No, I didn’t run in it, although several folks at work asked me if I did today (apparently my reputation precedes me!) I ran it in 2008 and while it was totally, totally awesome, I’ve got a lot more marathons on my list to get through before I start repeating myself.
Just for fun and nostalgia though, here’s a photos of me from the 2008 NYC Marathon:
HahahHA! Fooled you! (or didn’t I…) That’s actually Paula Radcliffe cruisin’ on by. My thoughtful (then) boyfriend (now husband) took this shot in an effort to motivate me to um, catch up, I suppose. I should also mention that Paula managed to make us mere mortals feel even less worthy by winning the marathon after giving birth less than six months ago. What a bad-ass!
Anyways, where was I? Oh right, a photo of moi from the race:
Ahhhh, good times, good times…Yeah right, that was at Mile 19 and all I wanted to do was stop. RUNNING! But I put on a good show for the camera.
Also, I love that Pete is wearing his Miami Dolphin’s jersey. Sure, his girlfriend’s running the marathon and he’s out there supporting her and all but let’s not get priorities out of wack (it was a Sunday, afterall…He may have even missed the game to watch me race, therefore bringing a new level of sacrifice to the relationship.)
Um, well, anyways, the point of my ramblings is that I went to go watch the 2010 NYC Marathon yesterday. It was a perfect, late-fall day and we (by we I mean, my dog and I. Pete was watching the Dolphin’s game. I ain’t lyin’ about his dedication!) walked to Central Park and stood a mere 200 yards from the finish line.
Perri hates looking at the camera. Dumb dog.
The excitement and emotions were running high. If you’ve never had a chance to watch a marathon, you really should (I know, it sounds boring, watching people just like, run and all, but it’s really fun!) and the finish line is the best part.
I’m a crier, so of course I shed a few tears watching the emotional victories of those who were about to be able to cross “running a marathon” off their bucket list or those who held the hand of their sister or husband while they finished the grueling event.
Oh geez, I’m tearing up right now just thinking about it. I’m such a softie.
Look at all those people, all 45,344 of ‘em. Crazy, right? And yet, within that surging mass, each runner that passed me by was an individual fighting for the right to be able to say (all nonchalantly, obvi) “Oh yeah, the New York City Marathon? I ran that.” Pretty awesome, I think.
I loved seeing runners from all over the country and the world. I saw runners with signs on their shirts, runners running for a cause, runners walking, runners crying, runners cheering and most importantly, runners believing.
Because there are moments in a marathon where it’s genuinely hard to believe that you’ll ever finish. It would be so easy to stop, pull out, say “This is too hard, I’m done with this.” But no, we believe. The crowd believes and the runners believe that somehow, in someway, you will cross that sweet, sweet finish line and raise your hands in moral victory, overcome with the realization that you just ran a marathon!
Oh, it’s a glorious moment, indeed. Probably why I keep torturing myself by continuing to run these damn races. Finishing a marathon is a momentous occasion and the memories push me through all the tough training times.
To all you New York City marathoners out there, huge congratulations are in order. YOU DID IT!
