NYC Marathon Report

The Verrazano Bridge. The start of the NYC Marathon

Getting there:

I had a qualifying time and was entered for 2012. However, with the arrival of Hurricane Sandy, I had decided not to go. That was a great decision since the marathon was cancelled shortly after I would have landed in NYC. I took the refund option and took a chance that I may be able to get in for 2014 with another qualifying time. When registration opened, I entered and waited to find out if I would actually make it in. Secretly, I hoped and thought that I wouldn’t make it in & was almost disappointed when the NYRR sent the email that I had made it in. My reaction was like, “What?! Oh no!”

For 2012, there was a group of about 20 people in a running club that I am part of (Team RED, Rochester, MN) that were all slated to go. Many of them chose to run in DC instead of NYC for 2013 and there were only a few of us to go to NYC. Of those who were running NYC, some of us booked the same flights and the same hotel and we were going to make the best of it.

Hotel/Expo/etc:

Flight into NYC was super windy & turbulent. It was so windy that a friend from RWOL, Steve, was delayed later that day due to the winds. Flew in with 2 gals from Team RED. We waited a few minutes for our shuttle across Manhattan to our hotel. The hotel we had chosen, the Riverside Towers, was on the Upper West Side of NYC and was in a great location (but was not the best quality ever). It’s funny, though, I would definitely stay there again. It was just a bit outdated, but the location made up for it. We dropped our luggage and found our way to the nearby subway and headed to the expo.

Arriving at the Expo on Friday

Arrival at the expo was quite awesome. It was like a dance party where you could also buy running shoes and pick up your NYC marathon race number. This is my kind of party!

My number was #4463. Blue (top right hand side of the bridge at the start), wave 1, corral 4. At the expo, the security was tight & they were checking bags and ID’s in order to get into the main expo area. After picking up our race numbers and buying a few items at the expo, we headed over to Central Park to see the finish line area.

Opening Ceremonies Friday Night

The opening ceremony and parade of nations was going on and we caught most of that. It really was amazing to see the runners from various nations who had gathered in NYC to race. We also saw the top runners, including Meb! The ceremony ended with Frank Sinatra’s “New York, New York!” and a long series of fireworks. On the way back to our hotel, we had dinner and drinks at a local pub.

Sonja, Kyan, Myself, my sister Maureen & Gwen

We met up with my sister and her friend, who had flown in the day before to cheer us on and spend the weekend with us. 

Steve and I after our shakedown run on Saturday

The next day, I went on a shakedown run with my RWOL friend, Steve. We only ran 2 miles, in the park next to our hotel, along the Hudson River. We planned our race day strategy (with the help of RWOL friend, Lawrence) to meet in lobby at 10 to six to get a cab to the Ferry Terminal for the Staten Island ferry.

Race day:

Goals: A goal: to have as much fun as possible, B goal: sub 3:15, C goal, sub 3:30.

Marathon Eve, trying on the Race Day Outfit

Race day outfit consisted of my “Run for Dunn” shirt (which is a fundraiser I have set up for a friend who has recently lost his leg), a black running skirt, a multi-colored tutu (since I was planning to run for fun and not for a PR) Over the outfit, I had an outfit from the thrift store which would be shed and put in donation bins at the start line, due to no bag check.

I Met Steve and other Team RED friends in the lobby to call a cab at ten to six. (thanks for the recommendation, Lawrence!) I felt rather spoiled taking a cab to the ferry terminal, but I was glad to be off my feet and saving any energy I would surely need for the race. I had already eaten a bagel and peanut butter and was saving a clif bar for a little later. The race was such a late start (9:40 wave one) and with daylight savings, I knew my body would feel like it was mid-day by the time we were running.

