November 6th , 2011.
The day started very early.
The meeting in the hotel lobby was at 4.30 in the morning. But as I flew from Europe just a couple of day before the race I was still in Jetlag – European – time zone so the early morning call was not an issue.
I had prepared all my gear the night before including the bag for the finish line.
I had worn my running gear + a warm layer on top for the start village.
Remember the golden rule: nothing new on race day.
I was ready and excited for the day ahead.
Back home during the previous months I did all my homework, but I never run the full distance so after KM 32 it will be a land of mystery. The last 10k. When the real Marathon begin.
At 5.00am we took the bus from the Hotel to Battery Park.
It was still night when, together with all the other runners, we took the ferry to Staten Island.
Wile in the ferry we pass the Liberty Statue: I had to take a picture!
Manhattan skyline was beautiful and the sunrise from the ferry was memorable.
The weather forecast was great: perfect temperature for a race and no rain. (Yes, I have the original print screen of the weather forecast of 10 years ago because I’m a psycho 😊)
We reach the start village at around 6.30 / 7.00 AM where all the runners had to wait before the start and… we waited impatiently for the race to begin together with 47.000 runners.
We refueled
And we waited in our warm clothes covering our running gear.
Dunkin Donuts coffee and a warm pile hat for comfort.
We where in the last wave in the last corral in the last start… it was a looooong waiting morning in the start village, BLU section.
Finally it was our turn to get ready for the race. I remove all the warm layer of clothes and put them in the donation bins around the village, pin on my t-shirt my bib number
and start to assemble in the assigned CORRAL ready for the start
and after waiting for what seems like years the speakers call for the wave 3 (corral 50) !
READY?
Sun was shining, excitement for the path ahead and the crowd were fantastic.
I felt part of something that was about to happen: I was going to run my very first Marathon.
42,195 Km of sport, pain, sweat, joy, emotion.
OFF WE GO!
Can you spot me in WAVE3 in the below video? (I was on the right side of the bridge smiling 😊)
The first part of the race was exciting.
I have vivid memory of the path, the band playing on the side of the street, the enthusiastic crowd cheering the runners, the people on the balcony of the houses facing the race path, volunteers cheer you up to every fuel station: a city that was celebrating the NYC Marathon together with the runners.
It looks like a party with 40.000 people.
Then we reach The Queensboro Bridge. Just before mile 16. The silent bridge. No crowd, no spectators, no music, no bands playing for the runners.
You are in the middle of a race, surrounded by other runners but you are alone with the quiet patter of runners’ feet. It’s almost spiritual. I start thinking to all the months spend in training in preparation for this Marathon. All the short and the long run done under the rain or under the sun, in the heat of the summer in Italy.
Before the bridge finish in Manhattan the race path took a bend on the left and start to descend to the first avenue. You will not see the crowd immediately wile you are descending but you can heard them from above!
A couple more meters and BANG! You are in Manhattan’s first avenue in a long climb to the Bronx!
On the right: that is my shadow, raised hands in the attempt to photograph the long river of runners on the first avenue.
I took all this picture with my iPhone. Even when I was running. And I’m glad I did. So, I can today, 10 years later, describe to you this amazing running experience that is still vivid in my memory.
After the Bronx the race become pain. We had to run / walk for the majority of the last 10k.
But when we start to run next to central park, on the Fifth Avenue, we know that the finish line was near and the excitement keep us going.
Soon after the Fifth Avenue we entered Central Park for the last part of the race that was the most painful.
Central Park it is not flat, I started to feel cold, I needed to eat something that wasn’t a GEL as I was running for almost 5 hours. I was done.
BUT i keep pushing, running / walking and finally after 5 hours 4 minutes and 49 seconds I cross the finish line of my very first Marathon: The New York City Marathon 2011.
Some stats for the race nerds:
| Race | NYC MARATHON 2011 – 6 November 2011 |
| Time | 05:04:49 |
| OverAll Place | 36.493 |
| Gender Place | 11.750 |
| Age Groupe Place | 2.153 |
After the medal and the pictures, with the finisher cape, we had to WALK for another km to collect our bags with our belonging and dry clothes.
That evening I reward myself with a steak and a beer and of course everyone was wearing their medal for dinner! If you wear the medal, you’re likely to recognize fellow marathoners and get a chance to swap your stories from the course.
The day afther, the monday afther the New York City Marathon 2011, it was time to flew back home in Europe.
Ciao New York, that was epic!
I came as a runner and I left as a Marathoner!
Laura
