We got up yesterday morning to run the New York marathon in the dark at four-thirty AM. It was daylight savings which gave us another hour of sleep but we were in the dark from the point we got up, through the cab ride to the bus and most of the way to the start village on Staten Island. Once there we checked in with the clear bag of belongings allowed per security protocol and headed to Charity Village where we met our friends from the Hole in the Wall Gang charity we had helped raise money on behalf of the event.
We hydrated, ate food and waited until 10:30AM to get in queue for our starting corral. We ditched hats, jackets and other items that kept us warm which we planned on donating as the weather warmed up for the day. It was sunny and about as nice as we could possibly ask for on race day by the time we crossed the start line.
I’d heard the bridge was challenging but I couldn’t imagine why until I ran it. The Verrazanno bridge is about two miles with the first mile uphill. You’re not warmed up and it’s just a long, steady slope for those who don’t run hills often. It was a great way to start the race though with a spectacular view:
The hydration stations were somewhat of a mystery to me in that there were no trash cans. Our sitter, Morgan, was working one all day and she told us the reason they were all wearing volunteer rain ponchos was because they were going to get splashed all day from runners who threw their cups on the ground.
Why not some big trash bins? Every stop there were sweepers and people working with rakes to get the squashed cups off the road. I would have done my best to get in or near a trash receptacle if there had been any in evidence.
We spent a long time in Brooklyn and were amazed at the number of people, bands, children, signs, free food from strangers as we ran past. We were close to the last corral which means folks had been cheering for hours already, but they were still there, still cheering us on. It was quite motivating.
We passed through Queens and then crossed the Queensboro bridge into Manhattan and had even more crowds cheering for us at that point. It was a happy run the entire time. The participants were from something like one-hundred-forty countries. This was the fortieth year the race has gone through all five boroughs and many older people had bibs on their backs saying, “24 NY Marathons and counting” or other equally impressive number.
We left Manhattan to enter into the Bronx where we’d heard there would be the least crowds cheering, but we were met with bands, orange slices, bananas, pretzels and goldfish as well as still-cheering spectators. After a short time we crossed back into Manhattan, heading south to Central park.
This part of the race was the longest mentally because you feel close to being finished, but you’re not. It was also where I threw a temper tantrum because I made a setting change on my phone and watch and unknowingly caused it to drain power to fast and die at about twenty-three miles into the race. My best friend told me it was okay to which I said something probably very rude indicating I was mad and to leave me alone for a while.
She did and I got over it and we ran on. We ended the race on Central Park South, turning at Columbus Circle back into Central park and across the finish line. It was just about dusk at this point. But we weren’t done. Oh no, there’s about two miles of walking through the park to get out of the cordoned off area before you can get back to your hotel, taxi or find friends. They provided recovery bags of food and drinks, a very nice poncho and medical support for any who needed it.
What we didn’t fully appreciate until we were tired and desperate to find our way out of the maze at the end of the race (which we’d been forewarned about) was the wisdom of the hotel we were staying at. Friends who’d run the race before had suggested it. Low on fuel and energy, once we exited the race area we were only a few blocks from our beds and a shower.
By that time we were in the full dark of night. We left for the race in the morning in the dark and returned to our hotel in the dark—but we ran in the light.
After we’d had showers we caught up with Morgan, who took care of both my best friend’s and my children all summer and who had given us drinks at the mile nine hydration station. She came to meet us for dinner, taking a night off from her studies at Pratt. We had a delicious Indian meal (even more delicious because of how hungry we were) and caught up on each other’s lives.
Then we both slept soundly until the alarm went off to get up and head to the airport to come home to see our families. It was a fun weekend but I’m always glad to be home.
The Big Boy Tiny Girl Google Trillion Welcome: I got home this afternoon from New York, having been gone for three days to run the New York Marathon. I picked up the children from school and was greeted by happy smiles and a welcome home from both children. As we were driving away from school my son said, “I love you a google trillion, mom.” My daughter, not to be outdone told me she loved me a ‘google, google trillion”. My son said that number wasn’t possible but gave in when his sister was emphatic it was, indeed, a valid number. With that information, he told me, “I love you a google, google, trillion, trillion, billion/“
New York Marathon Update: Feeling fine today after the 26.2 plus bonus walking miles after the race. Tomorrow I might be sore; typically it’s the second day that I can tell how the run really went.
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