NYPD widow runs a smile a minute
She crossed the finish line surrounded by her “family in blue.”
Nearly three years to the day after her NYPD-sergeant husband was slain in the line of duty, Lisa Tuozzolo ran the New York City Marathon in his honor on Sunday.
“I want this to symbolize that as a survivor of a fallen officer, that we are never alone,” the 43-year-old mother of two told The Post after finishing the 26.2-mile race.
“All of the NYPD, and all of our local police departments step up and are really there for us, and it’s really meaningful to me.”
Her husband, 19-year NYPD veteran Paul Tuozzolo, 41, was responding to a home invasion in The Bronx on Nov. 4, 2016, when he was fatally shot by an ex-con.
Last year, on the second anniversary of his death, a family friend, Anne-Marie Dunn, ran the marathon in his memory wearing the number 43870 — for the cop’s precinct, the 43rd, and his badge number, 870.
This year, Lisa Tuozzolo did it herself, wearing the same number while raising money for the Silver Shield Foundation, which provides education funds to the children of fallen officers.
“I love the NYPD. They are my family,” Tuozzolo said. “They are the connection to my family. I couldn’t be more honored to be surrounded by my family in blue.”
The former administrator at West Islip HS on Long Island said she teaches her sons — Austin, 7, and Joseph, 6 — that “when you have the opportunity to do something that you never thought you would be able to accomplish, you set your mind to it, and you at least try.”
A first-time marathoner, she finished in 5:30:12 and received kudos from her husband’s old comrades.
“We are all proud of you, and we know Paul, Austin and Joseph are as well!!” read a tweet from the 43rd Precinct’s Twitter account.
Joyciline Jepkosgei arrived in New York with a modest goal for her first marathon ever.
“My focus was to finish the race,” she said, a gold medal hanging around her neck. Not bad for a novice. Jepkosgei upset four-time champion Mary Keitany to win the New York City Marathon on Sunday with a historic debut, finishing seven seconds off the course record.
Geoffrey Kamworor of Kenya won the men’s event for the second time in three years. He pounced when defending champion Lelisa Desisa dropped out after seven miles, following a grueling victory at the sweltering world championships last month in Doha, Qatar.
After pulling away from Kenyan countrymate Keitany with about 3 miles left, Jepkosgei crossed the finish in Central Park in 2 hours, 22 minutes and 38 seconds, the secondbest run in course history.
“I didn’t actually know that I can win,” she said. “But I was trying my best to do it and to make it and to finish strong.”
The 25-year-old Jepkosgei holds the world record in the half-marathon but had never run a 26.2-mile race before. She looked pained climbing the final hill but strode confidently over the finish line.
It was too much for Keitany, a 37-year-old who collapsed after finishing 53 seconds later. She had won four of the previous five NYC Marathons.
Desiree Linden set the pace for the women early and was the top U.S. finisher at sixth.
Kellyn Taylor, an American putting her firefighting career on hold to pursue the Olympics, finished seventh.
Kamworor made it a Kenyan sweep moments later with a final time of 2:08:13 on the course that traverses through the city’s five boroughs.
He kicked away from countryman Albert Korir in the 24th mile. Korir finished second, and Ethiopian non-elite runner Girma Bekele Gebre was third. Jared Ward was the top American finisher among the men at sixth place.