Race Report: 2022 NYC Marathon

27 Jan 2023   fitness

Summary

Discussion

Back in November, Christine and I ran the 2022 TCS New York City Marathon. It was, and will forever be, one of the proudest moments of my life. The race was tough, but we were tougher. Christine was incredible. She did it - we did it.

This post will be mostly pictures, but first, a few notes:

Holding our bibs at the race expo - we got this!
Naturally, the expo had a whole section dedicated the course. Here's the elevation profile. There was also a wall of monitors timelapse videos of the entire race. It was great for preparing ourselves, mentally, for what we were about to undertake.
On the way out of the expo, there was a wall filled with post-it notes of words of encouragement.
Morning of, catching the 5 train to the ferry
Waiting at the ferry terminal
There was a police escort for the ferry. We have places to be, people!
Waiting at the starting line, moments before the race
Aaaand they're off!
Christine and I used to drive over the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge twice per week, back when she was taking classes at the College of Staten Island. It was so cool to run over it - definitely took me back!
We were in one of the last waves, so by the time we made it to the aid stations, the roads were littered with paper cups. Torwards the end of the race, the cups turned into slippery sludge. Crazy!
Somewhere in Brooklyn. Who knows the spot?
Some parts of Brooklyn were especially packed. I'm talking crowds of people all shouting and cheering us on. The energy was absolutely electric. I wish I had as much encouragement every time I went out for a run!
This picture gives you a sense of the scale of the aid stations. You can also see some sludge.
Halfway there and almost to Queens! Funny story: another runner offered us some food on this bridge. I swear to god, he was wearing a trench coat, and he opened it up to reveal a sandwich bag of mystery gummies. We politely declined. (It's possible I'm embellishing some of the details.)
"Welcome to Queens!" Thank you, my man, thank you.
"Ohana means family, and family means nobody is left behind or forgotten." Or left to run a marathon without copious amounts of snacks and words of encouragement.
This Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge into Manhattan was the longest, quietest bridge of the entire race. The crowds were absent and, at fifteen miles in, most everyone around us was pooped. Thankfully and hilariously, there was a volunteer with a megaphone heckling racers at about the halfway point. I got a huge kick out of his dad humor.
First Avenue in Manhattan. See what I meant about sludge?
Mile 19, on our way to the Bronx. This is when it started to get really hard.
It's difficult to see - I wish I got a better picture - but there's a person on the right holding a sign that says, "LAST DAMN BRIDGE". Thank you to whoever that was; we needed that.
Sweat, gatorade, water from the sprinkler - probably a mixture.
I love this photo. It perfectly captures both the scene in Central Park and my brain at the moment I took it: blurry.
Only a little bit left. It's hard to describe how I felt in this moment. Somewhere between exhilarated and relieved.
Officially finished. I think I kept my hands in the air for another 20 yards.
Moments after crossing the finish line. I honestly don't know how, but we each somehow squeezed out a smile.
"Love does not consist gazing at each other, but in looking outward together in the same direction." (More or less.)
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