By Josh Williams
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
CENTRAL PARK — The New York Road Runners kicked off the 2010 season this weekend with a five mile race in sub-freezing temperature.
More than 3,300 runners finished the Lebow Classic, held inside Central Park, on Saturday, despite temperatures in the 20s.
Two childhood friends Kerry Pasqua and Jacqueline Iovino, who ran high school track together, dusted off their sneakers for the first race of the season.
“We both ran our whole lives and we are trying to get back in shape,” Pasqua said.
Iovino added, “I felt old and I almost puked at the end of the race, which wasn’t cool.”
Chris Ellis-Ferrara won the men’s division with a time of 25:25, setting a pace at just more than 5 minutes a mile. The women’s division winner was Aileen Conlon with a time of 28:22.
Ramon Ruiz, 70, completed the race with a time of 43:39 and was in great spirits after the race.
“I love to run, the cold doesn’t bother me," he said.
The race is in honor of New York City Marathon co-founder Fred Lebow, who died from brain cancer in 1994.
As the weather heats up throughout the year, organizers hope to build their numbers to more than 40,000 runners by the time the New York City marathon rolls around again.
