20 years of the NYCM! Where do I even begin? This has been one of the most amazing adventures of my life and it is hard to fully convey how I feel through words. I have re-read some of my old race reports to reminisce and they made me realize how much has changed over the years. NYC has changed and I have changed.
I have grown up in the running community and met wonderful friends along the way. Running taught me about dedication, hard work, planning, strategy, strength (physical and mental), and sometimes money management (Running costs a lot of money now!). Running has been a huge part of my life since elementary school, but I owe it to my high school Coach, Bill Silver, for introducing me to the NYC Marathon. Coach worked at NYRR and I was able to volunteer at the 1998, 1999, and 2000 NYC Marathons with my teammates. We did not appreciate it or realize how significant it was to be part of the NYC Marathon at the time, but I realize now that those moments were so special. From volunteer to Streaker, I am so grateful to be able to run this race every year.
People have asked me if it was boring to run the same race with the same route every year. I have never found running the NYC Marathon to be boring! I tell people that the race is different every year despite the course being the same. The race is different because of the weather, the number of runners, the spectators, the volunteers, and me. I was different every year. The marathon has been my one constant through college, graduate school, relationships, jobs, moves, marriage, pregnancy, global pandemic, and motherhood. It really has been my longest relationship. =)
Marathon weekend is always exciting, but also exhausting. I used to go to the expo a few times just to browse and try to catch some elite runners signing autographs or speak on a panel. The expo also opened on Wednesday in the past, so we had an extra day! Recently, other brands opened up pop up shops instead of renting a booth at the expo so runners trek all over NYC for other experiences. There were over 15 shakeout runs besides the Abbott Dash to the Finish Line on Saturday! You really had to plan your pre-race activities carefully so that you had some energy left to run the marathon on Sunday.
I had a training set back in September, so I was a little undertrained for the marathon this year. I focused on going to bed early the week leading up to the marathon so that at least I would not be sleep deprived! I mentally prepared myself to walk water stops if needed during the race and set low expectations. I also told myself that it was going to be hard because I was not in great shape. The goal was to have fun and celebrate!
Race morning started with a very long line at the NY Public Library for the bus. The line was long last year, but it was even longer this year at around the same time!! I had planned to meet Ed and Paul, my Streaker friends, and ride the bus together like last year. Paul ended up on a later train so we got on a bus before him. Sorry Paul!
Once we got to Fort Wadsworth, Ed and I made our way to the Streakers’ gym. I had a small cup of tea, ate a banana, and got myself ready! I still needed to pin my bibs on, stash my gels somewhere on me, and braid my hair! One of my gels exploded in my bag so I also had to clean off all of my other gels that got sticky!
Paul was also running his 20th NYCM so I got us Kodak disposable cameras to document the day because we both ran with them for our first marathons! These days, runners hold selfie stick cameras and take amazing footage of races. Paul and I were going to have a competition on who could take the blurriest photos with our disposable cameras! Hahah. I am not tech savvy so you will not see me running with a selfie stick camera. If you do, know that you will not see the footage because I will not know how to download and edit it! It would be a miracle if the camera was even charged! Hahaha.
The Streakers were positioned in the back of Wave 1 so I could not hear any of the announcements. Paul and I reminisced about the old balloon arches at the start because we could not even see the start line from where we were standing. Haha. I heard the canons and then Frank Sinatra’s “New York New York”, but by the time I approached the start line, the DJ started playing Alicia Keys‘ “Empire State of Mind”!
We took the first mile very easy and said Hi to other Streakers around us. We saw my friend, Linda, on the other side of the bridge and stopped for a quick selfie. Then we saw Connie Brown! Connie is the Streaker with the longest female streak and it was her 80th birthday on race day!! She was running her 44th NYCM!!! She finished so her amazing streak lives on!! We love Connie and I hope she has many more years of running!
Paul and I started running with another Streaker named Rick, and his wife, Marissa, as we got off the Verrazzano. The four of us ran about similar paces so we stuck together. I love Brooklyn and always run too fast, but Paul said he was going to stop to see a few friends, so he was going to take it easy. Paul’s first stop was at the PPTC cheer zone at Mile 7 where his friends had whiskey for him!! Whiskey at Mile 7! It was party time!!
As my Streaker friends partied along, I slowed down a little bit and they would catch up to me more energized than before that I questioned what they were really drinking! I knew that I was pushing my limits trying to keep up with them, but I was having so much fun with them and wanted to stay with them for as long as I could. I found Coach Amy at Mile 8 and then my friend, Dave, on Lafayette! It was the best party in the city and I was sad to have to keep running. Thank you, Coach Amy and Dave, for the cheers!
I got separated from my party friends at the Pulaski Bridge, but I was okay as I was not really alone. In years past, someone would announce who won the race when I got to the Pulaski Bridge! Sometimes it would give me a boost if I knew the runner. Other times, it was depressing knowing that I still had a half marathon to run! Once in Queens, I found my friend, Bill, and gave him a quick hug. Then I was off to the Queensboro Bridge! Thank you, Bill, for being out there!!
The Queensboro Bridge was hard, but I just kept putting one foot in front of the other. As we descended, I saw a runner with a China flag attached to his hat. I said “加油” to him in Mandarin and he replied back the same. Literal translation means “add oil”. We say it as a form of encouragement and I say to every Chinese runner out there. I did not expect him to run over and start a full conversation in Mandarin with me!! I am fluent in Cantonese and only conversational in Mandarin, but even less during a marathon! I explained to him that I only spoke a little Mandarin. He asked where I was from and if I was running fast and I said “I’m from here and no, I’m running slowly!” And then he took off. Whew!