We arrived at the ferry terminal at 6:30 and our slated ferry time was 6:45. We were able to walk straight onto a ferry (after having our numbers checked) There seemed to be hundreds, maybe even a thousand, walking onto the ferry with us.  Although they were checking bibs, they were not checking time assignments. Once we were on the ferry, it was a 20 minute ride to Staten Island. While we were cruising, the sun was rising on the Statue of Liberty and the skyline in the distance, the NYPD patrol boats & the Coast Guard boats were escorting us along the way and helicopters were circling overhead. It was clear that the NYRR were trying as hard as they could to keep us safe. It was emotional to see the level of security and with the backdrop of the Statue of Liberty, it brought tears to my eyes. 

Once we reached the ferry terminal, we met up with our RWOL friend, Lawrence. He is super friendly and is a New Yorker, with the accent and everything! He had been giving us the inside scoop on taking the cab, the subway, the bus, the start area, etc. Thanks again for all your help, Lawrence! We waited in the ferry terminal and had coffee, a clif bar and kept warm. The other Team RED ladies, Gwen and Sonja, stayed a bit longer in the ferry terminal as they were starting in later waves. So, Steve, Lawrence and I took off towards the restrooms and then to wait in line for the bus. While in line, I looked behind and noticed that I KNEW the person behind me! No WAY! Out of 50,800 starters, I know the guy behind me in line! It was Michael, a friend from Jackson Hole, WY (and, ahem, and also a famous actor as he was in the show “Charles in Charge”). We had to show our numbers again to get onto the buses. Michael and I chatted and sat on the bus together on the way to the start drop. 

When we got off the bus, the NYPD was there, checking numbers and waving metal detecting wands and checking baggage for security. I was in the Blue start, so I took off and said good lucks to Steve, Lawrence and Michael. As I entered the start area, I had to show my number again to get into Blue area. Over the loudspeaker, the announcer was speaking in German, French, Spanish, English, etc. I eventually heard them say, “the Wave 1 start corrals are now closed”. This made me panic just a bit, but I knew I still had almost an hour until the start. I made my way to the correct corral, where my bib was checked for a final time & made my way into the holding area of the corral with no problems. There were port-a-potties along the edge of the corral and no lines. That was great. I had a few extra garbage bags with, which I handed out to the coldest people I saw. One was a nice girl named Angie, from Florida. I sat and talked with her for a while. We talked about how there weren’t a lot of women in our corral. All guys and they all looked fast! We had both qualified for NYC but were not in the best shape at the current time. The only pacer in our group was for a 3:00 marathon, but we had both decided to start with the 3:15 pacer from the corral behind us, which I think we were both relieved to see him there. With about 15 minutes to start, they had us move from the holding area, up to the start line. We stripped off our donation clothes and I definitely got a few looks from fellow runners… “um, cotton shirt & super bright tutu, who does this girl think she is & what is she doing up here with these fast runners?” Ha ha! The elite men were starting just ahead of us and were introduced. Then, Mary Wittenberg, NYRR Director, spoke to the crowd. I don’t remember all of it, but I do remember her saying, “Today, we run for New York, we run for Boston, we run for Life!” The national anthem was sung by a group of children and then, on your mark & the start cannon went off! Frank Sinatra’s “New York, New York” played over the loudspeakers and we crossed the start line.

*Side note: all times/paces below are from the NYC marathon website. My garmin was jumping all over the place (5:40 to 8:50, etc) and was unable to be of much assistance except for running time. Oh well! Looking at these splits from the NYC marathon site, I was surprised to see just how even of a race it actually was!

Mile 1: (7:32 pace) - Hoots and hollers and clothes flying everywhere! We cross the start line. We start up the hill, which is the Verrazano Bridge. I am on the left side of the lane, which ends up being the middle of the bridge. I have seen aerial photos in the past of the waters of the harbor below and boats spraying water. I realize that where I am right now will make it impossible to peer over the edge of the bridge and crossing the road is not going to happen with this many people. I stay put and enjoy. I run quite a bit on the median in the center of the bridge. Orange wave is beside me to the left, on the other side of median. I am right behind the 3:15 pacer. It’s quiet. No spectators on the bridge. All I can hear are footsteps & a bit of wind blowing.

