The New York Marathon

I came to just ahead of the alarm and was down in the hotel lobby ready for the coach departure at 6.45. With the heavy volume of marathon traffic headed to Staten Island the journey took us just over an hour and as we motored further and further away from Manhattan the full 26.2 miles suddenly seemed very real. Last minute fears about the knee (and having to walk the majority of the distance) suddenly surged but I did a good job of blocking them out by listening to the nervous chatter and words of wisdom from the other people on the bus.

Luckily the rain had cleared overnght and left us with a cool but pleasant temperature and overcast skies. Excellent marathon weather. Exiting the bus the huge scale of the marathon instantly hit me as we joined thousands of other runners from around the world all making our way to the starting area. Alongside the multitude of Americans one guy proudly wore a shirt which said "I'm from Uruguay and I have a dream... this is it." A french guy was encassed in a miniature version of the Eiffel Tower and "Harry the German" was right up ahead.


The 40th ING New York Marathon was the largest marathon in the world ever with over 43,750 finishers. To ease congestion the organisers staggered the start with three different waves, placing runners in pens according to their estimated completion time on the application form. After some final stretching and rallying words of encouragement (and one final loo stop) M and I went our separate ways. My Garmin took ages to switch on and I began to worry that it wouldn't be ready as I crossed the start line. Irrationally I panicked that I couldn't possibly run a marathon without it but it reluctantly cranked into gear just in time. After about ten minutes of standing around everyone began walking forward towards the Verrazano bridge. As we turned the final corner before the race began open top buses were blaring out New York themed songs and already policemen and security guards were shouting my name and words of encouragement.

And so it began. Being positioned at the back of the second wave I didn't have any problems with congestion but as the runners spaced out and I reached the middle section of the massive 1.5 mile long bridge with views of New York spread out wide in front of me I suddenly felt a little overwhelmed. It wasn't until I had successfully navigated the steep downhill section of the bridge and crossed into Brooklyn at around the two mile mark that I began to feel much more comfortable. One of the very first people in the roadside crowd shouted my name and as the street closed in and the supporters swelled I settled into my stride.


At the 5k mark I was averaging an 11 minute mile - slower than I had planned, but my confidence was growing, the knee was holding up and so I started to crank up the pace. The fourth avenue was possibly the best section of the entire marathon for me. Each mile got a little bit quicker, I felt fresh and the energy of the crowd was really spurring me on. Suddenly I was at the half way point and back up to a 10 minute mile. I really wanted to etch on my memory every step, every supporter, every banner, all 128 bands who lined the route, the groups of firemen and policemen and church groups and charity supporters but there were so many other things to concentrate on too - and at that precise moment in time it was finding the nearest roadside facility.

Getting going again was a struggle and the next mile took me over the Queensborough bridge and into Manhattan. People were beginning to flag. Seeing fully grown men and women wretching their guts up and stretching out on the floor to stretch their cramping mescles was unnerving but I still felt like there was plenty of gas in the tank so I tried to get my keep down and plough on through. Turning the corner to see First Avenue stretched out in front of me (all 4 miles of it) New York came into full view.


Over the next seven miles I had a couple of gels, a couple of Ibuprofen and plenty of water and passed through the Bronx and over the last bridge back into Harlem. One banner made me smile - "If you're hurting now it's because your kicking ass!" I knew the last 5 miles were going to be tough but I was unprepared that the final three would be the hardest, mentally, I've ever run. The hills, surprisingly, weren't the issue but I swear the mile markers were getting further apart. Entering Central Park was fantastic and I knew I was in the home straight but then coming back out again to run the outside perimetre up to Columbus Circle threw me off and I had a bit of a melt down. The supporters were four or five deep and the cheering was almost hysterical as people screamed "You got this Rosanne", "You own it!" The race photograhers were everywhere and the runners were crowded but suddenly I had just had to stop running and take some time out. As I slowed to a walk people shouted louder for me to "Finish strong" I started running again but I think I'd well and truly hit the wall. There was less than half a mile to go - I should have been flying.



Luckily a guy came up behind me just as we were about to re-enter the Park, slapped me on the back and said "Lets go!" That was it. I was back in my groove. I kept pace with him for about half the way but let him sprint off for the final .2. Crossing the finish was brilliant and also slightly surreal. As I was herded through and given my medal... I stopped for a photo. Not having to run anymore felt strange. I'd had waves of every kind of emotion on the way round but now I felt a bit numb. It was a mixture of relief, joy, fatigue and nostalgia. But underlying it all was a sense of satisfaction - I'd done it and done it well. Walking through the finishers area and back to the hotel was in a daze and it wasn't really until the next day that I felt able to really get excited about and enjoy my success.

Apart from having my family there to celebrate with I wouldn't change a thing. Running a marathon has given me so much more than a medal and respectable finishing time (I crossed the line in 04.33.22) I've genuinely enjoyed every minute of it. I carried the words and images of so many people along the course. I listened to everyone who told me to run harder, run faster, take it easy, stop, keep going, stride out, drink more, keep calm, suck it up, enjoy it, use it, smile. To all the people who sent me messages and called me, texted me, sponsored me, told their friends about me and listened for hours as I obsessed over injuries, routes, pace, blisters,what type of energy gels were best and what I could be doing differently - thank you. To all the people who joined me on the training runs or offered to cycle, walk or meet me at the finish - you were fantastic. I couldn't have done it without each and every one of you.