Here are a bunch of random thoughts/comments from yesterday’s marathon:
- As we were waiting for the race to start on Staten Island, we couldn’t help but notice the sniper on roof of one of the buildings. And it was definitely a sniper as he was defiantly placing his rifle on the ledge so that anyone could see it
- Tonnes of people showed up late for the race and therefore had to jump fences to get into the corrals we were held in before the start. Imagine training for four months and then blowing the race because you couldn’t be bothered to get to the race on time?
- The start was sudden: a message from the Mayor, race instructions and then the howitzers (race starts at Fort Wadsworth) went off, followed by us! Immediately, New York, New York began playing; a great way to start a race
- Running across the Verrazano Bridge gives you one of the best views of the city you’ll ever get. I suspect it might be the highest point in the entire city. It’s also the only bridge in NYC you can’t walk over so it’s a treat to run on. While we were running over it we were also being buzzed by at least four choppers: at one point one was above us while another was moving beside us; I almost caught the glare off the camera. I also noticed two massive Chinook helicopters headed towards us, coming in low over the harbour, but the broke away at the last moment and turned to Staten Island
- When we hit Bay Ridge (just across the bridge), the cheering began. At the first fluid station, some cheeky future entrepreneur was offering Gatorade for $0.25 (in case you’re wondering, it’s free; every mile from mile 3 onwards)
- Along the way there are lots of bands/djs. You can tell a neighbourhood’s character from the music: Bay Ridge = classic rock, Sunset Park thumps to a Hispanic beat while Harlem and the Bronx are a little more hip hop
- Fort Greene was the best neighbourhood. For the first few miles, the runners are split into three, then two groups. They come together near Fort Greene, so for a mile or so it gets quite intimate. The street, Lafayette St., narrows at this point and at the same time Fort Greene has some locals who really like to cheer. It was best summed up by the guy next to me who turned to me and exclaimed “This is fucking amazing!”
- Shortly after, we hit Williamsburg. After an inspiring run past a church with a gospel choir outside, the neighbourhood became incredibly quiet. The neighbourhood is bifurcated by the bridge and to the south it is all Hasidic Jews (it’s literally like running through Once Upon A Time In America). They don’t really cheer for marathoners too much. To the north is hipsterville and there you’ll find bands and people eating brunch while cheering you on
- When we passed the halfway mark I let out a cheer, but unfortunately I was surrounded by Europeans who didn’t seem too excited. In fact, in general, the Euros weren’t too friendly. No idea why
- Crossing the Queensboro Bridge from Queens into Manhattan was a little surreal. We were running on the lower level, so it was a bit like being in a sooty tunnel. As we ran, the trains were running beside us and I think they were going slower so that the passengers could gawk at us. I also noticed that when we got to the middle of the bridge they hadn’t yet cleaned up the bottles of the lead runners (these guys actually set up their own water bottles at spots on the course) and they were still lying on the course
- I’d heard that when you come off the bridge and hear the crowd it’s unbelievable…and it was. The roar started with a few hundred meters to go and then suddenly a crowd appeared. Their cheers became a roar and every runner picked up their speed; the cheers continued up 1st Ave
- At 81st street or so I saw another set of cops on a roof watching the crowd
- Somewhere between 90th and 100th, there was a DJ cranking Empire State of Mind. Hearing Alicia Keys sing “Let’s hear it for New York” was sonic adrenalin and made me accelerate
- As I swung back into Manhattan from the Bronx, I saw my coworker Jorgette on the corner of 137th. Very cool to see someone I recognized
- With about five kilometers to go I felt my hamstring start to twinge and new that there was no way I was going to make my goal time of 3:20. In fact, I’d been dropping time since coming hitting kilometer 30. Next year I’ll have to run longer long runs
- After the race, I got stuck next to this guy on the subway:
Before he fell to the left, he was leaning left on me:
We made a great team. I’m pretty sure I smelled because at least one person moved away from me after sitting down next to me- Finally, Timex gave out the best swag: a fridge magnet where you could put your time. Here’s mine:
