15 reasons why the Falmouth Road Race is such a big deal

CAPE COD, Mass. -- Sunday's 44th running of the New Balance Falmouth Road Race was my 134th race, and definitely the first one with a 7-mile distance. I finished in 1:27:00, well off the average 1:10:55 finish time for the 10,535 who finished, but great for me right now.

I was initially confused about how a 7-mile race could possibly be a lottery event with such a prestigious reputation, but now I completely understand. Here are 15 reasons why #FalmouthRR is such a big deal and a must-add to any runner's bucket list:

The "Run For Boston" Marathon

"Hey did you hear Meb won???"

A guy saw my bib and told me that somewhere on my 23rd mile in the center of Central Park, near a softball field by the Great Lawn and Arboretum. I had no idea whatsoever what was going on in Boston because I was in my own world, literally. On Monday I staged my own "Run For Boston Marathon," my first invented/unofficial marathon since my Statues on Parade Marathon in 2008, and this was part of the overall Boston Marathon World Run, in which I could pledge my miles to raise money for One Fund Boston. It also was dedicated to Meg Menzies, the Virginia mom who was training for Boston in January when a drunk driver claimed her life. So while so many were closely watching Meb and the emotions of Boylston, I was doing a world run in my own world and compiling nine negative splits.



It was a unique "vacation day" that was not about me and was filled with two major difficulties, one being that very solitude that I created for myself (no one ran with me) and a race run entirely within Central Park, where hills rule. Oh what I would have given for only the hills of the Boston Marathon course! In a sense, this was an extension of that course, though. We were one as a running community on this day. All I really needed was my new ASICS GEL-Cumulus 16s, money for food carts, my heart and . . .

A new Garmin. To start with, I knew I would need a way to record this marathon inasmuch as it was only me out there all day. The 2008 Statues on Parade Marathon had been easy because that year it was part of our MLB All-Star Week, with 42 scale versions of the Statue of Liberty places throughout the NYC area. I had run to see all of them, taking a photo with each, even helped by the Statue of Liberty/Ellis Island Foundation. To document this one, I bought my first GPS watch, saying goodbye to my trust Timex Ironman that I'd had since 2007. On Saturday, I got a Garmin Forerunner 220 at Dick's Sporting Goods, $249.

I set out my gear the night before just as I would for any  marathon. I enjoyed seeing all the social posts by Boston Marathoners who were doing the same thing. I was with them in spirit, I thought to myself.



I planned to arrive at Runner's Gate on the east side of Central Park at 7, and it took a while to find parking. I finally went to the Mt. Sinai Hospital parking garage on 102nd Street. You are NOT going to believe the license plate on the car immediately in front of me there. I mean it's New York, but on this day?



Needless to say, many others loved Boston on this day. That included a lot of people who saw my race bib and said "Boston Strong" or "Good job" -- just some kind of recognition. Not many people did, but some.

I started at 7:20 by running down Cat Hill, and that would be the only time this marathon that I would have a mile in 10 or less pace. My only goal today was FINISH because of (a) the hills, (b) I was solo, and (c) this was an impromptu race, with not much training after the March 22 ASICS LA Marathon. I expected it to be 6-something for my finish because I just did 5:43 at the ASICS LA Marathon and this was harder.

At the 4-mile point on the West Side I entered the flat Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir path, about 1 2/3 miles around. That became my "safe haven," mixing in three sets 3 or 4 laps during the course of my marathon. I hope you can view this. It's the Garmin Connect Player, and if you hit the Play button it will show a replay of my entire madness. You'll see that a lot of concentration in the Rez area. I thought about many things. One, Meg's spirit seemed to be with me; it was my first truly good running weather since last fall, and I would see these signs like a jet overhead with a fuel path pointing straight at the visible moon. Two, the unbelievable cherry blossoms. It brought back so many memories of great runs there.



I enjoyed beautiful panaromas . . .

I made one trip down to the Shakespeare in the Park area to use the bathroom, and I saw a couple that had just gotten married. Great day for them.

