I’ve been asked by Isaac to write a bit about my experience at the TCS New York Marathon last weekend. Happy to write a race report and hope that some of this information finds its way into runners that need a resource getting into New York next year!
The New York Marathon is the world’s largest marathon. Let’s start by taking it by the numbers for 2015:
- 80,080 lottery applications (14,326 accepted)
- 50,235 starters
- 49,617 finishers
- 125 countries represented including runners from all 50 states in the US + the District of Columbia
With a field this huge, it was amazing to me how well-organized it was from start to finish. I guess you learn a ton from organizing a race for 45 years running!
My journey all started with the $11 lottery entry. Since I’m not even close to the qualification times, which are even stricter than Boston’s(!), and I didn’t make it in for 2014, I thought I’d give it another shot this year. A few clicks on the New York Road Runner’s website and $11 later, my name was in and in March, I got the happy surprise that I made it in!
Personally, training up for New York was hectic. I had a lot on my plate this past year including the San Francisco Marathon and my wedding. Despite it all, I was able to get in some good training at the start of the year incorporating some swimming and hill work. I was feeling strong by the time New York came around – though a bit nervous as training got lax right around the end of this cycle due to my wedding. Still, I arrived in New York with a few goal levels in mind:
- Finish in under 4:30 – my first full marathon finish time
- Finish in under 4:07 – my San Francisco marathon finish this year
- Finish in under 4:00
- Finish in under 3:56 – would get me a new PR
Since I knew New York was a HUGE race, I figured I would not tempt fate and only go for a PR.
Logistics. Logistics. Logistics.
I ended up planning my New York Marathon trip really early after finding out I made it in. I like to be prepared and I was paranoid about not being able to find a good place to stay. I had already decided that I would get to the start by ferry to get the “full New York Marathon experience” and wanted to arrive a few days early to adjust to the time zone.
By April, I had already booked an Airbnb apartment to stay nearby the Staten Island Ferry Terminal and subways, and had also booked a direct flight out of SJC to JFK through JetBlue. I would later semi-regret booking so early, but that said – I’m one that would rather be safe than sorry. For those booking with Airbnb (one of the major sponsors this year), there’s really no reason to book so many months out in advance. In fact, when I first started looking, I got turned down a lot since people weren’t really ready to book their places out for November while we were still in April! I hear booking got much easier closer to the date, but be warned – if you wait too long, you might miss out on a really prime location.
I ended up with a location in Lower East Side (LES) close to a couple different subways and walking distance to the ferry terminal. As far as flights, I wanted to book a direct flight to avoid any additional travel hassle. Booking in April, I got my flight for $406 – not bad for a direct flight. I put a price notification on the flight just because I was curious. The bad news: I found out that flights could get as low as $276! The lowest prices showed up about a month and a half out from the race. The good news: my wife was able to book one at that price, so all-in-all our flight prices evened out. Again, your miles may vary as you can’t guarantee how airlines will pick their fares.
I arrived Thursday morning on a red eye flight. Though I was pretty tired, I kept myself to only an hour and a half nap before making my way over to the expo. As soon as I arrived, I could tell New York knew what it was doing. This year’s expo was held at the Javits Center between Hell’s Kitchen and Chelsea. It was super convenient to get there as they’ve recently finished a subway station for the 7 train just outside the center. If you’re not near the 7, it’s just a few blocks from several other stations or four avenues’ length away from Times Square.
The Expo
My first New York Marathon experience came with picking up my bib. I was greeted by two super friendly volunteers – both New York Marathon alumni – ready and waiting to tell me all about the race. Since I was there relatively early, there were no lines and the pair spent a good ten minutes telling me all about the race and giving me tips for where to conserve energy and some of the tougher and more interesting sections of the race. Afterwards I made my way through the Asics store (another major sponsor) and checked out some official race gear. It was tough not to grab a bunch of gear, but I limited myself to a pint glass since I knew as cool as those jackets were, there isn’t much need for them in good ol’ California.
A few of my favorites in the rest of the expo included the Race Strategy talk, the Runner’s World cover photo-shoot, and the New York Marathon information booth. There are quite a few logistical things you have to consider including how to get to the start and where to meet up with your friends and family afterwards – the organizers were sure to provide as much information as possible around options.
