New York City Marathon Recap

This weekend I ran the New York City Marathon, my first ever marathon! I wasn’t a runner at all until I moved to NYC four years ago. In fact, I hated it. But there is something about the energy of Marathon Day in New York City that is so inspiring that it makes you want to run, too.

We actually moved to the city on Marathon day in 2019, but didn’t realize it because we moved later in the day, so by the time we got to Brooklyn all the roads had been re-opened and the only remnants of the marathon excitement were in Manhattan. And then, of course it didn’t happen in 2020. So like the non-runner that I was, I didn’t even know that the NYC marathon was a thing.

In 2021 I woke up to a ton of excitement outside of my apartment and went outside with my dog to figure out what was going on. It turns out my apartment is on the marathon route. I spent the whole day watching out my window. The energy was contagious and I was SO inspired. Later that night with a little more inspiration from about half a bottle of wine I signed up for my very first half marathon, having never run more than 3 miles in my life. I remember thinking the next day “what the hell have I done…?” And telling my husband in the weeks leading up to the half that I “couldn’t wait for this stupid freaking half marathon to be over so that I never have to run again!”.

But that finish line feeling is addictive. So about a month later, I signed up for another. And then another. And started looking into the 9+1 program that would allow me to run the New York City Marathon in 2024. I decided to go for it. Signed up for my 9 races and my volunteer opportunity. The races were a blast and kept me accountable with my running all year, and I was lucky enough to volunteer at the start of the 2022 NYC Marathon. If you ever get the chance to volunteer at the marathon, DO it. I had a blast. It was ALMOST as fun as running it. And it was SO inspiring getting to talk to the runners before the race. The atmosphere was electric. Everyone there was just so happy to be there. I would do it again in a heartbeat (if I can ever be convinced to take a year off from running it, that is.)

Training didn’t exactly go perfectly. I wasn’t nearly as dedicated as I would like to have been. I skipped a few pretty important runs (like my 15 miler and 18 miler, and I put off my 20 miler out of fear until I was already supposed to have been tapering for like 5 days) but ready or not, exactly two years in the making, the day that I had been working towards for so long was finally here. I was excited and nervous, but mostly excited. I threw my time goal out the window due to the hiccups in my training, and made my only goal to have as much fun as possible.

I made friends on the subway leaving my station and we rode all the way to the race together, talking, exchanging bracelets and sharing in each other’s excitement. One of my new friends was in my wave, so we ended up running the first three miles together before I decided to hang back to avoid going out too fast, and she sped up to chase her time goal.

By mile 5, I remember thinking “what the F*** have I gotten myself into, I’m already tired!” By mile 10 I was overwhelmed with how much further I still had to go. I decided to take my first walk break. My family was waiting for me halfway between miles 11 and 12 and stopping to hug them, talk for a minute and take a couple pictures gave me the energy boost I needed to keep going. All throughout training, I knew that the part that I would struggle with most would be the Queensboro bridge, and I was definitely not wrong. By that point my feet hurt, my quads hurt, and I was starving. I decided to let myself walk the uphill stretch to save my energy so that I could enjoy the crowds when I got to the other side, and it looked like a lot of others had the same idea. I saw somebody say that that bridge looked like an episode of the walking dead and man, if that didn’t describe the scene perfectly.

Coming off the Queensboro Bridge onto first avenue was amazing! The roar of the crowd was such a cool thing to experience, and helped carry me through the hardest 4 miles. Once I hit mile 20 I kept telling myself “now it’s just a 10k. You can do a 10k. That’s a short, easy run for you at this point!” And I knew I was kidding myself, nothing about the next 10k would be easy, but mentally it helped. Miles 20-23 were a blur, but once I hit mile 23 something snapped and my energy came back. I put my three go-to inspiring songs (This Is Me from the Greatest Showman, Fight Song by Rachel Patten and Long Live, Taylor’s Version, off course) on a loop in my headphones and allowed all of the emotions that I’d been too afraid to feel up until this point to wash over me. 3 miles. 30 minutes if I could just kick it into gear. Holy shit. I was actually going to finish this thing. I was going to do it. I was minutes away from finishing a fucking marathon.

At this point I probably looked like an absolute crazy person, grinning from ear to ear while fighting back happy tears. I was doing it. And then I saw the sign. 800 meters to go. I know these signs are supposed to be encouraging but for some reason they break my spirit every time. 800 meters is only half a mile, but at this point in the race, it sounded impossible. I slowed a bit here. Even contemplated walking, but there was no WAY I was going to let a race photographer catch me walking with less than a mile to go! then I saw the 400 meter sign, which as silly as it is, sounded equally daunting. What do you MEAN I’ve only gone 400 meters since the last sign? I have to do that AGAIN? finally, I rounded the corner and saw it. The finish line. All of my energy came rushing back, and I took off in a sprint to the finish. Crossing that finish line felt surreal. I had done it. I had just run a marathon. The New York City Marathon.

I have heard people say that running a marathon is like giving birth. I can’t fully relate, because my son is adopted 🐶 but I definitely think I get it. I spent so much of that race in pain, praying for the next mile marker, questioning what the hell I had been thinking signing up for it in the first place. But the second I crossed that finish line all that pain was worth it. And by the next day, the pain felt like a distant memory. I had done it. I was a marathoner. “Pain? What pain? Running the NYC Marathon was truly the most fun I have ever had! I can’t wait to do it again!”

If you’ve stuck with me this far I’m honestly really impressed! BUT all that to say, if you ever get the chance to experience the New York City marathon from ANY angle, whether as a runner, a volunteer or a spectator, DO IT. It is the absolute best day of the year to experience New York City. Marathon day gives you a glimpse of New York City at it’s absolute best. It truly is my super bowl 😂

Did you run this weekend? If so, find me on Instagram and let me know so I can go like your race pics! Congrats to everyone who ran, and to everyone who qualified one way or another to run in 2024! I’ll see you there 🎉🩷