Once on 1st Ave, I stayed on the right side so that I could find my Streaker friends, Margaret and Wendy! I ran by a jumbotron that was showing the awards ceremony at the finish line. I saw that Hellen Obiri won and I was excited for her! I spotted Margaret and Wendy at Mile 17 and stopped for hugs and a quick chat. Thank you, Margaret and Wendy, for my sign and cheers!!
I looked for my friend, Hiromi, at Mile 19, but did not see her this year as she was very busy. Hiromi is the Mile 19 gel station captain. Guys, it is a VOLUNTEER position! Hiromi may wake up at the same time as us runners, but her day ends much later than ours. She stays until the clean up crew comes and the streets re-open. We just have to take care of ourselves while we are running 26.2 miles, but Hiromi is out there taking care of 50,000 people. Thank you, Hiromi!! I am always so appreciative of all of the volunteers throughout marathon weekend.
After the gel station, I saw an Iron Runner friend, Helen, who I did not expect to see at all! Then I saw my friend, Jose, who cheers from the same spot every year! Thank you Helen and Jose!!
Paul had rejoined me on 1st Ave and we ran up the Willis Avenue Bridge together. I saw my old coach (Coach Brian) on the bridge and we had a few laughs. Paul and I got separated again in the Bronx or maybe I told him to go ahead and not slow down for me. My calves and quads were taking turns cramping so I slowed down a bit more.
I saw another Iron Runner, Ana, out cheering in the Bronx and I blew her kisses as I was too far from her to give her a hug. I was happy to cross the 5th and last bridge, the Madison Avenue Bridge!! Streaker Ed’s wife, Emily, was cheering on the bridge and it was so nice to see her! I did not expect to see anyone else until Central Park, but I was surprised by two more Iron Runners, Jason and Stefania! I forgot to take a photo of them with my camera! Stefania is a professional photographer so she got a photo of me instead. Thank you for being out there!!
As my quads continued to twinge, I pulled out my trusty Biofreeze packet and rubbed Biofreeze all over my quads as I hobbled down 5th Avenue. The fluid station also had bananas, but I could not eat anything else after eating five gels. As I turned into Central Park at Engineer’s Gate, I got a little emotional because it was where I fell in my first NYC Marathon. The road was very narrow inside Central Park because the spectators were on the course. Runners were bumping into me because there was so little space. I really had to focus on staying upright as I was determined not to fall again!
Once on Central Park South, I stayed on the right side of the road to run the shortest distance, but I heard someone yell my name from the other side of the road. It was my friend’s son, Adam!! Adam will be running his first NYCM next year and I am so excited for him!! Thank you for being out there!!
As I entered Central Park for the final time, I looked towards the grandstands. Streakers got a grandstand ticket to give to family/friend so Andrew said he would try to take Henry. I was worried because strollers were not allowed and my estimated finish time was around nap time. They managed to get there and I was so excited to see Henry! Henry promptly fell asleep after I crossed the finish line. Hahah. Spectating is a marathon in itself! Thank you Andrew and Henry for cheering on Mommy!
I was so happy to have finished and also so relieved that I finished despite being undertrained!! I said Hi to NYRR CEO Rob and thanked him for his kind words at the Streaker’s Reception on Friday. Then he introduced me to Race Director Ted Metellus! I had never met Ted before so I introduced myself and told him that I was his youngest Streaker. He reached into his bag and put a shiny NYC Marathon medal around my neck! Thank you Rob and Ted for the special moment and celebrating with me. Thank you for putting together this amazing race that I get to run every year!
NYC, thank you for coming out to cheer for us. I loved every second and I loved all the signs!! NYRR, NYC agencies, Volunteers, Sponsors: Thank you! I cannot wait to come back for #21 next year! See you soon!
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Initially when I got my disposable camera, I thought it would be cool to try to take some similar shots, but as I was running on Sunday, I realized how much of the race, NYC, and I had changed since 2002. I did not have many running friends or know too many people in 2002. I have met some really good friends through running in the past twenty years. Some friends have traveled down from Boston to cheer for me in the past. The friends out on the course this year are friends that I met since moving back to NYC in 2012. I am thankful for all of them. I tried to get selfies with some of them or take a photo of them cheering! It was the perfect celebration of twenty NYC Marathons. I cannot wait to get those photos developed!
One other funny story from this year…
Somewhere along the course, I thought I heard someone yell “Katherine Switzer!”. I almost turned my head, but resisted because I did not want to pull another “Bobby Flay” incident! (See 2010 NYCM Race Recap.)
I am glad that I did not look because Katherine Switzer was at the finish line holding the tape for the women’s wheelchair and running champions!!
Pro tip from me: Never look behind you/turn around in a marathon. Unless you are leading the race and need to see who is behind you! =P
Numbers of the Race:
Total Finishers: 51,444 (22,833 Women; 28,517 Men; 94 Non-Binary)
My Time: 4:20:54
Men’s Champion: Tamirat Tola 2:04:58 (Course Record!)
Women’s Champion: Hellen Obiri 2:27:23
Men’s Wheelchair Champion: Marcel Hug 1:25:29
Women’s Wheelchair Champion: Catherine Debrunner 1:39:32
