Hello!

 

Well, I have reached the end of my journey to the 26.2 mark in Central Park. It was fantastic – the New York City Marathon truly deserves its accolade as the world’s best marathon. We had a chilly start – 2C at the Staten Island Start Village but it warmed up during the day to a comfortable 12C.

The day began with the very early start (ever try forcing breakfast down at 4am?) and a short walk from the hotel in Times Square to catch the 5:30am bus outside the New York Public Library. Any reservations I had about wandering around Times Square at that time of the morning were dispelled when I saw how many other marathoners were heading in the same direction as me! Fortunately 5:30am was more like 9:30am on my body clock, so it wasn’t too hard going.

 

Half an hour later we were on Staten Island and 3 hours to kill until the 9:40am start! There were huge marquees set up on the grass and we all squeezed under and got whatever extra sleep we could. Two layers of track pants and fleeces were just about enough to ward off the pre dawn chill. Thank goodness I brought an old sleeping bag this time to keep me warm- learned from my 2008 experience! With all the sleeping bodies under plastic bags and miniature pop up tents, if it weren’t for the nice running shoes and expensive base layers, we could have been mistaken for some kind of vagrant convention!

 

Fast forward past the sunrise, endless toilet visits, reading Bob Glover’s chapter on avoiding ‘The Wall’ during marathoning,  and forcing down a stale bagel to the start. I was ready to go with my anti chafe cream applied, shoe laces double knotted and a belt stuffed full of Strawberry Banana carbohydrate gel pouches. The atmosphere was positively electric as people jostled forward clapping and whooping towards the Verrazano Bridge. A plane flew past with a long banner reading ‘Take a deep breath and enjoy this moment’ and the crowd fell silent.

The start was marked by a giant archway and four double decker buses with loud speakers blasting Sinatra’s ‘New York, New York’; provoking a huge response from everyone, me included. I was taken aback by how emotional it was and the tears of absolute delight as I witnessed the carpet of runners’ bobbing heads before me on the bridge of one of the most famous scenes in marathoning history.

 

The first half went by really smoothly and I enjoyed reading the backs of peoples’ shirts and the banners held aloft by spectators. Among my favourites were: ‘Chafe Now, Brag Later’, ‘Chuck Norris Never Ran a Marathon’, and ‘Run Like You Stole Something’. I caught sight of Ian and my mother between mile 6 and 7 in Brooklyn, their eyes scanning the hundreds of runners for sight of me. I tried not to imagine them going off to have coffees and cake while they waited for me to get nearer the 12 mile mark, their next cheering spot.

Brooklyn had the most exuberant crowds by far of the five boroughs- kids, cops and and grandmas with their hands stuck out to ‘high five’ the marathoners running past.

 

The musical contributions by the public along the marathon route were astounding and among the most memorable aspects of the race. A gospel choir were giving it their all outside a church in Brooklyn, complete with white gowns and shaking their hands in the air. There were bands doing reggae renditions of Kasabian songs and rock interpretations of the Super Mario Brothers game tunes. Even during the quieter spots of the race like the Queensboro Bridge were no spectators were allowed, there was something to listen to. The sound of thousands of pairs of feet hitting the tarmac is something I’ll never forget.

 

The miles ticked by quite quickly until around the 20 mile point. By this time we were in Harlem and working our way towards the final Manhattan push to the finish. The combination of bright sunshine, loud cheering and my sugar starved body were conspiring to play tricks on me. Was I slowing down, or just floating? My legs were on auto pilot, but the miles seemed to tick by so much more slowly....

And so to the home run down 5^th Avenue and spanning the entire length of Central Park past the biggest spectator crowds I have ever witnessed- six people deep in some places against the railings for the last 4 miles. Exuberant clapping and shouts of ‘you’re almost there!’ ‘you guys make it look easy!’ and ‘looking strong!’ kept us all going, as by this point there were a few walkers (limpers?) among the many runners trying for a solid finish. My mother and husband were making good use of their VIP finish line champagne banquet tickets (part of my Grand Lottery Prize) and were able to sit in the bleachers for the finish. It seemed like an eternity away when I looped onto Central Park South and Columbus Circle at the far end looked like a speck on the horizon in my foggied and fatigued mind. The end came at 3 hours and 38 minutes and 15 seconds and with it, hundreds of volunteers with space blankets, finishers’ medals, food bags and packets of salt for the dehydrated. Medics were carting off those fainting from exhaustion to makeshift first aid tents. We all walked rustling along- a sea of metallic ponchos towards the edges of the park to meet friends and family. What followed was a trip to Stage Deli on 6^th Avenue and the most enormous Reuben Pastrami and Swiss Cheese Sandwich and slice of cheesecake that would probably feed a small country. The lost calories were well and truly compensated for. Pictures attached!

 

The next two days were spent with a bad case of Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness, as you can imagine (except that it wasn’t really ‘delayed’- I pretty much lost the use of my legs once I had sat down for two minutes). Although my newly acquired ‘John Wayne’ walk was the source of much amusement for the few days we spent in New York sightseeing afterwards.

 

Phew, you made it to the end of the email and what remains is for me to thank all of you from the very bottom of my heart for your incredible support for The Art Room, Oxford - New York City Marathon 2010 appeal. Together you have raised over  £7,000 including GiftAid and offline donations - AND COUNTING! The money raised assures the continuation of the incredible work that The Art Room do to better the lives and education opportunities for vulnerable children in and around Oxford. This is much more than a marathon for one runner- it is about the future for so many children. Thank you.

 

With very much love and thanks,

 

Becky Wilson xx