The 2022 NYC marathon – if you followed along at all, you already know that it was a hot day for November in NYC. I think that would be the TL:DR for this race – “It was hot, we felt like death.”
But if you’ve found this race recap, you’re probably looking for something a little more long winded than that simple summary. Before I get into it, let me mention that this post is going to have less photos than my standard recaps, and I apologize in advance for that. Unfortunately, my phone wasn’t very cooperative during this race, as it wound up drenched in sweat, which made it damn near impossible to use.
Race morning started with an early morning alarm, and excitement as I rolled myself out of bed, despite the early hour. I got myself dressed, pulled an (ultimately unnecessary) throwaway layer of clothes over my marathon outfit, and ate breakfast as I waited for my friends to arrive – I had arranged an early morning uber for Mike, Katie, Darren and myself, that would take us to the hotel that our bus to Staten Island would leave from.
As my friends arrived, they were as sleepy and excited as I was, and we piled into the uber as soon as it pulled up to the house. I felt like I needed to pinch myself, race morning had finally arrived. It was about a 45 minute drive to the hotel for the bus, and then an hour of waiting around and taking advantage of real bathrooms before we headed to the land of the porter potty. The morning would basically just be a lot of waiting around, as mike and I weren’t scheduled to start the race until 11:30 – and we had left my house around 5 am.
We met up with a bunch of my friends from Landshark Endurance (formerly known as the Merrick Bicycles Tri Team), and loaded onto the Staten Island busses together, and once we got to the club tent, set up as circle as we organized ourselves before heading into the start village. Darren had hooked us up with folding chairs, which was honestly brilliant of him – I don’t know why I had never thought of it before! Most of the team headed into the start village before Mike, Darren and I, as they had earlier start times, and when we looked around and saw the club area had emptied out, we decided it was time for us to go through security and into the village as well, even though we had another hour and a half to kill before our start time.
The three of us hung out in the start village, grabbed dunkin hats – despite it being already too warm to wear them, and just waited for the booming announcement that the wave 3 corrals were closed. Once it finally boomed over the loud speakers, we headed towards the porter potties one final time before going towards the corrals. There was no line, but there was also no toilet paper. Thankfully another woman saw me checking various stalls and pulled out a roll of TP and offered me some. I love prepared runners.
Once we had all used the bathroom, we began our final preparations with gel placements in our belts and body glide applications. We walked from the orange village to the corrals and lined up at corral b waiting for them to open. I took this opportunity to use the bathroom one last time before starting – I had been drinking so much water in anticipation of the hot weather that I felt like I endlessly had to pee and was hoping I wouldn’t feel that way on course.
As soon as I was out we were able to head into the corral, which was hot with the body heat from all the runners. Around 11:15 they started moving us forward, and out onto the Verrazano for our 11:30 start. The air was electric with nervous energy, as all of the runners prepared to start their 26.2 mile journey. The national anthem was sung, a cannon went off, and the shuffle forward over the start began, as Frank Sinatra’s voice rang out singing “New York, New York.”
Mike, Darren, and I made it to the start line together, but we lost Darren pretty much immediately after that, as he took off across the bridge. Mike and I were all smiles as we took in the excitement of the moment, of finally making it to the start of the NYC marathon together.
The focus of the beginning of the race was to keep a steady pace – I was aiming for about an 11:30, hoping that we could start there and then progress the pace faster later, like we did for our 20 mile long run. It was congested on the bridge, which was a stark difference from the 2021 race, which had a smaller field. But the runners all seemed so happy, and as usual people were climbing up on the middle barriers for selfies, and workers in trucks were blasting music and dancing as runners went by. When we finally made it to the downhill of the bridge, I realized the 5 hour pacer was right near us, and we tucked into their group for a bit.
On the exit of the bridge, a runner directly in front of Mike and I snagged her foot on the road and went down. We stopped to make sure she was ok, and when she got up and kept moving, we did as well. I hope that she went on to have a good race, because it is a tough break to fall in a race, especially that early.
