New York City Marathon - Part II: The Race

Just before the open start, the stars of the musical Jersey Boys (about the lives of Frankie Valley and the Four Seasons) sing the National Anthem, and the U.S. Air Force does a fly-by.


Everyone moves through their lines toward the start, which is at the foot of the Verrazano Narrows Bridge. Some people wore costumes. There was a blue-feathered bird, and a pair of rhinos behind me. Although the bridge is "closed", the electronic overhead signs are still flashing the traffic announcements, which are especially appropriate for the marathon: "heavy traffic expected - be prepared to stop". The course uses both the east-bound and west-bound lanes of the upper deck, and the west-bound lanes of the lower deck (though we were going east). What a sight, seeing over 37,000 runners all heading across the bridge. A lot of people had their digital cameras or phones with them and were snapping pictures. We passed the first mile of the marathon while on the bridge, which is the steepest part of the whole race. Some guys already had to use the facilities. With no port-o-potties on the bridge, some people used the east-bound lanes, some people just pee-ed over the side of the bridge into the Narrows. How often do you get to do that?

So, with Staten Island behind us, we trek through Brooklyn. Just like any marathon, a lot of people have stuff written on their shirts. Some put their names on their shirt so that the marathon-fans can yell out encouragement. Some have pictures, or phrases. I even saw one Virgin Mary. A lot of the marathon fans have signs. Usually something like "We're Proud of You *insert name*" or "Go *insert name!*" or "Pain is Temporary, Pride is Forever". My favorite said "GO NAD!" Sometimes, it's good to laugh. Brooklyn takes up the largest chunk of the marathon (miles 2 - 13).

After Brooklyn, it's on to Queens. Not a lot to say ...it's Queens. We had to go over a bridge to get in, and another bridge to get out - the Queensboro bridge. The Queensboro was quite high and long across, and my legs were really feeling it as we continued to go across the bridge. Yes, there was more peeing off the bridge into the water below. Somehow, I don't think this is the first time anyone has taken a whiz into the East River, though.

Off the Queensboro bridge, and in Manhattan. The crowd was raucous as we came off the bridge and entered Manhattan. Only 10 miles to go. After a couple of turns, we get to First Avenue at 59th Street, and head north. One of the best sights to see - lots of people lining both sides of the street. First Avenue is very wide, and the runners going north are visible as far as the eye can see. Some people have political signs, encouraging people to vote for Hillary, or "Reject George Bush's Radical Policies".

Over the Willis Avenue Bridge, and into The Bronx. The marathon could stand opening up both sides of the bridge. The race spends a very short amount of time in the Bronx, where I was passed by a guy wearing a suit and hat that made him look like Robert Redford's character in The Sting. He was tipping his hat to folks along the way. Makes you wonder two things: (1) why do people wear costumes/suits for marathons? and (2) how can they run so fast with all those clothes?

After a couple of turns, the course goes over the Madison Avenue Bridge (there are bridges everywhere!), and back into Manhattan - this is Mile 21. There, the course heads south on Fifth Avenue. Fifth Avenue (heading south) starts to go uphill as it is alongside Central Park - not a good feeling as you're close to the end of the race.

Just to show you how some people are in great shape despite personal difficulties, a guy with an artificial leg finished a few minutes ahead of me, as well as a woman who appeared to be blind. I'm not sure if she really was blind, though. She was running with a guide, and had two balloons pointing her out to others, but was wearing a "sleep mask". So, it made me wonder if she was actually blind, b/c there is no reason for a blind person to wear a mask. Or, maybe she was wearing the mask to indicate to people that she was blind. Although, the presence of the guide would tend to do that as well, thus making the mask unnecessary. But, why would a sighted-person wear a mask and run the marathon "blind"? hmmm, what do you think?

Finally, we reach mile 25, and run along the outer perimeter of Central Park.

I finished the Marathon with no major interruptions, and no problems. Yay! After the race, we all had to pick up or stuff in our checked bags. That seemed to take longer than it did to run the marathon! Unfortunately, it also required more walking. I didn't get out of Central Park until 89th Street.

If you run a marathon, be aware that there is likely a lot of pre- and post-marathon walking that you'll have to endure, too. Plus, you may lose toe-nails! In all, though, it's a great experience.

New York City Marathon - Part I: Before the Start

I had the privilege of taking part in the 2006 New York City Marathon.

One of the special conditions of the NYC marathon is that it starts in Staten Island - so that the marathon can include all 5 boroughs. If you are unfamiliar with New York City, Staten Island is not especially close to Manhattan, or convenient to get to. Also, it is an island (which most people could probably figure out from its name). Because the Verrazano Narrows Bridge closes for the marathon, runners have to get to Staten Island especially early.

At about 4:55am, I leave to walk to the New York City Public Library (to take a bus to Staten Island). Over my running clothes, I'm wearing a heavy shirt and sweatpants. As is often the case in New York in November, it was cold. About 37*F. Every block I walk, I see more and more runners walking to the Library. There's also people on their way to work. And some people who you could tell were drunk and just heading home after a late night. Throngs of people were at the Library, with buses continuously arriving and departing for Staten Island.

I arrive in Staten Island at 6:30am - right at sunrise. It is even colder in Staten Island than it was in Manhattan. The open start time (for non-elite runners) is not until 10:10am.... The marathon "staging area" at Fort Wadsworth was a hub of activity - with people divided into three groups: Blue, Green and Orange, based on your bib color and expected finishing time. There were a lot of international runners. The loudspeaker continuously looped announcements in English, French, Spanish, German, Italian, and Japanese. It felt like being at the United Nations, except without the fighting, name-calling, or discussions about weapons of mass-destruction; and noone was at a podium declaring that someone else had committed human rights violations. We all spent three and a half hours sitting, getting cold, standing around, and eating food, waiting for the start.

Finally, as it gets closer to the start, the sexlingual (isn't "sex" the prefix for when there are 6?) announcements ask runners to get into their places by bib numbers. Everyone sheds their outer-clothes, and puts them into a bag that can be checked and re-claimed at the end of the marathon. As people get crowded together into the starting line, it feels a little warmer, and you can detect the odor of foreign runners from places where deoderant is not yet in style. A number of guys who were unable to make it to the port-o-potties find some relief in the bushes. For men, the whole world is your bathroom.