.
"They were speechless at first, and the father actually started to get teary eyed."
The exchange program was originally started as part of the Norwegian centennial celebrations of 2005, but has since become a tradition, and a great opportunity for young runners from New York to experience Norway and vice versa. And one of the people behind the initiative is Norway's queen of track and field herself, 9-time New York Marathon winner Grete Waitz:
"I think it's fantastic that we've been able to create an exchange program between Norway and the U.S. like this," Waitz said.
Both Grete and her husband Jack will be around to show the runners some of the things Oslo has to offer, and have, in collaboration with the Norwegian Athletics Association, created an interesting and intense program for the visiting youngster. In addition to participating at the Tine relay run, the kids will be able to sightsee in Oslo, visit Norwegian schools, and will experience 17th of May celebrations in Oslo. In addition, the runners will participate in the legendary Bislet Games, part of the Golden League, the most prestigious sports events in European Track and Field and home to the famous Bislet Roar.
"We are especially excited to show them '17. mai' in Oslo," Grete Waitz adds.
"It is going to be an unforgettable experience for them, and for us too."
The runners and the New York Road Runners Foundation gathered at the Norwegian Consulate General in New York City for a final meeting, before heading to Oslo on the 15th of May. From the left: Mark Bernal from the New York Road Runners Foundation, who will chaperone the runners on the trip; Macgayver Alcantara, Aiisha Ramsay, Ramona Parnell and Miguel J. Colon Jr. The fifth runner, Alexis Pabon, was not present. (Photo by Thor Englund.)
Thor Englund / Royal Norwegian Consulate General, New York City.