Yeah, the 7 hour finishers get the same medal as the winners...that's my kind of sport!
(and to wax cheesy for a second: really, what other sport allows regulars schnooks to line up at the same event with the elites? They may finish before I hit the halfway mark, but we're still out there together!)
I did my first one just to finish, and it took me over six hours. And I had a great time and was very very proud. Since then I've shaved almost two full hours off my time. But NYC is so crazy and crowded and colorful, AND it's a pretty challenging course...no one runs a personal best in NYC anyway. It's definitely a race to just have fun with.