Six weeks after completing the Berlin Marathon I was heading to New York to run another one.
I wasn’t sure how this was going to go with it being so close to the previous one.
After talking to my coach we decided to go for 2 weeks of rest, 2 weeks of training and then another 2 weeks of taper.
We landed in New York on the Friday before the race and headed to the expo to collect what I needed. After this we started to do some sight seeing. In hindsight over the Friday and Saturday we probably did too much to allow for a good race, but it is not everyday you get to see the sights and sounds of New York.
When I had booked the race I had been worried about how cold it may be in November in New York. We had even booked extra luggage to make sure we could pack coats and warm weather clothing. It turned out non of this was needed as there was a heat wave and I ended up more worried about the heat.
Getting to the start of the marathon is a long process. You either have to catch a bus or the Staten Island Ferry. I opted for the bus as it was reasonably close to the hotel we were staying at. It still meant leaving the hotel a long way in advance of the start.
Once at the start the temperatures were already high and it was obvious it was going to be a tough race.
My plan was to go off at around 3 hour pace and see what happened. Again in hindsight this was a mistake. A combination of the weather, the short turn around and the sightseeing took its toll quite early on.
By half was I was already having serious problems keeping to any sort of pace. As soon as I went over the mat for the half way point I slowed to a walk for a short period. The rest of the race would continue like this, running with short walks, mainly through the water stations.
All around was carnage with people having issues with the heat. In a way it was nice to know I wasn’t the only one that was struggling and we could all help each other out.
The whole long stretch up 1st Avenue was trying to get as many street numbers up before needing to walk.
Coming in to Central Park for the first time is quite a special moment as the crowds are great and even though it is probably the hilliest section they help to keep you moving.
As I came out of the park before going back in for the finish I managed to see my wife which gave me a boost to spur me on to the end.
Again the end was fantastic with huge crowds and so much noise.
The process after the finish is very long and I have heard it referred to as the zombie walk. I can understand this. You have to go a long way up the park before you can get out and come back down to meet supporters.
This was definitely my toughest marathon with all the factors mentioned earlier but I am very happy that I had the chance to run it and collect my fourth star on the journey to six.
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