New York! New York!

Watching a marathon can be hard work. Tracking the runners, coordinating group logistics, and elbowing your way to the front of the spectating crowd can be rough! About two weeks ago, I ventured off to The Big Apple for a weekend of catching up with friends, and cheering on a few running buddies at my first New York City Marathon.

Daylight savings fell upon us the morning of the marathon. The air was cool and brisk on that November 7th morning. Jenny and I jogged our way from her 4th floor walk up on 1st & 74th over to Central Park. Mere days before, I had let it slip that although I had been to New York too many times to count, the closest I had come to entering Central Park was quite literally on the Sex & the City tour in 2005. Following a bit of convincing, Jenny and I woke up early on the morning of the NYC Marathon to jog through "the park," and make it back in time to watch the elite runners whip past her place. The marathon had started only a few minutes prior, so I took the opportunity to run the final two miles of the course in Central Park before the officials were bound to boot me out. The pitch of the downhill after mile marker 25 didn’t feel good on “fresh legs!” I cannot imagine hitting that point in a full marathon. After a gorgeous chilly morning run (I highly recommend running the reservoir-gorgeous!), we showered quickly, and headed down to watch the elite runners pass Jenny’s apartment on 1st Ave. Now, when I say we showered quickly, part of me desperately wishes a Guinness Book of World Records officiate was present to time the turn around! …One can dream. The morning was off to a great start. The elites flew past us in what felt like a blink of an eye, quickly followed by a few fast “characters” – my favorite being the caped man (pictured below). Not too long after, did we see Elliott arrive. This was Elliott’s 22nd marathon, so running one at a comfortable pace was something he considered “taking it easy." Soon after Elliott passed us at mile 17, we jaunted over to Central Park to scope out a good spectating spot by mile 25. There was a moment when each of us was attempting to figure out the arrival times of our friends/runners at mile 25. The thought, “how many people does it take …to track a runner?” may have swept in and out of my mind for a minute there.

Mile 25 - This is where we were able to catch some grueling moments for the runners as they ebbed closer to the finish. As the minutes passed by, and our fingers began to freeze, we were able to catch a few friends pass in their effort to make it to 26.2.

Congratulations to all those New York City Marathon Finishers! - And a big thank you to those of you who sweat, freeze, travel, and endure all the conditions to cheer us runners to the finish. It’s not an easy job, but somebody’s gotta do it!


I know I run like a girl! Try to keep up!