We had lost the pace group, but managed to catch up to them before mile 2…. Only to then loose them around the mile 3 aid station.
As we made our way through Brooklyn, I was glad that I had decided to carry my handheld water bottle for the beginning of the race. I had it filled with liquid IV, since Gatorade tends to bother my stomach, and I wanted to make sure I was taking in enough electrolytes for the warm weather. I still grabbed water at each aid station that we ran through, and Mike and I would split for a second as I ran through and he walked, but then he would pop up beside me again a minute later.
Mentally, I had broken the marathon down into blocks between my spectators. The planned sightings looked like this:
Mile 8 - Dennis (my husband), Jude (mike’s husband), Tommy (my brother) and Sophie.
Mile 8.5 – Michal with the Landshark Endurance team cheering squad
Mile 12 – Jennie and her bother Matt
Mile 14 – My parents
Mile 16 – Dennis, Jude, Tommy and Sophie again
Mile 19 – Carson
Mile 23 – Jennie again
Mile 25 – Tommy and Sophie
Finish line seating – Dennis and Jude
I was so thankful that we would have so much support on course and looked forward to seeing my people at every opportunity. I am 100% the kind of runner that is highly motivated by seeing her people on course.
The first 8 miles were warm, but I was feeling good as we turned onto Atlantic Avenue and started looking for the first group. The crowds were wild at that point, and it brought a smile to my face every time some spotted my shirt and yelled “Happy Birthday!” It really made me feel like the whole world was out there cheering me on.
Tommy, Dennis and Sophie brought out the cat signs that my Mom and I made for the 2021 race, and it made them easy to spot despite the crowds. We pulled to the side and said hello, Mike grabbed his traditional marathon shot off of the poster Jude was holding, I passed off the dunkin hats I had grabbed at ft. Wadsworth and my handheld water bottle, which was empty at that point.
After we left our spectators and started moving forward on the course again, Mike and I started to drift apart as we ran. I don’t wear glasses when I run, so it is often hard for me to identify a face in a crowd, but I was able to spot Mike thanks to the bright orange BibRave cap he had on. He was feeling dehydrated, as we headed into mile 9, which was unfortunately one of the three miles on course that did not have aid stations. I was already kicking myself for passing my handheld water bottle off to Dennis but knew from past experience that if I had kept it, my shoulder would be in pain by the end of the race.
Throughout mile 9 and into mile 10 I kept pulling ahead of Mike, and then struggling to find him in the crowd. Eventually I told him that if he saw me pulling ahead he should call out, or I was going to wind up losing him all together. I felt so relieved when I saw the mile 10 aid station…. But then I saw that there were no cups visible. I kept running further into the station, assuming that later tables would have some, but they never did. And then I realized that people were drinking from jugs of water and Gatorade that volunteers were pouring into runners’ hands or directly into their mouth… can someone please explain to me how on earth NYRR let this happen, on a 75 degree day, after we dealt with a 2+ year pandemic? Despite my disappointment and disgust at the circumstances of this aid stop, I put my hands out and thanked the volunteer that poured water into them. But it was not the aid station that we needed. I hoped that the mile 11 station would be better, but texted Jennie, who would be at mile 12, and asked if she could get us water bottles, just in case.
Mike was feeling even worse after the lackluster aid station, and the gap between the two of us got even bigger as the race went on. Unfortunately, the aid station at mile 11 was even worse than the one at mile 10, as all of the bottles were being poured directly into people’s mouths, and I just could not talk myself into that level of communal water. There was a medical tent taking the “pour into the hands” approach, so I did wind up getting a handful of water there (I mean, how ridiculous does that sound?!).
As we approached mile 12, I completely lost Mike. I sent him a text, and spent about 5 minutes slowly walking backwards, trying to spot that orange cap. But then a text came in from him, telling me to keep going without him. I felt bad, but we had discussed it before the race and agreed that it was okay if we needed to split up and run our own races. I also felt like I needed to keep moving forward, and get to Jennie, who had water for me. The humidity and heat were already starting to make the day hard, and I needed the water she had. It was such a tease as we ran by the crowded parts of Brooklyn, where the streets were lined with spectators at restaurants, all holding various drinks. I seriously contemplated stopping and asking for a cup, not sure if this would be an issue for the rest of the race.