The Race Strategy was great – they had a previous runner take you through each mile discussing areas where you may want to conserve your strength and the hills to watch out for. During the talk, I learned about the dangers of speeding up too much during the most energetic sections of the race (the second half of the Verrazano Bridge, 1st Avenue after getting off the Queensboro Bridge) and being careful with some of the obvious (and not so obvious) inclines during the race. Glad I paid attention since I used some of that knowledge during the actual race.
"Run - or at least visit- the last part of our race."
I was once given some really good advice for long races, “Run – or at least visit – the last part of your race." Knowing how the race will end can save you. Instead of worrying about where the finish line is, you can just concentrate on making it a good finish!”
I took heed and spent Friday exploring Central Park. The last few miles of the race begin right outside Central Park on 5th Avenue. Though it’s straight, there’s an ever-so-slight incline leading into the Engineer’s Gate where you first truly enter Central Park. I noticed it a bit during my preview walk and I went on to curse it while I was running mile 23 during the race!
The last couple hills especially up 59th Street and around the bend towards the finish line are a bit grueling if you don’t know what’s in store in the final mile. Another good reason to check out the finish – at least for New York – is the finisher’s pavilion. When I arrived, they had recently just finished setting up and I was able to take another cool photo at the “mock finish” and, as luck would have it, I was able to meet Meb!
At first, I didn’t even realize I was standing next to him since he’s a bit shorter in person than I expected and very soft spoken. He was there to help judge a runner’s app competition amongst high school students. I missed my chance to say hello, but I stayed and listened a while to some of those super talented high school kids.
Afterwards, I made my way out to get lunch. However, as I walked out, I couldn’t help but wonder if I would ever get another chance to meet Meb without wading through a crowd of fans – most folks didn’t even seem to notice he was there! I quickly walked back and, as Meb was finishing lunch, I walked up to him and asked if I could shake his hand and grab a quick picture.
We shook hands and wished each other luck on the race – what a humble and talented runner!
Saturday was mostly spent trying to relax and stay calm. I will give one piece of advice – most of the time, the New York Marathon will take place right after Halloween weekend.
The weekend is crazy busy as it is with parades and kids everywhere, but this year was even more hectic with the Mets in the World Series!
One thing to consider while booking your hotel/Airbnb is where the parade and action will take place – especially if you’re looking to get some good shut eye before the race! I wrapped up my day with my pre-race ritual of homemade spaghetti carbonara, prepping my race gear, and was in bed by 10pm – nervous, but ready for my race.
Staten Island Ferry Ride
As I mentioned earlier, I chose the ferry option to get to the start. Though I had set my alarm for 5:15am, I was pretty much awake by 4:45am. I got up, put on my clothes, ate a banana, and made my way out the door by 6am. To my surprise, there were still Halloween revelers going to basement parties at that time! I got to the Staten Island Ferry by 6:30am – plenty of time before my 6:45am ferry departure. I grabbed a seat and nervously waited with the hundreds of marathoners waiting in the terminal. They announced boarding at 6:40am and I got in a jumbled line – sadly, the ferry was full before I could get on and I had to wait for the next ferry at 7am.
No worries though – jumble in close enough and you’ll get on the boat. I picked a seat near the front of the ferry and on the upper deck so I could at least get a view and I’m glad I did – it was warm inside and you could still get some great views of the Statue of Liberty and the skyline. I couldn’t help myself and I walked out to the back of the boat, too, to get some nicer pictures! The whole ferry ride took no more than 15 minutes and then it was a short trek on to a bus that took us over to Fort Wadsworth welcome village!
The start was probably one of the most well-organized areas I’ve ever seen – including the Walt Disney World Marathon! New York has multiple waves and multiple starting sections (Blue, Orange, Green). I was in Orange Wave 3 Corral C, which put my starting time at about 10:40am. Pretty crazy considering I was in the start village by 8:30am. That said, there was plenty of places to sit, relax, and prepare for the race.
Walking over to the Orange Village, I was happy to see port-o-potty's lined up everywhere – in fact, there were so many that I never saw lines more than 4 or 5 deep – you could pretty much go as you needed with no more than a 3-5 minute wait. Pretty unheard of at other big races I’ve been to! At the start village, there was Dunkin’ Donuts coffee and beanies if you needed to keep your head warm, bagels, and water. I walked around a bit, used the rest room, and downed my UCAN with 30 minutes to go and walked over to the starting corrals just a bit further from the village start.