I ran back up north to the 102nd Street Transverse, cut over to the East Drive and ran back into the reservoir, doing another 3 or 4 loops. Then I exited on the West, cut over on the 72nd Street Transverse and decided to run UP Cat Hill just for some pain. It was one time when the famous lurking black panther on Cat Hill made me take notice.

The great thing about running Central Park is that the park provides. You want liquid? I know where every fountain is in the park and the water recently was turned back on for park visitors. You want food? I know where every cart is. As I said, this was impromptu so there was not the best fuel prep in the days before, and I figured my glycogen stores would be tapped out quickly. I got to know one particular cart vendor very well, the one on West Drive by the reservoir around 86th. Here is a pic I took of it:



I actually hit that cart FOUR times during my marathon. Two times were for just Gatorade. The second time was for a salty pretzel, which worked out great because I got salt and I could put the unused part in my pocket for fuel when needed. The fourth time? Ohnoyoudidnt...I bought a Central Park hot dog! Mile 20, I kid you not. Michelle Lovitt, ASICS fitness expert and nutritionist, I hope you aren't reading this part. It looked too good. I was unofficial. I was...oh hell I bought it and it tasted AWESOME!

The next 3 miles I paid for it as every burp was hot dog. Fortunately I did not throw up. I guarantee you that I was the only person on Planet Earth who ate a hot dog during his marathon on this day. I don't care.

I killed some more time running around the reservoir for flatness, and took this video:



Between the fluids and all the dust and dirt, I was a pigpen in the park at that point. . .





Then I ventured  back out and went down Cat Hill for the big finish. I was dying. So was my iPhone. I had never used my Garmin before so I was worried that my iPhone would die before I could take a picture of the finish time. I had not brought my Garmin instructions so I wasn't sure what buttons I would hit. Would I ZAP the whole race? Really worried at that point. Finally I got around the bottom of the park, passed the NYC Marathon finish line, and then, lo and behold, 26.2 finally arrived. Very randomly, I happened to be at the Daniel Webster statue at Strawberry Fields. My Garmin said 25.18. I stopped in my tracks. Took my iPhone out, and its final action that day before dying was to take a picture of my watch.



My slowest marathon ever but again I wasn't thinking about time, just finishing and raising money for One Fund Boston and feeling Meg's presence. Then I pressed what I thought were the right buttons and it turns out I was OK. It saved my race time. I love the Garmin. So that's what I've been missing! Here were my splits. Don't laugh, especially when you see my combined 40 minutes in miles 12 and 13.





As I said, my finishing point was very random and turned out to be on the opposite corner of the park than my car. So I hobbled over to the area by The Dakota hotel where John Lennon last breathed and I hailed a taxi that took me up and over to the Mt. Sinai Hospital. My car cost only $18 to park there! I then hopped into my new Jeep Compass and headed home up the Hudson, happy at this day. I began to soak up all that I had missed on social media with the Boston Marathon. I tried to congratulate all the many runners I know who ran there, people I so admire. I will never be fast enough in my life to run Boston, and while I respect wishes of others, I don't feel it's a race to enter through a charity funding, I feel you qualify or you don't run.

Thanks to the Boston Athletic Association, I finally had a chance to be involved in some way. Thanks to them for the Boston Marathon World Run. Congrats to Scott Menzies, who ran an amazing 3:51 Boston Marathon in the place of his late wife, Meg. Congrats to Kel Kelly, who finished strong in Boston and gave everyone that beautiful Mile 1 "Meg Soles of Love" monument featuring over 400 shoes, including mine. I was up there in a way, both on the course and in Central Park.

And congrats to MEB! Did you hear he won?

What did Monday, April 21, mean to you?

Introducing the Run For Boston Marathon

UPDATED APRIL 17: I learned about the Boston Marathon World Run after saving this blog post, and saw that nearly 10,000 runners have signed up to do that, with proceeds going to One Fund Boston. So let me preface everything on this entry by saying that I encourage others to be part of THAT run. You can do this by joining me as outlined here, or just run on your own, whatever length you want. Or you can just donate. I will pledge my miles to the Boston Marathon World Run and will shoot for a marathon but because I have been in light-running mode lately I will just run till I'm done.

