Although we may associate diet, exercise and weight loss success stories with women, this year’s “The Biggest Loser” winner, Ali Vincent, is the first woman ever to win the competition.

Ali bested the boys — and conventional wisdom — to become the very first female to proudly call herself “The Biggest Loser.”

Fans had a big say in the outcome of tonight’s live finale on NBC: They voted online to decide whether Mark or Roger should be the third finalist to compete for the prize along with Ali and Kelly. The thinking going into the evening was that a victory for Roger — the former football player who started the game at 363 lbs. — would mean defeat for Ali because Roger still had so much weight to lose.

But conventional wisdom was dead wrong.

Roger reached the finals, but conceded that he’d hit a plateau when he and the other contestants left “The Biggest Loser” ranch and continued to work on their own at home in advance of tonight’s final weigh-in. In all, he lost 164 lbs., or 45.18% of his body weight.

Ali, too, conceded some challenges — including late-night visits to the freezer for a frozen yogurt fix.

But in the end, her “warrior mentality” — dating back to her days as a championship synchronized swimmer — served her well. Ali entered the game at 234 lbs. Looking trim, toned and plenty confident, she needed to lose only 105 lbs. to upset Roger — and she handily passed that benchmark as she weighed in at 122 lbs. In all, she lost 112 lbs., or 47.86% of her body weight.

And there’s another number staring back at Ali: She takes home $250,000 for her troubles. (More.)

It’s not everyday an 8-time Mr. Olympia shares fat loss secrets and launches a new line of products. Lee Haney’s achievements in the bodybuilding world are noteworthy indeed, as evidenced in this video profile and interview.

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Here’s what he has to say about fat loss:

When you want to drop body fat (not muscle), there are four safe ways To achieve it:

1. First – lower your caloric intake by 250 calories a day. This can be done by eliminating foods you can do without such as sodas and sweets. Check the calorie content of such products to start the reduction there.

2. Second – increase your activity level. This can be done by incorporating 30 minutes of speed walking, treadmill, or cycling (see activity chart) each day of the week. The combination of aerobic training and weight training is the best way to shed body fat.

3. Third – include supplements to enhance the body’s ability to burn fat such as the fat metabolism enhancer.

4. Fourth – system cleansing and detox program (see cleansing and detox). The seven day cleanse will rid the body of waste that can account for up to 5-10 lbs. The recommended supplements used can enhance the overall cleansing effect.

Also, don’t forget the importance of including multivitamins and multiminerals in your daily diet. It’s the foundation to every good health program.

The 38th annual New York City Marathon took place today with more than 37,000 runners, many of whom are still on the race course right now, persevering to finish. Results:

Martin Lel of Kenya and Abderrahim Goumri of Morocco, who waged a battle for victory in the London Marathon this year, found themselves neck and neck in the final stages of the New York City Marathon on Sunday morning, matching strides through Central Park, having dropped all the runners in what was a crowded lead pack for much of the race.

In the women’s race, Paula Radcliffe, who gave birth in January, outran Gete Wami in the final mile to win in a time of 2 hours 23 minutes 9 seconds.

As the two turned into Central Park for the final time, Lel sprinted ahead, leaving Goumri behind again for the victory in 2 hours 9.03 minutes. It was Lel’s second victory here, having won in 2003. Goumri, 31, has now finished second in both of his career marathons. He lost to Lel in London by three seconds and trailed him here at the finish by 12 seconds, finishing in 2:0916.

Paula Radcliffe

For full coverage – photographs, race results, feature stories – here are our favorite Web sites:

Official NYC Marathon Web Site.

NBC Sports.

New York Road Runners Club.

New York Times.

The Detroit Free Press profiles a few of the participants in the 30th Annual Detroit Free Press/Flagstar Marathon:

At 6-foot-9, Norm Allgood was the biggest of the 16,000-plus participants who turned up on Sunday for the 30th running of the Detroit Free Press/Flagstar Marathon.

So when he was asked why he chose the marathon for his first race, it was a bit disconcerting to see this giant of a man double over to hide his face as he tried to choke back tears and sobs.

Regaining his composure, the Detroiter, who completed the 13.1-mile half marathon competitive walk, said, “I’ve never done anything like this before. This is my first race. But I thought I had to do it for my wife, Di. She’s battling multiple sclerosis, and she’s out there doing the marathon for the fifth time.”

From Denver comes the inspiring story of Betty Willis who, at 78, will be running the Denver Marathon, tomorrow, October 14. It is not her first marathon:

Betty Willis was bitten by the running bug at age 53 and ran her first marathon in 1981 in Denver.

Now at 78, Willis is training to run the half marathon on Sunday in downtown Denver. While she’ll have to walk part of the course, Willis said running is something she’ll do as long as her body allows.

“To keep me from getting old and feeble,” Willis said.

Willis has won dozens of trophies and even more medals over the last 25 years of running. Her most special award was the First Place cup for women 50 and over.

“It’s the one that inspired me after I recovered to get ready for the next one,” Willis said.

She has run in 27 marathons in all, including some of the most prestigious in the nation.

“I ran every year to celebrate my birthday and I think that’s a wonderful thing to do,” Willis said. “Celebrate your life.”