You always remember your first marathon, your first BQ, your PR, your PW, and marathons in epic weather conditions (eg. Boston 2018). This past Sunday’s NYC Marathon was special to me in so many ways and will be remembered forever. Even though it was my 16th NYC Marathon (50th marathon overall), there were still many “firsts” this weekend! It was my first official NYC Marathon as a marathon streaker! After completing 15 NYC Marathons last year, I became a part of this special club!
Marathon weekend started with the New York Flyers Pasta Party on Thursday night. We had Geoff Smith (2nd place 1983 NYCM, 1st place 1984 & 1985 Boston Marathon) as our keynote speaker! I was pumped for the weekend and so excited for Friday’s events that I only slept 2 hours on Thursday night!
On Friday morning, I went to a Shakeout run with Meb! Marathon weekend is not complete without a Meb sighting or run with Meb!
In the afternoon, I went to the Streakers and 15+ party and got to meet other Streakers! Then I walked in the Opening Ceremonies with the Streakers! It was my first time going to the Opening Ceremonies and it was AMAZING!!! I got a very good night’s sleep on Friday night! Haha.
On Saturday, Andrew and I ran the Abbott Dash to the Finish Line as our shakeout run. Weather conditions were not great so we went straight home after the race. Andrew wanted to go back to the expo so we went for a quick walk through of the expo one last time!
After a long dinner due to the restaurant being overbooked, we got home and had to get our gear ready! We set our alarm clock for 4:45AM to catch the 5:30AM bus and we went to bed by 11PM! I was up late making our name tags for our singlets! Haha.
Andrew and I got to the NY Public Library by 5:30AM and our bus was moving by 5:40AM! The bus to the start is the way to go! I took a nice nap on my way to Staten Island and felt refreshed when Andrew woke me up in Staten Island at 6:30AM!
Andrew and I got through security quickly and then we walked through the orange and blue athlete’s villages to get Dunkin Donut hats and used the porto potties. Yup, we took a tour of Fort Wadsworth! Haha. An additional benefit of being part of the Streakers & 15+ Club was the indoor gym facility at the start! This was only the second year of the gym facility for the Streakers. Andrew walked me to the gym and then he had to go back to the Orange Village. I felt bad leaving him, but it was not raining or too cold so I knew he would be okay.
Inside the gym, there was a spread of food and bleachers to sit down on. We also had our own porto potties to use right outside of the gym! That was one of the best amenities! I chatted with fellow Streakers and many asked if I started running when I was 10 years old. Haha. No one questioned if I had actually done 15! I loved hearing everyone’s stories, especially the ones from the 1983 NYCM (the year I was born!).
Around 9AM, we started to walk over to the corral! Another benefit to the Streakers club is that they get to start in the back of the 1st Wave. Many of the older Streakers really appreciated being in Wave 1. Last year I started in Wave 1 Corral E so to be in Corral F this year was not that big of a difference. Plus, I worked so hard to be a part of this club, I was going to start the race with the Streakers!!
I was disappointed with my race in Berlin and I had a hard time motivating myself to pick up my training for NYCM after the race. With the announcement of the BQ times being lowered by 5 minutes, it added more fuel to my disappointment. I had just gained 5 minutes after turning 35 and then it was taken away! While my time in Berlin will still count as a BQ for 2020, I still wanted a time with the new standards. So my goal was 3:34:59. My last few NYCM’s have been “fun runs” around the 5 boroughs. Last year, I stopped and took a gazillion selfies along the way. I knew that I could not do that this year if I wanted to hit my time, but I still wanted to enjoy the race. It was going to be a fine balance of fun and monitoring my time.
I found a few New York Flyers teammates at the start and it got me really excited to run. (Yes, I’m finally getting to the race! Haha). We took a group photo, wished each other luck, and we were off!! John, Pavel, and I started together. I was conscious not to push the pace on the first uphill mile. Pavel was returning to the NYCM after a 12 year hiatus so he also did not want to push and blow up later. John wanted to beat his previous NYCM times so we ran together since it is always better to have company!
