Challenge Series 2013: New York Marathon (2)

Entrance to the marathon Expo

I hope you'll give me a little leeway to go on a bit! This is my second (and longer) race report on the 2013 New York Marathon. It was an amazing race, and the culmination of my year's Challenge Series, running to raise money for NYAS, so I hope you don't mind if I spend some time writing about some of my experiences. 

The New York marathon was more than just a race. It really was a whole weekend experience, although unfortunately I missed out on some of this, such as the opening ceremony on the Friday evening (I arrived too late for this in the evening) and the pasta supper on the Saturday (was wanting to rest after having walked round New York during the morning and afternoon). But I did get to sense the excitement and buzz generated by the event and I did feel that it was an amazing privilege to be part of this marathon weekend. 

Registering at Expo!

As I was staying with a load of other runners in the hotel in New York, I could not avoid being involved in talking about the race, but also in strolling round New York, I saw other runners, felt the vibe and sensed just what an amazing occasion this was. One thing I did do was to go to the Expo on the Saturday morning to register for the race, and was therefore able to get a feel of the sheer number of people who were not only involved in running and supporting their friends and family, but also in volunteering to ensure the race (unlike me..) ran smoothly. A mammoth task. There were runners from all over the world, and I certainly found it quite humbling to think I was just a small part of this race. And on the Sunday after the race, everywhere I went there were runners walking round in their heat capes and finishers medals and on Monday, people were still wearing their medals with obvious pride. I found it strangely moving to be a part of this great event.

A couple of the amazing volunteers 

And it was huge. I cannot imagine the organisation that went into the weekend. Running through New York on the Sunday, you realised how many main roads had to be shut off, not to mention the four bridges that had to be closed and the re-organisation that went into making Central Park fit for 50,000 people running to the finish, with stands at the finish line, and bags, medals and food to be collected. This was just a small part of the planning, as the whole course was cordoned off, there was a runners "village" at the start on Staten Island, about 160 bands lining the course, TV coverage, stewards, UPS baggage vans, drinks at most mile markers, cleaners clearing up the rubbish, not to mention the police, coaches to take people to the starting line and volunteers for the other events during the weekend such as the Expo. Stunning. There must have been thousands of volunteers helping with the race. It was obvious that it would not have been possible to run the weekend without them, but it was the way they helped which was so striking: with good grace, loads of enthusiasm and not a little humour. The volunteers were brilliant and the whole organisation was a great testament to the heart of the New Yorker. It really was a fantastic operation.

Click to enlarge

So what about the actual race? Well, I had been prepared a little for the course from reading about it on the NYRR website during the weeks leading up to race day. However, on the day before the race, I was able to get a whole view (virtually) of the course from the Top of The Rock (The Rockefeller Centre) .... all I can say is that the start on Staten Island looked a million miles away, not just the 15 odd miles it really was! 

The course started on Staten Island and wound its way through the five Boroughs of New York: Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan, the Bronx and back again through Manhattan to finish at Central Park. There were some great views throughout the course: going across the 2 mile long Verrazano-Narrows Bridge you could see the full New York skyline, and again going into Manhattan across the Queensboro Bridge there were some great views. Plenty of runners were stopping off and taking photos! 

I was a bit disturbed to find that the information about the course on the NYRR website described it as hilly, and a challenge, particularly at the end of the race, getting to and running round Central Park. However, the elevation guide didn't seem to indicate anything to worry about, and walking round New York, it didn't seem too up-and-downy, so I wasn't overly concerned, especially as a friend said she didn't think it would be too bad from her knowledge. I think my experience was that it was the bridges which held the greatest fear in this respect: although they weren't very steep, they were long and their slope proved a significant challenge to a lot of people. I also particularly found running up Manhattan hard, as there was a long (if gentle) incline over a few miles. After the race, I was encouraged to hear from marathon "veterans" that they had found the course difficult and one of the hardest of the major courses they had run.

So race day came. We had to get up at 4:30am, and one of the runners I had met at the hotel graciously let me microwave some porridge before making our way to meet other runners. We then walked the the buses which would take us to the start at Staten Island. We arrived at the runners village at about 7:15, which for me meant I had wait of another 3 1/2 hours before my start in the last (4th) wave. This was the worst part of the day for me: the temperature was a chilly 7 or 8 degrees (although this did warm up to about 10-12 degrees later), and it was also pretty windy! We also had to ditch our bags and non-running clothes early, so I had quite a wait at the village where I felt pretty cold. It was great to chat to others though about their experiences, and it was good to see a plentiful supply of loos (although I have to say the one I used did remind me a little of a scene from "Slumdog Millionaire", I think you know which one) and the queues were not too bad!

My wave (the final wave) started at about 10:55, and again I thought the organisation at the start was great: if only it had been slightly warmer! We were taken to the start line in our corral, and after a couple of speeches, a slightly iffy rendition of "America", and a bit of posing for the cameras, we were off! The starting gun was a howitzer, which pretty much scared the living daylights out of us, and we passed the starting line to the sounds of "New York, New York"! What a way to go!

Runners Village at the Start

I'm not going to talk much about my actual run, I'm leaving that for my next blog. But I will talk about the crowds, which were unbelievable. Having crossed the first bridge, we came across the first sign, "Brooklyn Welcomes the New York Marathon!" From then on the noise, cheering and encouragement were amazing. At about the half way mark, I realised that; 1) I was running really slowly; 2) the time had just flown by; and 3) my head was all over the place, simply because of the atmosphere, cheering, music, crowds and so on. I cannot adequately describe the experience. There were apparently 160 bands along the route, and I was severely tempted on at least a couple of occasions to stop and listen, they were so darn good! And at one point I just heard a burst of a song (can't remember which one) from one of my favourite films, "School of Rock": I had to hold the emotion in as I thought of my son and family! But the best thing for me was the interaction between the crowds and the runners, with our names being called out, signs saying things like; "You Runners are and Inspiration!"; "If your feet hurt, It's because you're kicking ASSfelt!", "Pain is temporary, but Pride is Forever" and other such encouraging slogans, some of which were very funny! And the number of families, children out there watching and "high fiving" runners was great to see. And in amongst this, was the sense of pride that each of the 5 Boroughs had in hosting the race: at each point of entry into a borough, there was a sign saying Manhattan, or Queens, or the Bronx welcomed the New York marathon. And at each point there would also be someone over a PA, similarly encouraging their borough to welcome us and make a noise! 

And other memories? The man at about 8 or 9 miles (I think), who was shouting out "You runners are an inspiration! You are amazing! You are fantastic! Running the marathon...." and he just went on and on. By the time I had got to him, the race was probably about 2 hours old! And coming over the Queensboro Bridge into Manhattan, it really was pretty quiet on the bridge, and fairly hard going, but then going down into Manhattan off the bridge, we were met with a wall of people and noise and cheering. Brilliant! And the finish in Central Park, which seemed to go on forever, but which also was bathed in sunlight from a low sun shining through the trees. And finally, after the finish, a long 3 or 4 mile walk back to the hotel, which though painful, was emotional: the sense of achievement, but also seeing hundreds of other runners wearing medals and being able to share in their pride.