Sunday, September 18, 2022

26.2 things to know about the New York City Marathon


The 2022 TCS New York City Marathon will be my fifth, going back to the first one in 2007. For those preparing now to live out the dream journey through the five boroughs of Staten Island, Brooklyn, Queens, Bronx and Manhattan, here are some things you need to know:

1. Nothing else compares. You are among more than 50,000 participating athletes in a major televised sporting event. It does not matter whether you are starting with the elites or walking across the finish line in the back of the pack, this is the rarest of opportunities. No other sports or events globally can make this claim, with no qualifying required, as in Boston. Anyone can go for it. Give it everything you have and it's yours the rest of your life.

2. Set your clocks and watches back. Daylight Savings Time will end at 2 a.m. ET on Sunday, Nov. 6 -- raceday. Get that reminder on your digital calendar right now, no matter whether your mobile device auto-adjusts. Have your #flatme laid out the night before and then leave yourself plenty of time to reach your Transportation hub. Make sure that your best, deepest sleep is Friday night.

3. Run the tangents. Deena Kastor gave me this advice at a previous race and I think it applies to ANY race. Follow the route that the elites will be running, hugging the turns. It is the true 26.2, the shortest distance. Most of us wobble off the tangents here and there, and that will all add up at the end. It's not an ultra! That's why your Garmin rarely shows the same time as you cross the finish line.

4. Think 10-10-10. That's 10 miles, 10 miles and a 10K, running the second 10 faster than the first, and the 10K faster than all three. Save up, save up, save up in the first 10 miles. Our Team for Kids coach preached that back at the 2007 race and it stayed with me. Probably the most commonly offered piece of NYCM advice bears repeating here: Go easy at the start, when the excitement level is sky-high and the crowds and bands are propelling you forward.

5. Suggested mantra: "Races are run with the legs, but marathons are run with the heart." Say it over and over throughout the 26.2 miles. And then after you cross the finish line, take a look at the Central Park bench plaque right next to you. Those exact words are right there. It's where I got the mantra. Give a lot of thought to your own mantra and make it your ally in training and the race.

6. Bring a raceday bag. Selection closed in mid-September for the bag check, and since bag checking is done before raceday in these years, you only need to deal with a raceday bag either way. Bring a clear bag (no backpack) that you are going to throw away before entering the corral. Include hand warmers, a banana or other pre-race snack, water, your running hat (you will be wearing a knit cap prerace), any carry items for your race (sunglasses, fuel belt, GUs, mobile device, earbuds, etc.). Anything else you can fit into that raceday bag that helps keep you warm, bring it! Get creative.

7. Soak up the Expo and visualize. There's nothing better than jut sprawling out in the middle of the Expo at Jacob Javits Center and watching the simulation of the whole race route, with other runners. It's a chill meditative moment if they do it again, a great way to visualize your run. See it all and then it will be muscle memory when you leave the start line. I always visualize any race layout -- Boston Marathon, wherever. Check youtube yourself and do this regularly, not just at the Expo.

8. There is no bad way to get there. All of us make our Transportation choice, either the Staten Island Ferry or the Midtown Bus, at various times. I have done both, and either way you are going to be so moved, emotionally speaking. It is exciting. I personally prefer the bus at this point, as it is just more comfortable and it's one stop from Midtown to the Athlete's Village. It is quiet time for reflection for me, and time for visualizing my race. . . or maybe a little snooze. The ferry means you get to brush right past Lady Liberty for incredible raceday blog photos, you might make friends for life, you immerse yourself a little more. It's a little taxing getting into the line and onto the ferry and then from the ferry onto a bus and then over to the Athlete's Village for the big security check, but like I said, both ways are great.

9. Official Arm Sleeve Event. Definitely bring arm sleeves with you, whether you want to buy a pair now from Zensah or pick up an official set at the Expo. The average temperature is 40s-50s, and frigid winds especially impacted the 2014 event. You may find yourself taking them off shortly into Brooklyn, but they will be your friend early. Just tuck them into the back of your shorts. I always start with old gloves and handwarmers and then toss them. A buff is also a staple for me, so that I can lift it up over my chin and cover my ears if it's cold or just wear it around my neck of put it in my pocket.