I invite any other runners to join me at Central Park at 7 a.m. ET on Monday, April 21, for the RUN FOR BOSTON MARATHON. This @Marathoner run will be informal and unscored and not affiliated with any organization. So treat it more as a long run, make sure you are fit for 26.2 (walk as needed) and take the opportunity to show your own love for our friends up north and for a runner who died trying to get there.

This is an outlet for any of us for obvious reasons. I'm not just running for the city of Boston and the survivors and heroes of last year's tragic events, but also for Meg Menzies, who was killed by a drunk driver in January while training for this Boston Marathon. It is a dual dedication, for Boston and for #MegsMiles. Their spirit lives on in us. I want to do something and I know that for many of us, running is our best way to be involved.

#RunForBostonMarathon will be our hashtag for this, as well as #MegsMiles, so please use that to help spread the word.

FINAL UPDATED COURSE ROUTE: Having run the NYRR Knickerbocker 60K previously, that is my only run of at least 26.2 completely within Central Park. I am going to adapt to that route with this. We will start at Runner's Gate at Central Park, 90th Street and East Drive. The course will be CLOCKWISE, against regular traffic flow, so it's down Cat Hill. The laps will be 5 5 5 5 5 miles each, using the 102nd Street Transverse each time, so no Harlem Hill. That puts you at 25 miles, and I will leave it up to others but I will plan to modify my final 1.2 miles (recorded on my new Garmin Forerunner 220) by following the bridal path over to West Drive and then to 102nd Street Transverse and back to the start. That should be close, go by whatever your own mileage is for the finish.

If you want to run with me, then look for my white Marathon Maniacs cap. I'll have on a dark gray top and black ASICS shorts, with black calf sleeves and ASICS GEL-Cumulus 16s, optic yellow & black. I still have the placard bib that we wore on our backs in the first NYRR race after last year's bombings, and I will wear that again.

Here is the weather forecast for that Monday in 10023. It looks like good running weather, a high of 61 that day and overcast in the morning.

I realize that a Monday morning marathon might be tough for many people's schedules. I'm taking a vacation day so I can dedicate myself to the memory of those who were lost or maimed at the 2013 Boston Marathon, to support our right to public safety without fear, and also to show support for Meg's family, including her husband, who is running Boston. As some 36,000 runners set out to finish the 2014 Boston Marathon on that Patriots Day, we will be right there with them, in spirit, testing our own limits.

Please follow me @Marathoner on Twitter, and I am @markmlb on Instagram. If anyone would like to hang out around Runner's Gate and offer nourishment ie orange slices and salt packets to runners, it would be ever so appreciated. We'll see how large this becomes, and maybe that will take care of itself. Either way, again make sure to be prepared with how you usually would fuel for a marathon or long run. Sound OK? I hope you will feel free to join me and let me know if you have suggestions for other ways to do this.

Top 5 @Marathoner Running Highlights in 2013

As long as I can write this post at the end of each year and conclude that I JUST KEPT RUNNING then I consider it a very successful year!

But of course, we don't just run. We look for new challenges and exciting adventures that keep our running interesting and add meaning to our lives. So without further ado, please allow me to count down my top 5 running highlights of 2013:

5. Run For Boston. After the Boston Marathon bombings, we all bonded together in the running community and went out in the streets in support of our brothers and sisters who were impacted. I was among many who donned blue and yellow "I run for...BOSTON" running shirts and hit Central Park for the first official New York Road Runners race after that tragedy, the City Parks Run for the Parks 4-Miler. The Boston Marathon bombing was the biggest story in 2013, and naturally it hit home especially in the running community. It was good to see so many people rushing to help in any way they could, and another reminder of how running brings good to society and puts you in a position in life to help others. Also, I am constantly uplifted by the stories of so many who were injured on Boylston that day and have surged back in life with a positive attitude. And just to show how much this subject rather dominated my life in 2013, consider that I left Fenway Park in the middle of the clinching game on Oct. 30 and hiked quickly over to the bombing site so that I could interview Red Sox fans and citizens on what it meant for a World Series title to help their healing process. I then rushed over to a Copley hotel lobby to type my story and FTP the videos to our Major League Baseball Advanced Media HQ back in NYC, and my story and video from that night can be found on MLB.com right here. I really thought the City of Boston should have been TIME mag's Person of the Year, but I can live with the Pope.

