New York, New York…. what a city, what a race…and what a lot of procrastinating I have done with this race report. It has been two months since I ran New York City Marathon, high time to write a few lines before I forget details.
So much has been written about this race already, there probably isn’t much more I can add. I’ll spare too many details on my performance, other than note that I wouldn’t recommend only running 28km in total in the four weeks leading up to a marathon. I picked up an injury in September and even on the plane to New York was undecided on whether I would run. I arrived in New York on the Thursday before the race and went to the expo right away to collect my race number and keep my options open. While there, I nearly bought a baseball cap with “finisher” printed on it but put it back as I was still not sure I would do it. I knew if I didn’t do it I might never get another chance but was still unsure. On Saturday, the day before the race, I walked past a New Balance store and saw the same hat in the window and decided I would buy it and give the race a go or else I could never wear the hat. I’m glad to say I have worn the hat since.
In terms of the race itself, it was a brilliant way to see parts of New York I would otherwise never have seen and to soak up the atmosphere as we ran through each of the boroughs. The race takes in each of the 5 boroughs of New York, starting on Staten Island and leaving it pretty much immediately as you cross the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge into Brooklyn. That bridge is uphill, and I felt my lack of fitness immediately, but it was still amazing, with all these helicopters flying right beside us as we crossed. We then weaved through lively Brooklyn neighbourhoods for a lot of the first half of the race, before passing on through Queens and then over the Queensboro Bridge into Manhattan. The Queensboro Bridge was the hardest part for me, no crowds, uphill, everyone downbeat and struggling, and it seemed to go on forever, but then finally we reached Manhattan and had our spirits lifted by roaring crowds along a never ending First Avenue. Then we reached a short stretch of the race in the Bronx, before the course returned to Manhattan, following Fifth Avenue and finally entering Central Park for a tough last few miles to the finish line to be handed a shiny medal, some snacks, and a poncho, ….and have to face an evil uphill mile walk out of Central Park surrounded by hundreds of other grumbling finishers in a sea of orange ponchos.
The route and event are fabulous, the race really offers a vibrant showcase of New York’s diverse communities and iconic cityscapes, and it was great listening to the crowds’ cheers and reading all the funny signs and posters. I even think I heard a few “go Sportsworld”s along the way.
On finishing I learned Helen Obiri won the women’s race in a time of 2:19:51, and the amazing Fionnuala McCormack finished 10th in a time of 2:27:00. Incredibly the men’s race almost came to a photo finish, with Benson Kipruto winning by just 0.03 seconds.
If you ever find yourself doing this race, there is one important thing you need to be prepared for – the marathon before the marathon. Getting to the start line is a trek to say the least, in fact the time between leaving the hotel and my race start was longer than the time it took me to do the race, and I was far from speedy. I left my hotel at 5am for a 10.20am start. I was concerned I’d have hours waiting around in the cold but actually had very little time in the start village. The Verrazzano Bridge closes to traffic for the race so you need to be in Staten Island before that happens. That meant lining up for 90 minutes at the NYC Public Library to get on a bus for the trip there (there is a ferry option also), then it took around an hour for the bus trip, then a further long wait on the bus as there was a security traffic jam, then over an hour in that security line myself, and then I only had about 45 minutes in the start village to grab a bagel and a coffee before going into my start corral. The atmosphere was great all the way and the time went very quickly, but you need to be prepared with snacks and if in an earlier wave, get to the Public Library very very early. I think I was wave three and there were some very panicked wave 1 starters in the line for security at the same time I was. I doubt they made their corral.
All in all, the day was an experience I’ll never forget—equal parts exhausting and exhilarating. Despite the doubts and the interrupted build-up, I’m glad I took the chance and lined up on that iconic bridge. The support from strangers, the sheer scale of the event, and the sense of being part of something like that made every step worthwhile. That finisher’s hat was well and truly earned.
