It was amazing being part
of an estimated 43000 starters in the 40th New York marathon
on the 1 November 2009. The conditions for running were ideal, the course
was challenging, the pavement was unforgiving, the crowds were phenomenal
and the whole New York experience for my self and Kathy was fantastic.
The week leading up to the
marathon our focus was on sightseeing from cruising Manhattan on the
downtown and uptown bus tours, sailing down the Hudson and East river
where we had stunning views of the Statue of Liberty and a knowledgeable
guide pointing out other famous landmarks, queuing for an hour at the
Empire State Building, taking in a New York Sky Ride which gives you
a virtual aerial tour of all the main attractions in New York, indulging
in a three hour food tour of Greenwich and Soho eateries, sharing memorable
moments at Ground Zero Museum, viewing our body inside out at the Bodies
Exhibition, sharing the limelight with the stars at Madame Tussards,
taking in the grandness of the Guggenheim museum, seeing the legendary
Phantom of the Opera on Broadway, dining at the Harvard New York Club,
walking the Brooklyn bridge and taking in the Michael Jackson movie
*This is it*. We trained down to Washington for the day and toured
Washington sights on a 3 hour Segway tour and after all that we still
had a marathon to accomplish.
The morning of the marathon
we were transported over to Fort Wadsworth on Staten Island for the
start. On entering my allocated village, Lady Morrison (celebrating
her 72nd birthday) and her support crew were just ahead of
me, so I introduced myself and spent the waiting hours in their company.
My strategy was to run and walk through the water stops
Three waves of runners flowed
over the Verrazano Narrows bridge from 9.40 to 10.30.Runners use both
sides of the upper level of the bridge and the westbound side of the
lower level. After descending the bridge the course winds through Brooklyn
borough for 11 miles. The halfway point of the race, runners cross the
Pulaski Bridge and enter Queens. At this point I got a groin strain
which persisted through the rest of the race. At the 15mile mark it
was a slow ascent up the notorious Queensborro Bridge. Manhattan comes
into view at the 16mile mark. You briefly enter the Bronx via the Willis
Avenue Bridge before returning to Manhattan via the Madison Avenue bridge.
This point was approximately 30kms (4hours 15 mins), from here it was
walking and jogging just to reach the finish line. I met a number of
debut NZ runners, chatted to a few Americans and spotted a kiwi supporter
on the sideline. There were some very interesting sights out running
and two which I have clear memories of, is of a guy carrying a replica
of the Eiffel tower on his back and another courageous guy running bare
feet and carrying a banner. It was hard at times to concentrate on running
as you continually had to acknowledge the thousands of spectators cheering
you on with “go NZ” “go kiwi*. The race proceeds through Harlem
down Fifth Avenue and into Central Park, across central park south up
to Columbus circle where you expect it to finish but to my horror it
continues on for another 5kilometres and the finish line was outside
Tavern on The Green.
Crossing the finish line and receiving my medal I was able to enjoy the moment of becoming a marathoner again. The training, the commitment physical and mental gives meaning to the medal not just the days effort be it fast or slow.
I have now completed eleven marathons in the past eight years.
A future aspiration will be to emulate Lady Morrison’s achievement, so here’s to another eleven years as an active member of the Wellington Marathon Clinic.