10. Athlete's Village Warmth.
Speaking of the chilly starts, I have had a real challenge with keeping warm in Staten Island while waiting hours for my corral to open. I'm running this one for the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation, so for the first time since my Team for Kids run in 2007 I get a tent! Most don't so here's the setup. Unfortunately blankets were abolished a while back, so you have to get creative. Wear lots of disposable clothing and don't worry about how embarrassing you will look in the morning; I will break my no-Village-attire-photo policy just this once. Wear a secondary pair of thick wool socks over your race socks, and then dispose of them (and all your other extra gear) as the corrals open. You're going to be climbing over piles and piles of clothing getting to your start area, but it all goes to charity. There is coffee to help keep you warm, but beware overdoing it and relying too much on (popular) portapotties.

11. Take advantage of a respite. If you take the ferry, use the bathroom in the Staten Island terminal, where it's warm. You might even want to hang in the warm terminal a while if you think you have too much time until your start. This is one advantage of the ferry over the bus; once you board the bus, it's going to put you out in the cold soon enough. Portapotty lines will be a good half-hour anywhere in the village -- unless you're in a VIP tent, where you get your own dedicated portapotty. You can see why fundraising is such a payoff.

12. Feel all the feels. Go without the earbuds unless you absolutely need them. At the New York City Marathon, the course is the music. You are going to have about 120 musical acts along the way, from gospel choirs in Brooklyn to R&B coming back from the Bronx into Harlem, so soak it all in. And more importantly, HEAR all of those screaming spectators who are going out of their way to support your endeavor. See and hear all the neighborhoods and cultures. Embrace the outside world.

13. Hydrate well in advance. Drink 60 to 80 ounces of water a day in the week leading up to the marathon. Your pee should be pale-yellow . . . never clear. Hydrate well that morning. I always have one cup of coffee and a croissant on race morning, my tradition. I don't want that coffee to be my only liquid going in before the start, though.

14. Enter Brooklyn upright and easy.
I was initiated into marathon life at the 2007 NYCM by nearly being trampled to death and a possible God experience. The Verrazano-Narrows Bridge is the biggest hill right at the start, two miles leading from Staten Island into Brooklyn. So naturally Mile 2 is downhill and leading into a bottleneck, and the tendency for many is to flow with a fast surge into Mile 3 and expend too much energy there. Be intensely aware of your footing and the feet around you. Someone clipped me from behind, and I did a forward somersault like Simone Bailes on the balance beam. Somehow I was able to crawl my way through traffic over to the right side curb, and as I picked pebbles from the palms of my hands, I saw a pair of boots. Then looking gradually up I saw jeans, then a t-shirt, then a beard, then a crazy stare looking  down at me, then a sign that this mountain of a man was holding high overhead that read: "FAILURE IS NOT A F**KING OPTION." Welcome to the New York City Marathon.

15. Avoid the tourist trap. If you are an out-of-town entry, think like a local and not like a tourist. In other words, don't spend Friday and Saturday constantly pumping pavement and wearing out your legs. Do consider the hop-on, hop-off open-deck tour buses, though. Broadway is OK, a bit of standing but mostly in a seat so that's fine. Sitting is your friend.

16. Plan your in-race meetups carefully. Tell family and friends specific street-corner meetup info. With more than one million spectators, many intersections will be deep with onlookers at every corner and sidewalk space. If that loved one is going to be waiting for you with an orange slice and kiss on First Avenue and 64th Street in Manhattan around Mile 16, ask which corner of the intersection so you will know where to look. Always be specific about that, not just the cross streets. It's easier for you to find them than vice-versa. This is more important than you might think, because it sucks when you can't wait to hear a shout from someone and it's not there.

17. Don't gets psyched out by the Queensboro. Keep your head right and pound your mantras. It's been like a barrage to the senses with all the feels until that point, and suddenly you are in a virtual solitary confinement where your own thoughts echo. You're so excited about that thrilling rush of First Avenue up ahead that it can seem never-ending. You may find yourself in those quiet moments wanting to take stock of everything, looking at the big picture . . . and you never want to look at the big picture in a marathon. Just realize that's the mile you are in, focus on your form and your breathing, glimpse the beautiful East River through the left side, and repeat the mantras that are uniquely you. As my friend Michele aka @nycrunningmama says, "Tell yourself to get up and over the bridge and feel 1st avenue and the spectators pulling you in."

18. Pick up the pace on First Avenue -- slightly. The crowds will probably help this happen naturally for you. It's a straightaway into the Bronx after Mile 20. First Avenue will start to climb gradually, so you don't want more than a moderate pace here . . . but you should be starting to take advantage of some of that smart conservation work you did in the first 15 miles. Remember, leave plenty for the last 10K.

