Every year since I’ve lived in NYC, I’ve cheered on marathoners running the streets of New York in the beginning of November. Every year I’ve said, I’m going to run it one day. This year, I did! And, as I had posted on Facebook after the race, two words sum up the experience – awesome and tiring!
The New York Marathon is one big block party. The media buzz
all around New York propels and enhances the excitement of the city. Every year
various world-class runners and celebrities mix in with ordinary runners.
Everyone remembers the Chilean miner who ran the marathon last year. This year the big news was that Apolo Ohno
was running the marathon. With this kind of attention and publicity, it’s no
surprise that marathon day is the one day every year that New Yorkers come out
in the thousands to cheer on runners of all ages, ethnicities, class level,
etc.
The three months of training prior to the race, were not easy.
The foresight, research, organizational and planning skills PR practitioners
use in their jobs were put to good use. I researched various training
schedules, chose the one that worked for me and plotted out my running schedule
for the next three months. When I completed a run, I’d check it off the
schedule. Sometimes I’d have to
rearrange my workouts on a weekly basis to fit them in with other commitments.
Often, I would leave work on a Thursday or Friday and run anywhere from 13-20
miles around Manhattan and/or home to Brooklyn; many weeks saw me awake at 6am
three or four days during the week for a four- to six-mile run; or I’d have to
make sure there was time on a vacation to complete my miles for the week.
Sunday, November 6 was race day, and I was excited and
nervous. I hadn’t slept well the night before and had set two alarm clocks just
to make sure I was up at 5am and didn’t miss the ferry. Despite trying to
remain quiet and not wake my parents and sister, who had flown in from
California for the occasion, my Dad woke up, kept me company while I got ready
and walked me out the door. I was glad for the distraction. Nerves set in again
as it seemed like forever for the train to come. Once I got to the ferry
station, excitement took over.
It was complete organized chaos - from boarding the ferry
until I got to the starting line. For having to deal with 44,000 runners, the
New York Road Runners did an amazing job making sure everyone was where they
needed to be and when they needed to be there.
The crowds are what make the marathon spectacular. The
entire 26.2 mile route had tons of supporters with signs, both funny and
inspirational. Spectators cheered everyone on – whether they knew you or not.
If your name was on your shirt, they’d shout for you. If you were wearing a
shirt with the Italian flag they’d shout “Go Italy.” Worst case, they’d just
shout and holler like banshees. When a runner they knew came by, groups would
go crazy! The energy from the crowd kept
you going and when you saw someone you knew, it feels as though you could
sprout wings in your chest and fly away. There were little kids giving out high
fives. Every mile had a different band, DJ, choir group, elementary school
concert band or some sort of music blaring. Some spectators took it upon
themselves to blast music to help runners along. Others handed out Gu, bananas
and paper towels, in addition to the volunteers passing out water, Gatorade and
wet sponges. There were people in costumes – both runners and spectators alike.
I think the spectators were having as much fun if not more than the runners. I
couldn’t stop smiling for the first 13 miles.
Don’t get me wrong, I definitely hit the wall - at about mile
20 - but the crowds keep you going and make you want to finish, as do the other
runners. At no point are you alone, and even though I didn’t know anyone else
running, there was a certain camaraderie. Finishing was amazing. You realize
you’ve just run 26.2 miles through the closed-off streets of Manhattan in front
of two million spectators and the exhaustion and pain settle in next to the euphoria.
When asked if I’d run another marathon, my answer is
two-fold: I’d definitely run the NYC marathon again and I might do a different
one, but only if I have someone to train and run it with. It was my sister’s first
time watching the marathon in person and she loved it so much that she’s trying
to convince me to run one with her, so we’ll see…
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