I completed my 26th NYC Marathon yesterday. Someone asked my why I keep coming back year after year. I was thinking about it all weekend. Obviously, it’s an amazing privilege to have guaranteed entry, the physical stamina to complete the race and the resources to make the trip. Every single runner has a story and people who love them (and wonderful strangers) cheering for them. It’s a huge celebration of what is possible and a day where everyone is rooting for you. I had a great weekend filled with friends and experiences and then the whole city cheering for me. What could be better?
Pre-Race
My travels were easy this year and I arrived Thursday, Friday morning, I ran with Nicole and we ran into Scott and caught up. Those two are my race day partners, but neither one was running this year so this was a great treat to catch up. I headed to the Expo to work with SaltStick and then to meet Kelly and Sue. It was really fun sharing SaltSick and Bonkbreakers with runners from all over the world and meeting up with Kelly and Sue. I also filmed some videos for a couple of brands that I partner with.
Sue and stopped up at the Streaker Party to connect with Marie, Amy, Robin, Gordon and Alan. Then I met up with Kathy and Holly for a nice dinner in Chelsea. It was a great day connecting with so many old friends.
Saturday morning, I woke up and realized that I got the wrong bib number. Somehow, I got 12134 instead of 12132 and looked at the corner and it was another person’s name! Luckily, it was a quick run to the Javitz Center from Kathy’s place. Surprisingly at 9:00 AM on the last day, it wasn’t crowded so I got the correct bib, chatted with my friends from SaltStick and Paradis Sport and headed out pretty quickly. Then I headed up to Columbus Circle to meet the SaltStick team.
In the afternoon, I met Cari and then Andrew for a coffee. I hadn’t seen Andrew (a friend from Chicago who lives in NYC now) in a while so we went to the park and caught up.
I got my kit together and had a low key dinner at home with Kathy and David. I went to be early for a 4:30 AM wake up.
Race Day
I was on my own this year for the ferry. I met some nice people on the subway and ferry. I met a really cool woman from Ottawa and we rode the bus together to Staten Island. Then, I found Kristy in the Streaker/15+ building. Randomly, we started chatting with a woman before the start and realized it was the woman (Pernille) whose bib I had gotten! Luckily she was able to get another one and we were both all set.
Before we knew it, we were headed to the start corral to meet Sue and Andrea. We had about 30 minutes before we moved up to the bridge.
Andrea, Sue, Kristy and I stuck together and headed onto the bridge. As we were walking up the bridge, I saw Molly C. who was working the start and I stopped for a good luck hug.
Sue and I ran together for the first 5K. I told her to go ahead as she was going for a faster pace than I was planning to run. We had a fun chatting through the first 5K, as always.
The beginning of 4th Ave in Brooklyn seemed a bit quiet to me this year but once we hit Prospect Park the crowd was huge. I high-fived a lot of kids and enjoyed the party atmosphere. I looked for Marnie, but I didn’t see her. She caught me in her video. I had to make a quick stop to take off my right shoe and fix my sock. It was bunched and I couldn’t take my mind off it! Took about a minute but I felt much better.
I took a video at the Barclay Center (it was just such a fun atmosphere – and apparently I missed Salt n Pepa singing!) Then, prepared for my favorite mile – Lafayette St. It was awesome as usual.
After a quiet start in Williamsburg in the Hasidic neighborhood, the crowd was huge until the Pulaski Bridge. I ran into a woman that I know from social media who is pregnant and has MS. She is typically very fast and was struggling. I chatted with her and told her a bit about my running journey and how I’ve learned to go easier on myself (or at least I try to). And reminded her that her health and the health of the baby is all that matters and “everyone knows she can run a marathon.” [She finished safely!]
Before I knew it, I was crossing half way at around 2:02. The section in Queens was really fun and I thought of the many friends who’ve been there for me in years past (especially Carolyn B.). I enjoyed the cheer stations and took a quick pit stop at a bathroom.
In Queens, the fastest Wave 2 pace group passed me and I tried to not get trampled. Some people were better than others. Before I knew it, I was climbing up the Queensboro Street Bridge. I cheered on other runners and wheelchair athletes. They didn’t have the .1 mile markers going up the incline this year and I think it actually made it feel a bit easier to me! At the top of the hill, I told the woman next to me to listen to the roar of the crowd as we started the downhill. Still gives me chills after all of these years!
As I came down the bridge to the roar of the crowd, the thought of 10 more miles didn’t bother me. I still felt strong and had friends at most miles from 17 to mile 24 and I just started working my way up enjoying the crowd as I looked for them.
My high school XC teammate, Jen, was at 80th and 1st. I haven’t seen her in so many years so I stopped for a selfie. Then, Eric and Ryan a few blocks later and Nicole and Gilly. I missed Andrea and Cari but they both saw me and cheered me on.
Before I knew it, I was at mile 20. It started getting a bit warm, so I made sure to take Gatorade and water at every stop. I ran into the Bronx and kept an eye out for the SaltStick crew. They gave me some Fast Chews and cheers. (I wound up sharing them with a runner who was cramping since I had more!)
I happily ran across the “Last Damn Bridge.” The crowd was great heading back into Manhattan. I was looking for Anne who was at Mile 22 after her Mile 22 fan club comeback last year! I stopped for a quick selfie and a hug. I was definitely slowing down, but I knew I could do the 4 miles and still beat last year’s time.
I usually hate 5th Ave but I tried to be positive. I focused on moving forward and encouraging people who were walking of struggling. I saw Kelly and her family and stopped for a quick chat. Then, Nicole and Gilly saw me and took a video (that was unfortunately not in slow motion). I saw Samantha and Natali with Asian Trail Mix at mile 23 and just tried to keep moving toward the park.
Central Park was electric and so many people were cheering for me by name. There were huge crowds and they were in full on party mode. As I approached mile 24, I got a nasty cramp in my left hamstring (exactly like Chicago) and pulled to the side. Luckily, I had put a little Biofreeze pack in my waistband, so rubbed it on and it could run almost instantly. Magic. That and some cheers got me across Mile 24.
I found Kathy and Daniel with Eric, Ryan and Nolan and did my Erica pose. With less than 2 miles to go, I tried to relax and enjoy the crowd. I love the downhill section to 59th Street. I think my friend Ana spotted me and cheered me on. Party mode continued on through the finish. Before I knew it, I had 800 meters to go, then 400 and then I was crossing the line.
I got my medal and poncho and joined the long walk to get out of the park. I saw a woman taking a selfie and I realized it was Justine from my running group who was planning to come with me to our post race meet up. Perfect timing. We chatted happily as we walked to meet our friends. I loved hearing about her first NYC!
I finished in 4:20.51 – 9 minutes better than last year. This was my 2nd slowest NYC, but I haven’t run on any hills this year and wasn’t expecting to do so much better than last year. I even beat my Chicago time by a few minutes. I felt so happy and proud of my effort and positive attitude throughout the race. And hopefully this is the start of a trend in the right direction! Marathon #71 and NYC Marathon #26 are in the books.
As always, I’m so grateful for the love and support of all of my friends who cheered me on from near and far. I can’t believe that everyone shows up year after year and it means so much to me.
All in all it was a great weekend! Thank you for following along and for your support.