Worried about missing your start? Don’t worry – they had very nice recorded audio piped throughout the start area in several languages (English, Spanish, French, German, Italian) letting runners know when corrals opened and close for each start. As I said earlier – super organized! Also – don’t worry too much about wearing some throwaway clothing if you want to stay warm. They have Goodwill bins everywhere including inside the start corrals. Glad to know my warmup clothes will go to good use!
Before I knew it, we were headed to the start line in front of the Verrazano Bridge. I turned on my watch and… quickly found out my battery had somehow discharged overnight and I only had 19% battery life left. It was a huge psychological downer right before the race, but I figured I could use it for as long as I could and then try to keep pace by feel for the rest of the race. Boy was I glad I checked out the race strategy talk beforehand!
Ready, Set, Go!
Once the race started, my training and race energy took over. It was amazing running over the bridge at the start – thousands of runners on every side of you and helicopters circling overhead during the first two miles of the bridge. Then, as you get off the bridge, you’re welcomed into Brooklyn where the crowds begin. Rarely was there a place without hundreds of cheering spectators – posters, photographers, live bands, DJs – New York was out in force! It was super entertaining throughout. I loved how each Borough had its own little flair – each neighborhood had a different feel whether it was the music that was played or the slightly different cheering accents. I loved seeing the blowup punching bag of Donald Trump in Brooklyn, the amazing cheering after mile 20 in the Bronx, and the rappers freestyling in Harlem.
My watch died out around mile 8 and I was left to my own devices for the remainder of the race. I decided I’d go by feel and mainly try not to overexert myself early on. I felt decent, if not a bit too fast, during the first half of the marathon. I really started feeling it when I was going over the Queensboro bridge though – with no spectators around, I could feel my legs starting to ache a bit going uphill to the peak of the bridge before coming back down and into Manhattan. As we turned into 1st Avenue, my legs felt like jelly as I saw that the street ahead was slightly inclined most of the way. It wasn’t killer, but after 15+ miles on your legs, small hills aren’t so small. By the time I made it out of Harlem and on to 110th St where I began my preview trek only a couple days prior, my legs felt like they had gone through meat grinders.
My vastus medialis was on fire and it took a lot of will power to try to keep up my slowing pace and not walk. By the time I made it to the Engineer’s Gate, I had to walk a few times as the slight incline somehow felt like it got steeper. The last couple miles were difficult, but it was great having the energy from the crowd – everyone knew we were close to the finish and despite how tired and desperate some of us looked, the crowd knew we could make it and that definitely helped energize me for the last stretch.
I crossed the finish line, drained, in 4:16:26. Not a PR, nor anywhere close to a majority of my goals. At first I was disappointed – annoyed that my watch had died, frustrated that my training hadn’t enabled me to finish with a PR, but looking back on it now – it was still one hell of a race. The course was fantastic and the crowds were great! An amazing marathon experience for sure!
To Poncho, or No Poncho - That is the Question
Wrapping up with the race, I will say that the poncho is definitely the way to go. You still have to walk a good mile or more between finishing and first being able to see your friends and family. As you exit the finisher chute, you’ll grab a medal, a heat sheet, and a nice drawstring “recovery bag” filled with a protein bar, apple, Gatorade, water, and pretzels. This was great as I felt like I really needed some nutrition after that race. You’ll continue to walk up Central Park and will either be funneled into the poncho area or the baggage area.
If you went for the baggage option, note that you’ll be trekking even further out before looping back to the reunion area starting at 65th St – I think they go up to 85th St before they can double back around! With the poncho option, you exit around 77th St and double back to about 74th St where they start passing out these wonderful fleece lined ponchos that keep you MUCH warmer than the heat sheets they pass out right at the finish. You’ll be able to start making it on to the streets around 72nd street – so if you’re looking for a meeting place and the setup is the same as this year, I’d highly recommend that to going all the way to 65th St. Also, keep in mind that the Columbus Square subway stations are all blocked off – so if you’re headed that way, you may have to walk a few blocks more to hit a subway.
That's a Wrap.
All in all, I’d say the New York Marathon is definitely a race you have to experience at least once! This is my second World Major – my first being Chicago. Having run both, I’d give a slight edge to Chicago – I really liked the super flat course and the cheering was just as good. That said, New York has some amazing charm and is one of the most well-organized races I’ve seen to date. At $255 for the entry, it’s a bit steep, but the organization and New York shutting down for a full day and cheering for you is well worth the price of admission! Sign up for the lottery and try your luck – you won’t be disappointed!
