The Run to NYC’s Club 26.2

I’m not exactly sure what to say here in the wake of my completion of my first ever marathon in New York City last weekend. It’s somewhat hard to put into words. On the one hand, over a million people a year are able to complete a full 26.2 run somewhere in the world.

On the other hand, that still amounts to less than one percent of the population. When you consider the population of the United States, the number drops to .05% of the population. Rare air, indeed.

Maybe that’s why it felt so good.

Well, that was certainly one reason. There were so many. Too many to get into here. But I will share a few highlights.

My journey to 26.2 at the New York City Marathon was supposed to be a celebration, and it was. A celebration of my daughter’s admission to New York University in December of 2019. Following a successful Savannah Bridge Run, I told her I’d enter the NYC Marathon if she got in to NYU.

At times I wished my ‘why’ was a little heavier, but that was it. It was that simple. NYU was and is her dream school and I couldn’t think of a better way to celebrate with her. So I joined a fundraising team and went for it.

I met so many people along the way who asked me about my training. Strangers who saw me running all over Savannah and later emailed me. People who I saw regularly on my route and chatted with without ever knowing their names. The support from the community was palpable and I will be forever grateful to Savannah for that.

I spent nearly 9 months preparing for the run through all of New York’s 5 boroughs. But I am here to tell you that if you have never done it before, nothing can prepare you for what that race is.

53 thousand runners on the course, tens of thousands more standing along with route cheering on total strangers. Some with signs, some without, but all of them with smiles.

Yeah, smiles! everywhere! In New York City!

That might have been my favorite part of this experience. In a city that gets such a bad rap about being ‘cold’ or ‘ruthless’ or ‘heartless’ and all of those other descriptors, it was absolutely amazing to see the people of the City of New York rallying, cheering and partying around 53,000 total strangers. Wishing them well.

They were passing out candy, water, fruit and so much more. I mean, it’s New York, if you were patient, you could probably get anything along that course. It was impressive.

The other touching part was the bother/sisterhood among competitors. People from all over the world gathering in New York with this common goal. All supporting each other. This was my first. I met a lot of other ‘first timers.’ But I also met some veterans of 10/20/30 years.

There was one gentleman in his 70s. He has run 122 marathons. He continues do 7 per year and obviously has been for quite some time. Rather impressive, no? That makes me wince just thinking about it.

My run was not at all for time. I was not competing. Not at all. In fact, my family chased me around NYC during the run and at 2 different points, I stopped to visit with them. During the 2nd stop, I had a slice of Patsy’s Pizza and a Diet Coke while I took in the scene on 1st Avenue and 118th street in East Harlem. My old neighborhood as a kid.

That was pretty special.

I finished about 5:40pm in an electric, but dark Central Park. As I crossed the finish line, I went blank. The photos say I closed my eyes. Relief, obviously, but I was done. I medal and a short walk later and I was celebrating on the corner of Columbus Avenue and 66th Street in front of Lincoln Center. There were smiles, there was champagne and there was joy. There was official membership into Club NYC 26.2, something less than one percent of the population can lay a similar claim to.

Then there was Cuban food and beer.

A very quick thank you to my friends Karin Wilson Best and Drew Edmonds for the physical support here in Savannah and my mentor Robyn Hamilton from Parkland, Florida for always being a text away when it started getting tight toward the end of my training and through race day.

The biggest thank you goes to all of you who supported this crazy idea of mine. Anyone and everyone who helped me raise the $3,000 I need to get together to make this a reality. It was one of the top 2-3 days of my life and it would not have been possible without your support.

Now all I’m left with are memories and some slightly worn running shoes. My running will resume Thanksgiving week in a location I’ve never run before. How far will I run? I’m not sure. But I know it won’t be my last.

I enjoyed it far too much.

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