One of the benefits of a hometown race is that you know a lot of people out on the course. Every friend/family sighting was amazing! Right before mile 7, my friend Dave was there with a donut for me. He asked the night before if I wanted a donut and I thought hard about it because I did not want an upset stomach to be the reason for me missing 3:35, but I wanted to have fun so I said “Yes” to the donut! Thanks Dave!! I loved the donut!
John and I were joined by teammate Howard around Mile 8. It was great to have another runner join our group! Strength in numbers! Running with others made the miles go by and I felt comfortable. We passed the halfway point around 1:48 and change. I was hoping to run a 1:47 half so I was not that off goal pace, but I knew that I had to pick up the pace in the second half!
My mom and brother were on 1st Avenue in the 60’s. My mom handed me a banana and small bottle of regular Gatorade, which she does every year and it carried me up 1st Avenue. I was also prepared to see my friend Deb this year as I am always surprised to see her on 1st Avenue! New York Flyer teammate Dev, screamed so loud that I heard him from across 1st Avenue! Dev, thanks for screaming so loudly to get my attention! It was so great to see you! The Gatorade Endurance gel station at Mile 18 was manned by New York Flyers teammates! Knowing that also pulled me up 1st Avenue and it was a huge burst of energy when I ran through the gel station. I wish I could have stopped to hang out for a bit! Basically, 1st Avenue was unbelievable this year!!
The Bronx was LOUD and it was a blur. I saw Coach Amy before going over the Madison Avenue Bridge and I was so surprised to see her because I felt like I just saw her in Brooklyn! She must have flown to the Bronx! I love you, Coach Amy!
I was so excited to be back in Manhattan, but my right hamstring was starting to feel a bit twitchy. I threw on some Biofreeze and kept moving! As I ran by the WRU Crew cheer zone at Mile 21, my friend Kofi, popped out of the row of spectators and I was in shock! He totally surprised me and I was so excited to see him! I gave him a huge hug and took that energy with me. A few blocks later, one of my training buddies Na’eem, found me and ran with me for a few blocks! I asked Na’eem how some of the Flyers ahead of me were doing and he said everyone looked great! I was excited to hear that everyone was having a good race! As I got closer to Central Park, I spotted my friend Jasmin and teammates Adam, Rachel, and Sungwon! Thanks for being out there!!
Running up 5th Avenue can often be a death march because it is late in the race and it is an uphill climb!! I was determined to power up 5th Avenue and not slow down. Once I entered Engineer’s Gate, I knew it was the home stretch and I knew that I could run hard for 2 more miles to the finish! I apologize if I bumped into you as I passed you along the way. It was very congested on Central Park South and I knew I was close to my goal! My Garmin beeped before every mile marker so I was not quite sure how much time I had before 3:35 so I just ran as hard as I could to the finish!
I was so happy to see that I ran under 3:35 and it was my fastest NYCM! Race director Peter Ciaccia was being interviewed in the booth so he was not at the finish line when I finished. No worries because I got screen time (sort of!) with Peter! Haha. I was taking a selfie!
Another “1st” this year was going back to the finish line at night time. Peter Ciaccia wanted people to come back to the finish line to cheer on the final finishers. After celebrating with my team, a bunch of us went back to the finish line. As we crossed Central Park South, there were 3 people walking to the finish line so we joined them and guided them to the finish line!! One of the runners started to run once we entered Central Park so I started to run with him. He was so emotional and started to cry, but I told him to save the tears for the finish line!! I got him close enough to Peter Ciaccia and stepped off the course so they could have their moment. It was pretty cool to be there to support other runners and to see another aspect of the race.
I am sure I left many names out of this blog, but know that I am so thankful for your support on Sunday! Congratulations to everyone who ran on Sunday!! See you all in 2019!
Race Statistics
Women’s Champion: Mary Keitany 2:22:48
Men’s Champion: Lelisa Desisa 2:05:59
Women’s Wheelchair Champion: Manuela Schar 1:50:27
Men’s Wheelchair Champion: Daniel Romanchuk 1:36:21
Total finishers 52,805 (30,658 Men : 22,147 Women)
BQRunning 