Top Ten Running Experiences: Honorable Mentions

Its time to kick off this list of the top running experiences of my life. Throughout this list, you'll notice a theme. And that theme is Paul Leone. On the surface, I'm not really sure why many of the best running experiences seem to involve Paul. We both love running, but if that was the sole reason, this list would be filled with repeat names. I think it more has to do to the fact that we both reach to the extremities of what most people define as running and embrace those boundaries. Our tendencies for the extremes of running differ drastically--Paul tends to put his life on the line at 2 a.m. darting through Times Square dodging and staring down aggressive cab drivers, not always winning, while I tend to put my life on the line while running as far as I humanly can through terrain and conditions most would consider hostile. Yet somewhere, our fanaticism for the fringe overlaps. Perhaps it's because we crave attention, or maybe its that long hours at work drive us to insanity. I like to think it is because we both simply like to run and have fun doing it.

Back to the issue at hand--My Top Ten Running Experiences. There are two honorable mentions here, so I'll start with those today:

Brooklyn Half Marathon - '09 & '10

"Its an island on an island that's not an island on an island." I'm pretty sure that's how the conversation between the aforementioned Paul Leone and myself started when discussing a post-Brooklyn Half Marathon celebration. Beer Island was the topic of discussion, which is located on Coney Island, which is technically on Long Island. We discussed and debated the definitions of the word "island," which inevitably devolved into some sort of nonsensical conversation, although it was fairly absurd to begin with (if you could hear half the conversations Paul is involved in, you'd either laugh until you cried or your head would explode as a result of trying to comprehend). The result of the conversation was a call to Beer Island to find out how early they opened. A Facebook invite went out and the confirmations poured in. Everyone ran the half and then met at Beer Island for a full day of socialization. The beer was cold and somewhat cheap ($5 for any beer) and the weather was perfect.

Year two found us fretting and searching for a new post-race venue, as NYRR moved the start of the race back an hour. Initial reports were coming back that Beer Island would not be opening until 11 a.m. Luckily, after several calls and emails, they relented and decided to open at 9 a.m. Although a smaller group turned out, it was another day of socialization.

This entry was relegated to the honorable mention list, because most of the experience was due to the post-race festivities. However, running is what brought the whole thing together.

Solo Circumnavigation of Manhattan

The second honorable mention is the result of a long solo training run. The run took place on a 97-degree day in early July '07. I was training for the Jay Mountain Marathon (now extinct), which at the time was touted as the toughest trail race of its distance (after finishing, I can attest it definitely has reason to make that claim). I had read an account of someone circumnavigating Manhattan on their birthday, so I figured, "why not do it for a long training run?"

Armed with a Camelbak, some gels, and a few dollars in cash, I set out from the PATH station at the WTC and started around the bottom of Manhattan. Almost 6.5 hours later, I climbed back on the PATH. Over the course of the run, I got lost, fell and bloodied by knee, gave wrong directions to some tourists, found myself into an almost trance-like state, and forged my way through an abandoned section of Highbridge Park that eerily conjured images of an 80's horror movie. Through it all, I watched neighborhoods change and ventured into parts of the city I'd never been as I made my counter-clockwise journey around the island. It was the first time I had pushed myself that far, especially in those kinds of conditions. I experienced highs and lows, strangely experiencing both at one time during my "trance" state that is too difficult to put into words. The entire run experience was mine and mine alone, not that many people would want to share the experience.