NYC Marathon Pre-Race Report

Hard to believe it’s almost been two weeks since I completed my third NYC Marathon. Thought I’d share a little bit with y’all about how the day went for me. Today I’ll be sharing the journey to the start line. Join us this week for the NYC Marathon Pre-Race Report.

With the marathon falling on the day we set the clocks back an hour, it means either an extra hour of sleep or an extra hour of tossing and turning. Fortunately for me I usually sleep pretty well the night before a race and tonight was no exception so I enjoyed the extra sleep. Alarm was set for five am but I was awake for the day around 4. It’s always nice to wake up naturally before the alarm goes off. 

Race Ready

Jill got up a short while later and made me a cup of coffee to get things moving (if you’re a runner, you know what I’m talking about) as I started to get my stuff together for the day. I made sure to have all my gear laid out the night before so it was mostly just me pacing around, waiting for time to go by so I could start my journey to the start line in Staten Island.  For the first time Jill decided to make the journey with me to Staten Island.

The Ferry

We had a 6 am uber scheduled for the ten minute drive to the Whitehall Terminal. Upon arrival there were already hundreds and hundreds of runners making their way up the steps to catch the ferry. We didn’t have to wait long and were able to board the next ferry almost immediately. 

To the Bus

The trip to Staten Island takes about 30 minutes. It’s a nice little scenic ride that goes by the Statue of Liberty as the sun starts to come up. I was happy to have Jill’s company and chatted excitedly about what I thought the day’s run would look like for me. Upon arriving in Staten Island we had about a fifteen minute walk to get to my next mode of transportation, the school busses that would carry me on the last leg of the journey to Fort Wadsworth. After kissing Jill goodbye and waiting another fifteen minutes I boarded the bus and settled in for the 30 minute ride

Since my seat mate didn’t speak English, I spent the time thinking about what my goals were for the race. My A goal for the race was to set a new course PR. That would mean running under 3:19:55, the time that I ran in 2019. The B goal was to run a NYC Marathon qualifying time to guarantee me entry in 2025. This would require me to go under 3:23. My C goal was to snag another BQ (Boston Qualifier). Because they recently lowered the standard, I would need to run under 3:30 to accomplish that. My D goal, if things really went off the rails was to finish in under 4:00 and just try and enjoy the course as much as possible. 

To the Village

The bus ride went by quickly and before I knew it I was moving thru security to get into Fort Wadsworth. I made my way to the blue start village and took care of the first order of business, securing one of the Dunkin’ NYC Marathon beanies. 

Then We Wait…

After hitting the portaloo, I found myself a patch of grass to post up on until it was time to go. Next  order of business was to eat my usual pre-race breakfast of mini muffins. 

Although it was quite chilly (around 45 degrees) I was nice and toasty warm between the throwaway clothes I picked up at the Salvation Army and the hot hands/feet that I picked up on Amazon. This would not be a repeat of 2019 when I hit the start line completely frozen. I was so comfortable I think I was even able to snooze for a little bit. As the professional runners would take off as well as wave one, the cannon would fire and you could feel the excitement in the village continue to grow as runners waited for their turn to head to the start line. 

Before I knew it it was time for me to switch into my racing shoes and head to my start corral. I shed a couple of layers at this time, keeping on my warm hat and my overcoat (it was still rather cold). Upon arrival in the start corral the energy was palpable. Runners were hitting the portaloo one last time (I love that they have them in the start corrals) and shedding their throwaway clothes. There was a lot of nervous chatter as we squeezed in, waiting for the go ahead to head to the start line. 

To The Start

Before I knew it the ropes separating the corrals were dropped and we started the long walk to the actual start line. So far I had taken an uber, a ferry, and a school bus to get to this point. What’s a half mile walk after all that?? There was music blaring and runners were quickly working their way forward to get as close as possible. I was doing the same. That is until The National Anthem started. 

At this point I stood my ground and rendered a salute as I always do when the anthem is being performed. It’s an honor I don’t take lightly and one that always makes me a little emotional.  Not sure how many runners went past me or how many time I was knocked into but I didn’t care. 

And We’re Off!

After the Anthem was over I squeezed in with all the other runners and waited for the ten second countdown for us to start. Before I knew it, the cannon went BOOM and we were off. 

I hope you enjoyed my journey to the start line. Would love for you to subscribe today for free and follow me next week as I share my 26.2 mile journey thru the five boroughs to the finish line in Central Park.