Strava Marathon (New York, NY)
Finish Time: 5:14
Pace: 12:00
Temp: 63
Conditions: Partly Cloudy
Run For: Aunt Cathy
Recap:
There is this feeling you get when you witness a marathon. If you are a runner, it is an even more moving experience. Watching people complete something that is monumentally challenging, like running 26.2 miles, leaves you feeling like you can take on something similar. This feeling can be amplified when you watch a marathon like the New York City Marathon with all 50,000 runners taking on all five boroughs of the city by foot. I will never get tired of cheering other runners on as they compete in a sport that I love, especially running a distance I’ve come to embrace as one of my favorites.
26.2 miles will challenge you and it will change you. You can fake your way through a marathon and if you are not prepared this distance will humble you. There are no outliers when it comes to performance, if you haven’t trained and prepared your body and mind to tackle the marathon, magic will not just happen. I’ve talked about it before with friends and as a marathoner, there comes a point in your training where you know “today, I could run a marathon”. I’ve found myself in this category for some time now, just based on where I am in my life and with my running. How long will I be able to stay in this “marathon zone” is the big question but I know I’m in it now and watching a race in person like the NYC marathon leaves me wanting to run more and more.
Heading into NYC marathon weekend, I knew I’d be covering a lot of miles on race day. This year we had a team of 40 running the NYC marathon for Team Challenge and I’d be out there on the course cheering them on with the infamous Kat Gunsur-Smith. We like to call this our moving cheer station and it’s a great way to get in some miles as we run all around the city making our way to a number of different spots along the course. We are out there to cheer on as many runners as we can and see them as often as we can. Besides actually running the marathon itself, I can’t think of a better way to spend the day in the city, feeling the excitement in the air and feeding off that energy that is the New York City Marathon.
I started my watch when I stepped out of the hotel in the morning and didn’t stop it until I was walking back towards the hotel doors again, ten hours and twenty-seven minutes later and exactly 26.2 miles on the nose. Now just to be clear, I wasn’t running consistently for almost ten and a half hours, that was just my elapsed time, my actual moving time (when I was moving and racking up the miles) was just over five hours. We ended up being out on our feet for the entire day, running, cheering, being inspired and feeling so proud of all those who were crushing that marathon course. Our team did amazing and being able to witness their accomplishment firsthand is an experience I’ll never get tired of seeing. The weather on race day was just amazing allowing millions to be on the streets cheering and watching the race which I know made for a party in the streets of New York.
I ran this marathon in memory of my Aunt Cathy. I shared all the info I knew about her battle with IBD and like I said, we lost her almost twenty years ago so, unfortunately, I can’t talk to her and find out exactly what it was like for her. I wish she was still with us because I do miss her and think of her often especially during the holidays. This was one of the reasons I wanted to run a marathon for her around this time of the year. When I was little, my aunt’s house was the one we would go to on Christmas day every year to celebrate and see family. I have the memories of her house during Christmas permanently implanted in mind and it was straight out of a holiday movie. It would be cold and the snow would be on the ground but It was always so warm and had the scent of pine trees mixed with warm delicious food filling the air immediately when you walked in. We have a larger family so there was always lots of food and plenty of deserts. I’d see all my aunt’s and uncle’s and the number of mostly older cousins I have on that side of the family.
It’s funny how our minds work, but I can vividly recall hugs from my aunt and seeing the smile on her face and feeling the genuine love from her during each embrace. I can also remember the scent of her perfume in which to this today if I smelled, it would instantly place me right back in time with her. It’s funny how the mind associates’ memories with places or smells and thoughts come rushing back at you so clearly.
She is deeply missed and thought of often, especially this time of the year. She is forever loved and I couldn’t imagine doing this marathon challenge without running one in memory of her. Just like the memories I have of being around her most often surrounded by family I was able to run this marathon for her surrounded by my TC family. My aunt was a special person in my life, she was part of my family so it was only fitting to run this marathon for her during a special race like the NYC Marathon.
I love you and miss you Aunt Cathy. This 26.2 was for you and it was my honor to be able to run in your memory as part of 26.2 For You.
26.2 FOR YOU 