By RACHEL MORGAN
Pavement Pieces
For Lis Anderson, marathons are a family affair.
Anderson, 59, of Denmark, cheered on her husband, cousin and cousin’s daughter at 59th street in Manhattan sidelines of the ING New York City Marathon yesterday.
Anderson and several family members traveled from Denmark just to attend the annual race, which attracts 100,000 runners each year.
“We have just come to Manhattan for the marathon,” she said, while waving a mini red and white Denmark national flag. But this race isn’t the only one this family has attended. They travel together, some to run and some simply to show support, to various marathons around the globe.
“We have also been to three marathons in Berlin and three in Copenhagen,” Anderson said.
She smiles with pride when she talks about her husband, Knud Lindrgaard Nielsen, a marathon runner who began racing at age 50 and shows no signs of slowing with age.
“He is now 65 years old!” she said.
Anderson also shows her support for her cousin, Marianne Randrup, 50, and her cousin’s daughter, Julie Randrup, 18, who are also running in the world-renowned marathon.
She is joined in her support by her sister, daughter, and cousins.
Anderson’s family members all proudly wave tiny Denmark flags and have even draped a full-size flag over the fence.
When Anderson’s sister runs by, she is beaming widely, despite just having crossed the 16-mile mark. Her cheering section erupts in shouts and claps.
Mathias hops the fence and races toward the track to give his sweaty mother a hug before she falls back in with the race’s runners.
“She’s a good mom,” he said. “[Coming to marathons] is fun.”
And will Mathias, who currently plays soccer in Denmark, join the family tradition of running in marathons?
“No, not right now,” he said with a lopsided grin. “Maybe when I’m 18.”
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