19. Prepare for Fifth Avenue. We talk a lot about First Avenue, the thrill at the start and then the long steady climb until you get into the Bronx. But it's not over at that point. Once you get to Harlem you'll notice that Fifth Avenue's slight incline feels like a forever climb. At least that's how it's felt for me. This is where your conserved energy will help you. And this is where you need to break out the mantras. Just lean forward, never stop leaning forward. You'll get there. Dedicate the miles to friends and family. Whatever it takes. Suddenly you'll see 110th Street, which means you're officially at the top of Central Park. Then just watch your form and keep falling forward and before you know it you'll be at Runner's Gate entering the park where the Cat Hill downhill coast begins. You're almost home!

20. Wear your first name prominently.
 I was "Marco" on my Rome Marathon shirt and I was "Marc" at the Paris Marathon in 2012, but if ever there was a worldwide race to put your name on the chest of your shirt and maybe mark it down your arms or legs, this is it. Don't worry about falling into a trap of unconsciously going into walk mode, because within seconds there is likely to be a big guy yelling at you: "Yo, (your name here)! You can walk later!" I see that guy every time. Be noticeable.You can see here how I marked up my shirt in my 2007 race, and below that is a picture on Fourth Avenue in Brooklyn where I am clearly visible at the bottom. Stand out!

21. Keep calm and stay in the middle of the road. Having said that in the previous paragraph, don't fall into the high-five trap at your first New York City Marathon. I did that in 2007 -- wanting to run along the barricades and high-five every little kid who held up his or her hand. I wanted so much to interact in that way . . . and it used up a lot of energy. I decided after that to be a little more unsociable (sorry!) and run typically in the center of the road.

22. Don't get peed on. Every repeat NYCM runner knows to be on the top deck of the VN Bridge if you can possibly make that happen. There are going to be some guys, usually Europeans, urinating off the side of it into the incoming waters of the Atlantic Ocean below -- trying to replicate those majestic fountain streams of water shooting out of the watercraft down there. Hey, blame it on all that Dunkin' Donuts activity back in the runner village. It's all fun and games until someone running on the bottom deck experiences the thrill rush of what at first seems like breezy raindrops. If you are forced from the corrals into the bottom-deck flow, just make sure that you run in the very middle of the bridge so no one pees on you, because you're gonna wear that pee for 25 more miles. The chances of being peed on are low but why take chances?

23. Be the salt of the Earth. It may get a little tart in the second half of the race, but take advantage of Gatorade at each fluid station to keep that salt and electrolytes flowing in. I always carry my own salt with me, whether it's those little salt packets stuffed into my fuel belt or a baggie of crunched-up salty pretzels. Avoid cramps, get salt.

24. Go to the end of fluid stations. Try to keep moving through fluid stations, so your muscles don't shorten up on you by excessive walking. If you just run-and-grab water and Gatorade, go past the first table to avoid heavy traffic. They aren't going to run out of fluid at the New York City Marathon. Squeeze the cup to help make a funnel instead of splashing yourself, and it also prevents gulping. Don't splash fellow runners by dropping a half-full cup without looking; always be courteous.

25. Use your special hill muscles.
When you come upon inclines, just find that unique gear that is right there waiting to be used. Other than the first bridge, hills are mainly gradual in nature. In addition to the gradual uphill on First Avenue into the Bronx, you'll again deal with that slight incline on Fifth. Deena Kastor advises to "use different muscles" to conquer hills; put it in a lower gear and don't worry if you are slower!

26. Don't overdo the fueling before and after. Enjoy a hearty brunch on Marathon Saturday -- eggs, sausage, lots of carbs -- but go easy on Saturday night and avoid the heavy "pasta dinner" appeal. Use moderation in your carbo loading the week before, so that you gain about two pounds before your race. Conversely, don't make the mistake I have several times and go hog wild feasting on massive calories in the 24 hours after your race. I got tired of running marathons just to gain weight from the celebrating.

26.2: Just a little thought. Embrace every moment and every mile. This is for you. You are running the New York City Marathon.

Follow @Marathoner on Twitter.

2 comments:

running granny green said...

This almost makes me want to run a marathon. Almost! Great post!

Mark Newman said...

Thanks, Carol! Go get it!