Five Boroughs, 5 Bridges…in 276 minutes
Marathon #9 is in the books! In 4 hours and 36 minutes, from Staten Island to Brooklyn, to Queens, to Manhattan, to the Bronx, and finishing in Central Park in Manhattan, there’s no better way to see the five boroughs of New York City. I again thank everyone who has supported me these past few months — your support and words of encouragement have been exceptional in my preparation for this race. And, I’m happy to say I raised over $5100 to go towards cancer research at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.
What a great past few days — Friday night I saw the Police at Madison Square Garden. Saturday morning I watched the Olympics Team Trials for the Men’s Marathon race through Central Park (where sadly, elite runner Ryan Shay died on the course). Seeing these world-class athletes "cruising" 5 laps through Central Park, running 4:30+ minute miles was absolutely amazing. The top three that are going to the Beijing Olympics to represent the US — Ryan Hall, Dathan Ritzenheim, and Brian Sell — just flew like the wind (and none of them are Kenyan transplants, either!).
Sunday morning was race day. Of course, running the marathon was more than just running any other marathon — this was New York after all. It started right there with my pre-recorded hotel wake up call at 5:00am: "This is yah wake-up call for Novembah fowuth. The fowuh-cast for today is fifty-fowuh degrees and claddy." Laverne DaFazio couldn’t have said it any bettah.
6:30am: Everyone on our team of 800 (our Fred’s Team charity running group) packed up on buses for the 45 minute ride from Times Square to Staten Island.
10:10am: The race officially starts. Well, not for me, just yet. With over 39,000 people running, it took me a while to get to the starting line. Almost 30 minutes (if you saw my email split times, it didn’t show my start time was actually 10:38am).
4 hours and 35 minutes later, I’m 200 yards from the finish line. BAM! A cramp knots up in the side of my thigh. I do a simultaneous walk and massage on my IT band, and try to pick up the pace again. No luck. 150 yards to go. I give myself the quickest deep-tissue massage, driving my knuckles into the side of my right thigh while I walk. 100 yards to go, I’m back in running stride — much slower than I was 4 hours earlier, but I crossed the finish line with arms pumped in the air, and running! My fourth best time out of my nine marathons. And I beat Katie Holmes by 1 hour! No sightings of Lance Armstrong or Tim McGraw, though.
My most memorable moments of the race:
- Almost every kid in Brooklyn on the sidelines had their hands out, giving high fives to the runners. I think I slapped more Puerto Rican kids than Ricky Martin at a Menudo concert.
- On the bus to Staten Island, a freeway sign before the Verrazzano Narrows Bridge read "You are now leaving Brooklyn: Fuhgeddaboutit"
- On the back of a runner’s shirt: "I hate the Sox too"
- In the category of "Why on earth would anyone run a marathon wearing THAT?", I saw a runner in full Superman outfit (and a little too tight below the belt if ya know what I mean), another one dressed as a clown, complete with makeup, which didn’t drip a bit when I saw him at the finish line, and still, in the Superhero mode, another runner dressed as Spiderman.
- In Central Park, at mile 24, a spectator — in inimitable New York fashion — holding a sign that read: "Finishing is your ONLY F***ing Choice".
- Having "Go Eddie" written on the front of my running shirt — with 2 million people spectating on the sidelines, hearing my name cheered by spectators all along the way (except for one mile in Williamsburg) really propelled my spirits along the way. I easily heard my name yelled out over a thousand times in classic New York accents.
- That one mile in Williamsburg — in Brooklyn..it’s a predominantly orthodox Hasidic Jewish neighborhood. Nobody cheers, nobody spectates. With few exceptions, it’s strangely quiet for about 1 mile till we make our first pass through Manhattan on First Ave. Then it’s like a parade for the first astronauts.
- Seeing my sister and my niece on the sidelines at mile 18 in Manhattan. A well deserved break for high fives, pictures and a quick stretch before jaunting into Da Bronx.
- Music, music, music! Nearly 2 or 3 bands every single mile — except on the bridges — made for a unique, multicultural, raucous, block party feel. Rock bands, bagpipers, and salsa in Brooklyn, heavy metal in Queens, hip-hop dancers in the Bronx, party bands in Harlem, stereos blaring "Born to Run" by the Boss and "Livin’ on a Prayer" by Bon Jovi…it was non-stop entertainment.
- When I felt like walking at mile 25 — thinking of my dad just made me keep going despite my legs feeling like two tons of lead.
So that’s it for now — until next year’s marathon!!! Thanks again to everyone for their support!
Realtor, Marathon Man, "Man of a Thousand Voices".
