For three out of the last four years, the New York City Marathon has been without a doubt my favorite day of the year. It is a day filled with accomplishment, unity, strength, determination, excitement and so much more. Millions of people gather in the 5 boroughs to cheer on 50,000+ runners from all around the world who have spent the better part of the year training their a$$es off for one day. New York is my favorite city in the world and to having been able to experience this wonderful event for a third time, I feel truly blessed.
Training this year was so hard. The heat was debilitating. But in early October when that wave 2, orange corral assignment dropped…our excitement sky rocketed. This was the first year we had submitted a race time to get into a preferred corral. We submitted our sub-2 hour half marathon from February. And boy did it pay off – we got exactly what we wanted. Wave 2, Orange meant that we were going to be able to start our race at 10:15 am (the very next time slot after the elite men) and on the top of the bridge!
We landed in NYC early Friday morning (the race being Sunday) and headed to check in to our hotel. As superstitious as we are, we surprisingly did not chose to stay at our normal Downtown Brooklyn Aloft. At around $50 less a night, we chose to stay right next door. We immediately dropped our bags and headed into the city. We don’t like to tour quite so much as to try and not tire out our legs, but knowing that Saturday would be pretty sedentary, we were able to do a little bit of sightseeing. We met up with my parents around lunch time and grabbed a bite before heading to the expo.
We were all running with Team For Kids this time around so we were able to all pick up our bibs at the same counter. I felt like the expo was really crowded. I was excited because I had my eye on a new singlet…New Balance was the sponsor of the race (as opposed to Asics in years past), so I was looking forward to a new round of gear. I loved the NB singlet that had been sent for our Team For Kids training, and that I would go on to wear on race day, but much to my disappointment, nothing at the expo had the same cut. Adam and I purchased a few little mementos but nothing crazy struck our eye.
After the expo we made our way to our favorite lounge spot at The Roosevelt Hotel in midtown. I love that hotel so much and it’s just a stone’s throw to our routine Friday night Italian dinner at Nino’s 46.
Saturday mooring rolled around and it came time for our last training run – an easy 2 miler at the hotel gym. We were up a little earlier so that we had time to make it to the NYC Clemson Club’s gathering for their noon kickoff football game. Pizza for lunch, grilled chicken salad for dinner and a textbook day-before-the-big-race.
Daylight savings is always on our side for this race. Though an “extra hour” doesn’t do too much when the excitement takes over the whole night. Dad was at our hotel by 6am and we were off. A quick subway ride and we were about to get on the Staten Island Ferry. One of our favorite parts of race day. Everyone is just so excited to finally be there and ready to see what they can make of weeks and months and years of training.
I have always said that I run to have fun. And I still very much hold true to that. However, this year was different for us. It had been two years since our last marathon and as you know, we spent 2017 training hard and racing for PRs. We were there to have a blast, but to crush our full marathon personal best.
The anticipated hour-long bus ride from the ferry to the start village really tries it’s best to get everyone down. We know now not to drink liquids that morning until we’re about 30 minutes into the bus ride and we just know it’s coming. BUT, we made it to the start village. When we ran Adam’s first New York in 2016, we had little to no time in the village. We were rushed to get into our corral after the bus and so we made it a goal of ours to get him there with a lot of time to spare. It’s part of race day. Being surrounded by runners from all walks of life ready to experience the greatest marathon in the world is something that cannot and should not be overlooked. We were able to see the elite women go off from the base of the bridge and our excitement and determination just continued to grow.
About 20 minutes before the corral start time, runners begin to move from the actual corral in the start village to the base of the Verrazano Bridge. Thousands of people moving so slow, cheering, taking selfies, nerves. I remember what song was playing when we got to the base of the Bridge – “Shake it Out” by Florence + The Machine. It was electrifying. They mayor of New York is there along with the president of the NYRR (New York Road Runners), the Grand Marshall and other notable marathon figures. They give us their pep talk and queue Frank Sinatra’s “New York”. I could relive that moment over and over again.
Push start on the Garmin and we were off. The first two miles of this race take place on the Verrazano Bridge and against every race rule in the books, these were our fastest two miles of the day. The first mile because of pure excitement and the second mile because it’s the biggest downhill of the course. We stepped into Brooklyn around mile 2.5 and it was buzzing more than ever before. We were eager to get to 8 because that would be the first sight on our family. But when we got there, we were in awe at how fast it was going by. We spent the next hour gabbing, laughing at spectators’ signs, soaking up their energy, and simultaneously trying to PR but make time slow down because we were having too much fun for it to be over.
Brooklyn and Queens are just so full of life. The spectators all represent the different neighborhoods that we travel through. 2.5 hours and 15 miles later…we were climbing our third and toughest bridge of the day. But it’s the bridge that comes with the very best views. Mom and family were waiting for us on 1st Avenue around mile 17. They had texted me where they were and thank goodness they did because 1st Avenue was PACKED! Part of the reason we were so excited to start in the early wave was for the crowds, and boy did they show out. We traveled several miles up and before we knew it we were in the Bronx, our fifth borough, but we had to get back to Manhattan before the finish line. The Bronx is quick (only about a mile or two), but it’s spicy. It’s quieter, but it gave us time to prepare for what was coming. Though an amazing part of the race, the climb up 5th Avenue after the Bronx is mentally tough. It’s a steady incline and mentally draining. But the crowds. THEY make the NY Marathon so great and they fueled nearly every step to that finish line.
Turning into Central Park near the end, we knew we were going to PR. We actually knew we were going to crush our PR. We had earned it and we had worked so hard for it. 50 minutes off of our previous time.
Our official finish time was 4:42:54.
We crossed with smiles across our faces and made the photographers take like a million pictures of us in all our glory (see below!). But let me tell you…I was hurting. The “Green Mile” as I call it – the walk through Central Park that you HAVE to take after finishing the marathon before being allowed to enter back into civilization. Let me just talk about it for a minute…
Ok, I get that logistically they have to do it and yes, it is good for everyone’s bodies to walk it out instead of just falling out after 26.2. But it is harder to manage than the race. Race volunteers do provide recovery bags. They were a little bit further than I would have liked this go around as I was so thirsty, but they were there shortly after the medals were handed out. They also hand out heat sheets which, for the third year in a row, I did not take and regretted it. TAKE THE HEAT SHEET! The walk is long and honestly took us about an hour to make it out to our family meeting area. After you make it out of the park, if you did not have to use baggage claim, you’re awarded a post-race poncho. You can literally walk up to the volunteer and they put it over your shoulders and wrap you up and make you all warm and cozy and even give you a congratulations hug if you want one. I wanted one. I needed one.
And now I pose the question of what is the point of running a full marathon if you cannot indulge in two dinners afterwards?? We headed back to Brooklyn for Mexican first dinner (chips and salsa and an adult bev) and then to Shake Shack for second dinner (shack burger and fries).
It was the perfect day filled with my favorite people together in my favorite city. I can say with confidence this will not be the last time I run the New York City Marathon. It may be a few years and I’d like to get a few other world majors under my belt first…but I we will be back. For now, it will always hold the most special place in my heart and I still am in awe that I am a three time marathoner.
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