4. Publix Fort Lauderdale A1A Marathon. You can't ask for much more than a pancake-flat run that starts on beautiful Las Olas Boulevard and runs all the way along the Atlantic Ocean surf up to Hillsboro Inlet and then returns back to the Fort Lauderdale strip for the finish. I unfortunately hit a couple of snags that day -- a freak cold front that iced us over at the start line, and a stiff wind out of the North that was in my face for half of the marathon. But all in all it was worth the signup last February, especially after having already run the Miami Marathon twice. We stay each January at our family's condo in Fort Lauderdale, so this worked out amazingly and my family and friends stood out front of the condo and gave me some much-needed support. Maybe the star of this show is the medal. They are very creative, and for this one the race organizer handed out seahorses. The medal was so heavy and with moving parts that there actually was a defect, causing some of the medals to break. But they kept their promise and shipped everyone with a broken medal the replacement, and I have to say I love having seahorses on my wall! Run this race!

3. Marathon Maniacs #6697. I was all excited to finally earn membership into the Maniacs after that Fort Lauderdale marathon, because it was my 10th overall. Alas, I found out that I'm just a dummy. I had actually qualified for entry way back in 2008, when I ran the Knickerbocker 60K ultra within 15 days of a previous marathon (New York City). So for five whole years I could have been a Maniac and had a nice low roll number there. Hey, what the hell, I finally was welcomed aboard. Maniacs have a ton of camaraderie, and you get a lot of inside information and help along the way in terms of race entries and training. I am still waiting to wear the yellow and red gear to show off my Maniac status, but I expect to have years and years to do that because I am a runner for life and now I am a Maniac for life. Who else is a Maniac?

2. ING New York City Marathon. I wanted to keep the "ING" in this just as a final nod and thank-you to the longtime sponsor of the greatest marathon in the world. They meant a lot to me. Now it's the TCS New York City Marathon, and shortly I will take advantage of my 9+1 qualification in 2013 -- at least nine scored New York Road Runners races and one volunteer assignment -- and enter the 2014 race. Looking back on the 2013 race, I was a little bummed that my training was substandard and I could not approach my 5:13 PR. But in the big picture, this one was for my Mom, who was diagnosed in 2013 with lymphoma and at this writing is responding beautifully to chemo. The most painful moments of that marathon journey were the times when I tried to put it in perspective and remember what my Mom is fighting. Mine was just a race. After we missed 2012 because of the cancellation caused by Superstorm Sandy, it was nice to have the NYC Marathon back, and not just back but bigger than ever -- the largest race in WORLDWIDE MARATHON HISTORY. It is still hard to accurate describe the thrill of being cheered on by 2 million spectators and enjoying 100 musical performers and diverse neighborhoods and the conga lines of children who just want you to high-five them as you go by. And the creative signs!

There were a lot of candidates for my Number One. I thought maybe I should go with the first day of 2013, when I ushered in the year by inventing my own #12RunsOfChristmas -- those late nights running in the cold by myself at Central Park just to keep my streak. Or a very typical training run, maybe in the rain, just you and the open road or trail, the kind of run that makes you know you are alive. Or possibly the Staten Island Half because I actually climbed a freakin U.S. Army rock wall at the end of it. And then I thought, Hey, the Fifth Avenue Mile because I ran a faster pace than any time in my life. And you could argue for Boston here, but honestly I would only do that if I had run it or been involved, and I am never going to be fast enough to run the Boston Marathon. Had it not been for something that happened in the last month, my discovery of a new bathroom on the West side of Central Park honestly was going to be my No. 1 in 2013, because that is just how important knowing where the relief is while you run.

So, ladies and gentlemen, a drum roll if you please...

