relationship withrelationship with my two team-mates in the #1 919, Timo Bernhard and Brendon Hartley. Its been a sensational three years and off the back of three consecutive wins, Im hopimy two team-mates in the #1 919, Timo Bernhard and Brendon Hartley. Its been a sensational three years and off th

NEW YORK -- Some run in memory of a lost loved one. Others are motivated by a milestone birthday. Theres a story behind every one of the 50,000-plus runners in Sundays New York City Marathon; here are a few of them.---Rudy will be running.Actor Sean Astin will take part in his first New York City Marathon, although hes run a dozen marathons in other cities.He said the race will be poignant because New York was the birthplace of his mother, actress Patty Duke, who died in March.Im sure Ill experience a whole range of emotions from bittersweet to sad to nostalgic to excited to hopeful, Astin said. And thats all before I get to the starting line.The 45-year-old Astin is known for film roles such as Samwise Gamgee in The Lord of the Rings trilogy and the title character in Rudy.Playing the sturdy Samwise, Frodo Baggins right-hand hobbit, proved challenging for an actor who was dedicated to fitness.Astin said the character is derided as a stupid fat hobbit by the shadowy Gollum. Every time I would start to exercise the director would pull out the book and point to that sentence, he said.---Foodies know Elizabeth Falkner from TV shows including Top Chef Masters, The Next Iron Chef, Redemption and Chopped All Stars.I love food competition. Thats my other favorite sport, said Falkner, who played soccer until age 38 and then got serious about running but has not run a marathon before.I turned 50 this year and I thought this is a perfect birthday present for me to give myself, this goal of running my first marathon, she said.Falkner is running to raise funds for Team for Kids, the youth services program of the New York Road Runners club, the marathon organizers.She said shes always tried to promote healthy living even when she ran her San Francisco bakery Citizen Cake. Im not the kind of chef whos telling people to always have more bacon and butter in everything, she said.---Four 27-year-old siblings will be the first quadruplets ever to participate in the New York City Marathon.Elite wheelchair athlete Brian Siemann, who suffered a spinal cord injury a few days after birth, has been in more than 25 marathons, but this will be his first with able-bodied sisters Amanda Siemann, Maria Siemann and Jessica Rowe.Its exciting on two fronts, Brian Seimann said. One, I think, to be the first quadruplets to run the New York City Marathon ever is really cool. But then to be doing this together for the first time is really special, that well remember the rest of our lives.The siblings were born in Brooklyn but have scattered to different states. Only one sister, Jessica Rowe, is a marathon novice.Well be checking in with her to make sure that shes OK and shes alive and she hasnt totally given up on this, Maria Siemann said.---Gordon Felt, 53, is running with other family members from United Airlines Flight 93, which crashed in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, on Sept. 11, 2001, as the passengers tried to wrest control of the plane from four hijackers.Felts brother, computer engineer Edward Felt, called 911 from the doomed plane just minutes before it crashed.Gordon Felt said he and the other family members are running to raise funds for the Flight 93 National Memorial. As family members, our training mantra has been they never gave up and neither will we, he said.Felt, who owns a summer camp for learning-challenged children in upstate Remsen, New York, said he was a middle-distance runner in high school and college but has never run a marathon before. Ive done my training and Im ready to go, he said.---Actor Theo Rossi, known for Sons of Anarchy on FX and Luke Cage on Netflix, said he chose to make New York his first marathon because its the capital of the world.The 41-year-old said its special that the race starts on Staten Island, his often-maligned native borough.As a kid growing up on Staten Island, that really was our only identity, that the marathon starts on Staten Island, he said.Rossi has participated in other endurance events including the Hood to Coast, a 199-mile relay in Oregon. His teammates during the race from Mount Hood to the Pacific coast last August included comedian Kevin Hart.Jace Sternberger Jersey . Batiste, who briefly signed with the Eskimos in 2006, has spent time with several NFL teams including the Pittsburgh Steelers and Washington Redskins. Jace Sternberger Youth Jersey . 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The 26-year-old finished last season with Clevelands Triple-A affiliate in Columbus after signing with the Indians in August.Mark Webber has given some insight into his decision to retire from professional racing at the end of the year, saying he consulted F1 legends Sir Jackie Stewart and Niki Lauda before making the announcement.Webber will retire from racing at the end of the current World Endurance Championship season to become a Porsche representative among other roles. The decision will bring an end to a 26-year racing career, which included nine F1 victories and the 2015 WEC title, and Webber said he asked three-time champions Stewart and Lauda for advice on when to call it quits.Of course hanging up my professional racing helmet is a very big decision but Ive been extremely fortunate to receive great counsel from two of the legends of our sport, Sir Jackie Stewart and Niki Lauda, about the timings of such a decision, he said. The timing is right for me -- you certainly view things a bit differently when you get a bit older and your priorities in life change. As with my F1 career, its nice to making the decision on my own terms.Webber will remain with Porsche in an ambassadorial role as well as conttinuing his work with Red Bull and British F1 broadcaster Channel 4.ddddddddddddIve really, really enjoyed my time in the cockpit with Porsche and could never have envisaged having such a dynamic relationship with my two team-mates in the #1 919, Timo Bernhard and Brendon Hartley. Its been a sensational three years and off the back of three consecutive wins, Im hoping we can continue our good form and finish this year strongly.Its an absolute honour for me to remain with Porsche and whether its at the track or away from it, Im looking forward to putting my 26 years experience as a competitor to good use in my new role within the company.In addition to Porsche, Im incredibly fortunate to be walking into some new and exciting opportunities with Red Bull (who I will have been with for 10 years next year), Channel 4 in the UK, and Network Ten and Michelin in Australia. As for Aussie Grit himself, Im working on a couple of new ventures too, so watch this space! ' ' '