NYC 2024 Marathon – The Rest of the Story

Do you remember a movie from the 80’s called “Planes, Trains and Automobiles“? Well if you haven’t seen that yet, you should really check it out. It’s really funny and it’s Thanksgiving themed. And if you haven’t read it yet, be sure to check out last week’s NYC pre-race report, where we take an Uber, to a ferry, to a bus, JUST to run 26.2 miles! And once that’s done, come back here for the rest of the NYC 2024 Marathon story.

Bridge #1 – the Verrazzano Narrows

Once the cannon went off my shuffle to the start line began. It wasn’t but a minute before I crossed the start line, hitting the button on my Garmin to begin tracking my 26.2 mile journey to the finish line in Central Park. 

It’s always easy to go out a bit fast at the beginning of a race. In NYC that inclination is mitigated by the first mile of the race being an uphill climb as runners begin their trek across the Verrazano Bridge, connecting Staten Island to Brooklyn. I was fortunate enough to be in the Blue Start which had me on the upper portion of the bridge. 

The Scrum at the Start

The start is very crowded and the climb up didn’t really afford me much of an opportunity to look around and appreciate the view. I hit the first mile marker at 8:17. I wasn’t worried about pace at all as I knew the first couple miles would not be indicative of the pace I’d be able to run today with the climb and descent of the first bridge. 

Running a race like NYC requires taking what the course gives you and I would be attempting to run an even effort instead of trying to run even splits. There was a little more room running down the backside of the bridge and enjoyed the view as I let gravity do its job. I hit the second mile at 6:59. I wasn’t surprised by this and things felt pretty good for the most part. The weather was perfect for a marathon and I was hoping to take advantage of that and hit my A Goal for the day. 

No Sleep ’til Brooklyn

After entering Brooklyn and shortly after mile two, the Orange Start joined in on the left side of 4th Avenue while the Blue Start stayed on the right side of the road. Things would stay this way until we combined at mile 8. The crowd support was great from this point on. Of all the marathons I’ve run, none can compare to the energy of NYC and today would be no exception.  

I hit mile 3 at 7:29 as I got to the first aid station. Even though it was a cool day my plan was to still hit every water station along the way. I knew if I could maintain a 7:30 pace from here on out I would easily come in under my A goal of 3:19. 

When Your Body Has A Different Plan

Unfortunately my legs were feeling heavy at this point already and the effort I was putting in didn’t have me feeling overly confident. From past experience, I know that believing I can hit a goal is essential to being able to do it. I was wondering if my heavy travel schedule over the past six weeks and all the pacing I had done was having a negative impact on me. At this point, I figured I would just put my head down and grind it out the best I could. 

Mile four saw the Pink Start join in with us and things got a bit more crowded. I took my first gel and manually lapped my Garmin with a time of 7:32. I discovered quite some time ago that manually lapping my watch during a race gives me a much more accurate idea of my actual time and pace since GPS isn’t always as accurate as we would like it to be. 

High Fives to Power Up

The miles thru Brooklyn clicked by and I did my best to run as close to the crowds as possible. I have high fives to as many kids as I could and tried to soak up the energy of the spectators along the way. The next few miles came in at 7:26, 7:22, and 7:30. I was full on pace to hit my A goal but I was not nearly as comfortable as I would like to be at this point. 

The Orange Start merged with us at mile eight and I clocked my slowest mile at 7:45. I know that there are good and bad patches in a race but I really felt like the rest of the day was going to be a struggle. I knew that even if I didn’t hit my A goal that I had other goals that I was till shooting for so I dug in and kept working. I took my next gel and settled in for the last miles in Brooklyn hitting paces of 7:44, 7:34, 7:47, 7:45 (took gel number 3 here), and 7:43.

Bridge # 2 – The Pulaski Bridge

Mile fourteen had us hitting our second bridge of the day, the Pulaski Bridge. I crossed the halfway point of the race in 1:39:49 about halfway up the bridge and entered Queens. Although we didn’t spend a lot of time in Queens the crowds were great and the cheers were much needed as I knew what was coming  up just ahead. My split for mile 14 was 7:50. 

Bridge 3 – The Queensboro

Making the turn onto the Queensboro Bridge is where the work really begins. It’s eerily quiet as you make the climb thru mile 15. Although my pace slowed this mile to 8:03 I was passing many people who were walking and struggling. I did my best to encourage them as I passed. This helped to take some of the focus off of my own discomfort. Mile 16 continues to climb before descending into Manhattan. Managed to hit 7:44 for this mile as I took gel number four. 

Anyone who has run NY knows that one of the best miles is 17. As you continue to descend from the Queensboro Bridge, you can hear the crowds in Manhattan waiting for you. Making the turn onto 1st Avenue, the sound is deafening. Made me want to run a bit faster and this mile clocked in at 7:41. Doing some mental math I knew I could maintain this pace I would hit my B goal of running under 3:23. This would guarantee me entry to next year’s race. I wasn’t very confident I could maintain that pace but the crowds had me believing for a minute. 

The Crowds in Manhattan

Miles 18 and 19 clocked in at 7:44 and 7:50. As these miles are relatively flat I resigned myself to the fact that my B goal wasn’t going to happen. I was sad for a second but switched gears and focused on hitting my C goal, running under 3:30 which would give me another Boston qualifying time. I once again made sure I was running as close to the crowds as possible to feed off their energy.

Bridge #4 – The Willis

Mile 20 (8:06) had us hitting our fourth bridge of the race, the Willis Bridge. This would take us from Manhattan into The Bronx, our fifth borough of the day. Although the crowds aren’t as large during this stretch, the people who were there definitely let us hear them. Mile 21 (7:59) had us crossing the Last Damn Bridge and heading back into Manhattan. 

Looking for Friendly Faces

I knew that I would see some friends around mile 23 so I just tried to focus on getting thru the next couple of miles to get there. I continued to fuel with my handheld filled with Maurten 360 and clicked off the next two miles in 7:59 and 7:51. It was great to see my friend Toni and her cheer crew at this point. If I was having a really bad day she was going to have a donut for me. Since I still had a shot at my C goal I skipped the donut and instead ran thru the confetti she fired off with a smile on my face.

And Where the Heck is Jill???

The smile would quickly fade as I began the climb on 5th Avenue before entering Central Park. It’s not a steep climb but it’s long and at a point where everything already hurts. I clocked my slowest mile of the race at this point (8:30). Shortly after entering Central Park, I knew I would see Jill and all would be well. As I made the turn into Central Park I scanned the crowds looking for Jill but she was no where to be found. I guess I’d have to wait for my kiss until after the race. 

I was a little dejected in not seeing Jill and knew that I had a BQ in the bag so I wasn’t remotely worried about my pace at this point. Mile 25 came in at 8:27 and mile 26 along Central Park South was an 8:52. I figured there was no reason to kill myself at this point. The last stretch in Central Park seemed longer than I remembered even though I knew it wasn’t and I was relieved to cross the finish line in 3:25:32. 

Still Finished Strong

I had about a mile walk after crossing the finish line before I would finally get that kiss I was looking for. I was so happy to see Jill. And although I didn’t hit my first two goals, I was pretty pleased with the overall result. I ran most of the day with a smile on my face and soaked in all NYC had to offer. On the plus side, this year’s medal and poncho matched my hair color. What more can a guy ask for?!

If you’ve made it to the end thanks so much for following along on my journey. Go ahead and sign up for free at the traveloracle.net to see where next year’s racing adventures take me.