Mile 2: (7:32 pace) - Still on Bridge, downhill grade. At about 1.5 miles we are off the bridge. The first sign I see is “YO! Welcome To Brooklyn!” The spectators are lining the streets and cheering loudly. Blue and Orange waves join, but are still separated by the median in center of street. I am right with the 3:15 pacer and feeling awesome! Oh My Gosh! I am running NYC marathon!

Mile 3: (7:32 pace) (elapsed time 5k split 23:23) I pass the 3:15 pacer, but he is just behind me. The Green wave merges from the right and the 3:15 pacer from that wave is in front of me. The 3:15 from my group still right behind me. I decide I had better catch the front 3:15’er.

Miles 4-7: (7:27 pace) (elapsed time 10k split 46:13) These miles are a straightaway down Fourth Ave in Brooklyn. I have to admit that this is the part of the race I thought would be the most boring. When I thought about running NYC marathon, I imagined I would just want to get to Manhattan, get to mile 16, and that the race would start then… that the crowds would start then. I was surprised that I thought Brooklyn was actually almost the most crazy spectators of the whole race. They were finish-line-style crazy! People were yelling “TUTU!” and really getting excited about the tutu. This made me run pretty fast. I starting high 5’ing people, especially kids, to try and slow myself down. Not sure if that really worked. J

Mile 8: (7:24) Sharp turn to the right and continuing on. The street had been divided in the center, with Blue and Green waves on the right and Orange on the left.

Mile 9: (7:25) Ok, not gonna lie, my hip has been a bit funky for years. It was pinching a bit now (actually from the get-go) and I just wanted to get to mile 12 where I thought my sister would be and I would stop for a second to “pop” my hip (or, as I call it, my achin’ skip) to make it feel better.

Mile 10: (7:24) Mile 11:(7:26) I start looking for my sister here as not sure if she will be here or at 12 or in between. I told her that I would be on the left side of the road, but, as it turns out, every time I work my way over to the left, here comes another aid station and water stop and it gets all congested and I work my way back to the middle. I do this every mile for a while.

Mile 12: (7:26) -still no sister sighting. Still people going crazy about the TUTU! A few people yell, “Go, Run For Dunn!” which actually makes me tear up a little each time, because of the struggles Peter is facing. I learned quickly all I had to do was raise my hands up and give a little “whoo-hoo!” and the crowd would quickly bring me out of my tears.

Mile 13: (7:26) (Half Split time 1:37:36) The half marathon mark…I see it coming up and wonder if I should stop before the mark to pop my hip so as not to have such a drastic positive split (knowing that I will surely slow in the second half) I don’t stop, Cross it in 1:37. Stop immediately after to pop my hip. Doesn’t really help. Just wasted a few seconds. Oh well. Thinking about my half split, I was pretty happy with it, as it should guarantee that I run under 3:30 at the very worst. I knew I was slowing down, although I was still with the 3:15 pacer at this point. Coming through Queens and the crowds are still going wild. It seems as though this area is really varied, with one block crazy as ever and the next block, only a few people lining the streets. Nevertheless, they are all going absolutely nuts about the tutu! Hilarious.

Mile 14: (7:27) Couple of turns in the course, nearly impossible to cut the tangents with so many people, just cruising along. Trying to remember to take water or Gatorade every other mile and clif shot bloks every other mile. (I usually start at 2 miles and keep hydrating & eating calories every other mile throughout a race.)

Mile 15: (7:28) (25k split 1:56:17) starting up the Queensboro Bridge (59^th Street Bridge). As we climb out of the street of Queens, Quiet, bridge covered by lanes of highway above. Dark. Quiet, footsteps, soft pitter patter of shoes, and the occasional walker (uh-oh, a bit early to be walking it off!)

And then I hear it.

