5/25/2025
The Buffalo Marathon
Buffalo, New, York
Kristin Quesenberry Gunyula
Finish Time: 3:19:25
Overall Place: 162nd Place / 1209
Division Place: 2nd Place / 49
Ran A Boston Qualifying Time
George McFall
Finish Time: 3:19:25
Overall Place: 167th Place / 1209
Division Place: 6th Place / 41
Ran A Boston Qualifying Time
Roy Miller
Finish Time: 3:33:06
Overall Place: 274th Place / 1209
Division Place: 10th Place /41
Christine Churpek, And Peter Heroux where on location taking pictures and providing race support for Team ER members.
Race Recap By George McFall:
Now that I have had time to process yesterday’s race I am ready to share a recap. I will try to keep it short but not sure that will actually happen because there is so much to unpack. My goal was 3:17 which was a 3 minute buffer for Boston (my age group BQ time is 3:20:00). This was my first time doing the Buffalo Marathon. I was so excited to do this race with Roy Miller and Kristi Quesenberry Gunyula. Peter Heroux and Christine Churpek made the trip to cheer us on. The race started at 6:30am. It was partly cloudy and the temp was in the mid/upper 40s. Ideal running conditions. The course offered a variety of climbs and downhills. We ventured into a park or two. Ran through a cool marina and what seemed like a lot of roundabouts. There were plenty of aid stations with water and Gatorade and some aid stations offered GU gels. Kristi and I ran the first 20 miles together which was awesome but I started having cramps in my right calf and hamstring so I backed off the 7:30 goal pace. I even had to stop at one point to stretch which is usually not a good thing to do. I fought hard to get back in the mix and had to fight even harder to maintain an 8ish pace to achieve my goal. My coach Jennifer Simmerman was there with me every step of the way encouraging me to push through the pain and to fight for what I wanted. Kristi was ahead of me but she was still in sight. I wanted so bad to catch up to her but that didn’t happen. 3:17 was out the window and I wasn’t sure if 3:20 was even realistic anymore but I didn’t quit. About a mile or so out, I dug deep. I didn’t want to fail. We approached another roundabout and what I thought would be the straight away to the finish line but there was a right turn then a sharp left around orange cones then a right turn onto the final stretch of road to the finish line. This is when I was able to see the clock and saw it hit 3:20:00 then 3:20:01, 3:20:02…. and at that moment, I thought I didn’t get a BQ. I got across the finish line and fell to my knees. Part frustration part my body was hurting. I gave it everything I had. I didn’t know what my finishing time was until my coach told me and at that moment I broke down and cried. 7 years of trying… missing a BQ two times by 12 seconds.. but I never gave up on my goal. I ran a 3:19:47. New PR and a BQ!!! Kristi ran a PR time of 3:19:25 and Roy ran one hell of a race in his first marathon in a while. His time was 3:33:06. Kristi was 2nd in her AG, I placed 6th in my age group and Roy who is also in my age group was 10th. It was a good day for Team ER in Buffalo. I have so much more to say but will end the recap with a big THANK YOU to everyone who showed up for me the last 7 years.