Top Ten Running Experiences: Number Seven

7. 2008 New York City Marathon



I had already registered for the Chicago Marathon, but I couldn't pass up the opportunity to run my first NYC Marathon when I was offered guaranteed entry, even if NYC was only two weeks after Chicago.  I was running Chicago to try to qualify for Boston, so I decided NYC would just be for the experience.  After experiencing ridiculous heat for the second year in a row, and forever swearing off the Chicago Marathon, I was looking forward to having fun in New York and no caring one bit about my time.

The day didn't start off too great, as the pre-race logistics for the NYC Marathon aren't exactly fun.  I had to get up at 3:45 am and catch a bus out to Staten Island only to sit on the ground in a tent freezing for several hours before even lining up for the race.

2008 was the first year the NYC Marathon utilized a wave start and I found myself positioned at the beginning of the second wave of runners.  I was also lucky enough to go over the top level of the Verrazano Bridge.  Coming down the bridge, I had already made my way to the very front of the wave, so it was open road ahead of me.  I almost felt like I was one of the race leaders.  Ok, not really.



Running on 4th Ave through Brooklyn, the engine was still burning pure adrenaline.  When that started to wear off, I found myself running down Bedford Avenue with college students, hipsters, and other spectators literally spilling onto the street.  The energy was great and pushed me through to the Pulaski Bridge and into Queens, where I gave a couple high-fives to kids before entering the 59th Street Bridge.  Once ascending the bridge, all the sounds of the city and the race fell silent except the sound of thousands of footfalls echoing from the roof of the bridge.  It was an amazing, yet eerie feeling.  Just after cresting the apex of the bridge, the echoing footfalls gave way to the increasing sound of a distant crowd of thousands cheering.  As I pounded down the bridge, the crowd noise grew to an almost deafening level as I came off the bridge.

First Avenue was lined with thousands upon thousands of people cheering and yelling.  I got an instant shot of adrenaline and a huge smile upon my face.  The brunt of the runners were sticking to the left-hand side of the street, so I moved over to the right-hand side and started giving high-fives to anyone and everyone that would extend a hand.  For sixty blocks I gave out high-fives and exchanged fleeting greetings.  I stopped to hug and chat with several people I knew as I made my way toward the Bronx, where things calmed and the crowd thinned.

Luckily, the Bronx section was short and I re-entered Manhattan stopping in Harlem the talk to Coach Cane, NSQ, and Salim.  Coach Cane basically forced me back onto the course by telling me to get moving.  Once I got south of 110th Street, familiar faces were everywhere as the crowds once again thickened and the roar of cheering returned.  I stopped and chatted with Bridget in the 90s, saw some of the RUN NYC crew at Engineer's Gate, and stopped to talk to Stephen as I went down Cat Hill in Central Park.  The energy surrounding me was amazing and I gave out high-fives liberally--like it was my job and I was on the fast-track to upper management



I exited the park, turned onto 59th Street, and spotted Amy, who I gave a high-five and a smile before finishing off the length of 59th Street.  I re-entered Central Park and cruised toward Tavern on the Green high-fiving every man, woman, and child along the way while yelling loudly with a smile on my face.  When I got to the finish line, I graciously tucked into a ball and somersaulted my way over the finish line.



Two weeks before I gave Chicago my all, blew up in the heat, and ran a 3:22.  I looked at my watch and saw that even with all the celebrating I did on the course, I still ran a 3:32.  Running a marathon through the streets of New York is something that every marathoner should experience if given the opportunity.