That murmur of voices.

From afar, you can hear the screams of spectators welcoming us to Manhattan. I look up, to the left and I say out loud to the woman next to me, “Holy Crap.” The crowd is enormous. They are all screaming. They are all clapping. It is echoing off the skyscrapers of Manhattan and bouncing straight to us. Unbelievable. I get a little teary-eyed as we round the corner onto First Ave. This is what I have heard people talk about when they talk about the NYC marathon. I had no idea. Until someone experiences that, it is truly unexplainable. Wow. Just, wow.

Mile 16: (7:29) Flying along First Ave!

Mile 17: (7:29) Still flying! I believe this is where the NYC marathon photographer snapped the pic of me, with both hands up in the air, undoubtedly reacting to some of the spectators up on one of the many porches and rooftops along the course. As if lining the streets weren’t enough, these spectators were above us, also. Cheering like they knew each and every one of us. Amazing.

NYCM Photographer snapped this around mile 17. This photo really sums it up!

Mile 18: (7:29) (30k split 2:19:38) Cruising right along! These crowds are carrying me!

Mile 19: (7:30) Hey, Could it BE!? It’s my sister and her friend! Hooray! They catch sight of me just as I am about to climb the Willis Avenue Bridge. I swoop over and high-5 them both! I wonder for a second what happened to them at mile 12, but know them well enough to know that neither they, nor I, are worried about it now. Hmm, what’s this? I am feeling like slowing down on this uphill of a bridge. No spectators, just quiet and I think, “hey, I could just take it easy and no one will know!” (…except maybe someone tracking my progress at home) I slow a little. This is where 3:15 pacer really pulls away, and I’m ok with that J

Mile 20: (7:32) Mile 20! I start doing a bit of math. It is so fun to do math after 20 miles. Basic math like, 6 times 7 is…? Hmmm. Fuzzy. Ha ha! I figure that I will be in the 3:teens.

Mile 21: (7:32) (35k 2:44:14) I start to wonder if there is a 3:20 pacer and I plan to run like crazy if I see one, but until I do, I’ll just run along.

Mile 22: (7:33) Hey! There is my sister and her friend again! Not going to lie, I was a bit spent and caught off guard by seeing them a second time & so soon. I tried to react as much as possible with excitement, but I was definitely ready for a beer about now, ha ha!

Mile 23: (7:35) As I stated in the intro, my Garmin was only telling time and not pace. I felt like I was running a 9 minute mile from here on out and I really didn’t care. I was trying to soak it in, get to the finish and feel ok.

Mile 24: (7:37) (40k 3:09:37) The crowds, I am sure, were still amazing here. This is Central Park for goodness sakes! However, I think I was in the “death march” stage, just a little bit. Only responding to, “GO, TUTU!” with a gentle wave or thumbs-up now. I do a little math and realize I am going to be quite close to 3:20. If I can push it, I will still go under!

Mile 25: (7:38) Come on! I can do this! I am moving along, realizing now that I really will finish this thing (yes, I had my doubts, as my training was not the best ever)! I remind myself that I really don’t care about time, the 3:20, or do I? Maybe I should push it!? Yes, really, I should, here we go! Woo-hoo!!!! Hmm, actually… body not speeding up. Ha ha!

Mile 26: (7:39) I try once again to push it. I even look at a guy next to me and say, “Let’s do this!” But, I start to accelerate and by golly, I think I might puke! So, I just hold back and run. I am happy to be rounding that last bend in Central Park!

26.2: I can see the finish line up ahead, a little farther away than I want it to be. The crowds are lining the grandstands. I see the clock tick past 3:20 and I smile and cross the finish line.

Today was not about time.

Today was about running because…I CAN!

Running for Dunn. Running for Boston. Running for New York. Running for Life.

Just running.

New York… you ROCK! I’ll be back.

My daughter Greta running in her new tutu, a souvenir from the NYC marathon.