1. #ASICS! The same premiere running company that has been so important in my running life -- from my first pair of shoes in 2006 to all that Expo apparel I have purchased through the years -- approached me and asked if I would like to run for ASICS. ME! I am not from Kenya and I do not train in Mammoth. I am in my 50s. ASICS asked if I would like to be part of the ASICS LA Marathon Blogger Challenge, for which they would provide race entry, air and hotel, 12-week training plan and followup from elite Coach Andrew Kastor (Deena's husband), and ASICS gear shipped to me during the winter. This is very cutting-edge stuff for a running company, in fact for any company. (Hello, Runners World? Story.) I give big props to ASICS for reaching out to the running community in this way, for about a dozen of us, and I look forward to extolling their virtues as I continue training for my March 9 marathon that starts at Dodger Stadium and ends with a Forrest Gump pose at Santa Monica Pier...ever so fittingly for this MLB guy. I can't wait for 2014!

Please let me know how your own Year in Running went! Happy New Year, Pleasant Running and Peace on Earth. - Mark

We Are All Americans

This is our fucking city. And we honor Big Papi's now. After all, We Are All Americans.

Today was my fifth New York Road Runners race of the year toward the 9+1 (9 races, 1 volunteer) needed for guaranteed entry into the 2014 ING New York City Marathon. This is an individual sport, and I run mainly for myself, for a long life, because it makes me feel good being a runner. But today was something more. Today was about the running community. Today was about running for Boston.

The annual City Parks Run for the Parks 4-Miler was once around the interior loop at Central Park. Runners wore "I run for...Boston" shirts, back bibs and black ribbons to honor and support our friends up the coast. Each shirt like the one I am wearing in this photo sent $20 to onefundboston.org, to aid families impacted by the previous week's bombings at the Boston Marathon finish line. NYRR raised about $30,000 so far.

This was the first New York City race since the tragedy, and there were signs everywhere you looked on this beautiful but chilly Sunday morning. There were security checkpoints if you checked baggage. The NYPD had an eye in the sky at the start and finish lines (left). There was a fair NYPD presence around the course. And then there was the starting ceremonies of the race, which was pretty memorable.

With 6,227 finishers in this race, it was another giant crowd at the beginning. There was a long moment of silence to remember those who were lost in Boston. A woman from Hopkinton, Mass., home to the Boston Marathon start, sang the national anthem, as she had at so many Boston Marathons before. Her voice broke as she struggled to make it through the finish, and the crowd helped her with the last verses. Together we sang along with Neil Diamond's "Sweet Caroline" over the loudspeakers, like at Fenway Park.






Most moving of all, to me, was reaching the start line (I get there seven minutes after the elites go off) and seeing a separate gun clock, this one frozen in memory with the time: 4:09:43 -- the time we all remember seeing when the bombs went off. Beside it was a flag at half-staff. A person from the NYC Mayor's office wore a Red Sox cap. "This is the first time I've ever worn a Red Sox cap," he said, "because I'm a Yankee fan. But today we are all Boston fans." NYRR CEO Mary Wittenberg added that other cities had rallied around ours after 9/11, and now we rally around Boston."We are all Americans," she said.

This one was for you, Boston. We all spent a surreal week watching it, immersed in it, some of us submitting our photos and videos to help authorities. We saw a week begin with bombs and end on a Friday night watching a kid in a boat. We wait for what promises to be a long legal ordeal ahead, but we were able to exhale, to move on. The Red Sox played at home and Big Papi assured Bostonians that "this is our fucking city." The FCC even endorsed his quote, nuff said.

The race began at 68th Street on East Drive and the first mile includes the ascent of Cat Hill. Lisa and I started together, but I lost her on Cat Hill. I did that mile in 11 minutes, which I didn't mind given the congestion coming off the start and the incline. Then I did a negative split, finishing the second mile in about 10:20. With the Brooklyn Half coming up next month, my goal was to get a good workout out of this, one that can jack up my training a bit. I train best in races.

There were no trash cans on the course, which also was a bit freaky. Instead, you were asked to drop your empty water cups into one of the giant clear bags that volunteers were holding. Another security measure, just as you weren't allowed to check backpacks, only clear provided bags, which discouraged bag checks.

Mile 3 is always my hardest in these 4-milers, because after starting in the middle of the upper (102nd Street) transverse, it involves the gentle rolling hills, which always nag me at this time of the year, before I revv up training. I finished this mile in 11:30, better than I expected. Then it's a mostly downhill shot home on the West Drive, down past the Shakespeare outdoor theater, past The Lake, and then a left turn on the 72nd Street Transverse and across the finish line. My finish time was 44:34, which I was very happy about.

The finish chute was another sign of the times, highly congested, a long herd, unlike the usual procedure, hopefully not an indicator of future NYRR weekenders. Runners who finished and wanted to cheer for others had to go over to the sidewalk, away from the finishers. This is what I proceeded to do, as I planned to go find Lisa and cheer her crossing the finish line. Then, much to my amazement, I saw that she was already in the finish chute, too. She had finished in 47:30 -- very impressive for my wife!

We had parked for free (on Sundays) on Columbus at 69th, so we headed toward our car and stopped at Viva la crepes on Columbus.You can choose between savory or sweet crepes, and I got a savory featuring smoked salmon, cream cheese spinach and capers. It was amazing for postrace food.

On the way to our car, we also saw these azaleas in full bloom in a windowbox of a brownstone.

These azaleas reminded me of something I have been thinking lately. Life is so precious. Not only as we saw in Boston, but at this time of year, nature, our planet Earth in spring. Just think of the beauty of these azaleas, so ephemeral are they, so ephemeral is life. Embrace it, appreciate it. As Willie Cullen Bryant wrote in A Scene on the Banks of the Hudson:

Loveliest of lovely things are they
On earth that soonest pass away.
The rose that lives its little hour
Is prized beyond the sculptured flower.

What A Marathon Finish Line Means To Me

The Marathon Finish Line Is...

...sacred space to me.

...where I looked up at the sky in tears, thanking the greatest father who I had lost a year earlier, as I crossed my first one in New York City.

...where I proposed at New Jersey to Lisa, who said yes.

...where I danced over 11 timing mats.

...where you discover who you are inside.

...where all my boys were waiting for me at St. Louis.

...where I set a PR in 2008.

...where the purest emotional release in life happens.

...where I last went in February, as a giant seahorse sand sculpture awaited me on the sunny Fort Lauderdale beach.

...where I will be again this fall.

...worth reaching no matter what it takes.

...where you muster a smile somehow.

...where someone much faster breaks the tape.

...where a volunteer waits to hang a medal around your neck.

...what I think about for most of 26.2 miles or more, and really all year long.

...where the Central Park bench plaque across from Tavern on the Green reads: "Races are run with the legs, but marathons are run with the heart."

...where families and friends wave flags as supporters who mean everything to you, many of them complete strangers but kindred spirits that day.

...a spiritual place.

...the sum of all those calculations you did for miles and miles, anticipating what it would take to somehow get there at a desired time.

...proof that you are someone who finishes what s/he starts and can do anything.

...your chance to finally walk, stop, exhale and take pride. You ran your heart out and have nothing left.

...where I ran on cobblestones of Paris in the shadow of Arc de Triomphe, the most perfect name for a structure that could sit beside a finish line, and where I tried to french kiss my wife.

...that digital readout up ahead with the loud music, getting closer and closer and finally all yours.

...home.

...something you never imagined you could do.

...where I finished an Oklahoma City Half six years ago right beside the memorial to a bombing incident, and where I looked at those who had just run the full and imagined what it would be to go that far.

...where joy abounds and life is celebrated.

...not where life ends and nightmares begin.

...a metaphor for our real lives, where one day I will cross, arms raised, having made the best effort I can make over a lifetime to be a good person, as heaven awaits.

...where a live video cam can be on and I will sometimes sit at my computer for an hour just watching the triumph of runner after runner crossing in her or his own style, each with their own story of accomplishment and conquest.

That is why I created http://finisher.tumblr.com along the way -- because the finish line is a place you always want to be, an honorable destination, a sacred space.

Today I am crushed and saddened beyond words at what happened at the finish line of the Boston Marathon. I can't even read any more. My hearts go out to the runners and spectators and all affected by the tragedy there, and I am thankful to all of my fellow marathoners there who are OK. These were people who just wanted to enjoy the best time of life and smile as they crossed the mat and families and friends sharing that priceless moment, and that gift of life that no one has a right to take away.