I spotted Jennie and her brother, and she held up a giant string of cats wearing birthday hats, which made me smile so big. She was cheering as I approached and handed me the best birthday gift – a giant bottle of cold water! I thanked her, gave her a very sweaty hug, and headed towards the end of the Brooklyn part of the race, and onto the Ed Kotch bridge, which spit me out in Queens!
My parents had driven into queens to spectate, and I knew I would spot them between miles 13 and 14, just after the bridge. They were decked out with home-made signs, and I laughed when I saw Mom had even made a frosty the snowman one, to help the runners think cool thoughts. Dad was smiling and holding not one but two phones as I ran up to them, capturing my approach. I gave them hugs, complained about the weather, and kept trekking forward.
By this point in the race, I was soaked to the bone with sweat. Every article of clothing I was wearing was completely wet. I had opted for a sports bra that had a pocket for my phone, but even that was so wet that any time I took my phone out I had to let it air dry for several minutes before I could take a photo or answer a text. It made it a little complicated to update my spectators, but I did manage to send out a message to Den and ask him to fill my water bottle and add a tube of liquid IV, then pass it back to me at mile 16, where I would spot him next. After the messed-up water stations, I did not want to rely on the race to have hydration for the rest of the miles ahead.
I crossed from queens into Manhattan, and as usual it was eerily quiet on the Queensborough bridge. It is a mental game as you cross into Manhattan, because with no spectators and another uphill climb, it’s hard to talk yourself out of walking. I did all I could to keep moving forward and enjoyed watching the skyline off the side of the bridge. As I approached the end of the bridge I could hear the crowds on 1st avenue and knew in less than a mile I would see more of my people.
The crowds lining 1st avenue did not disappoint, and I soaked in the cheers as I made my way along. Before mile 17 I spotted Sophie perched on Tom’s shoulders, cheering, and holding up a giant cat head poster. When I got closer to them I saw Den and Jude. Den passed me my water bottle, freshly filled up, and I made my best attempt at taking a selfie of us all, despite my phone really fighting me in the process- It was wet, and I had wet hands, which are not the best combo for phone use.
From there they would split into 2 spectating teams – Den and Jude would head for the finish line, and Tommy and Sophie would head for a point during mile 25, on the last stretch of 5th avenue before the final turn into central park.
The day was only getting harder, and I was struggling to keep myself motivated to move forward. But getting some electrolytes in from the handheld water bottle helped. I would see my friend Carson around mile 19, just before heading into the Bronx, and two bridges later I would find Jennie on course again in central park. This was my 10th marathon, and I have never seen so many runners struggling at aid stations and medical tents. at one point, a runner ahead of me straight up started puking in the middle of the road. I was able to get my water bottle refilled as I ran out of water, and even took an extra gel.
I was so focused on running as I got closer to the Bronx that I almost missed Carson cheering on the side of the road – as I got closer to her, I saw she was holding a “Happy birthday” sign, and a “Go Mike!” sign, and I thought to myself, what a coincidence, that she’s cheering for someone with a birthday, and someone named Mike – and then I realized that the Birthday sign was for me, and it was my friend holding it. I may have been a little delusional at that point. But I was so happy to see her, and it gave me the boost of motivation I needed to get from Manhattan into the Bronx.
At this point in the race my pace had slowed considerably. My dad had started texting me encouragement. As I left the bridge and entered the Bronx, he sent me a text that read “The Bronx loves you” and you know what I saw after looking up from reading the text on my watch? A big sign, with a heart that said the exact same thing. I almost cried when I spotted it.
I had forgotten just how long the Bronx feels when you are this deep into the marathon. I was struggling to take in water because I had to pee so bad. But I knew that I had to keep hydrating, so I made the decision to stop at a porter-potty, which luckily still had toilet paper. I felt much better once I was back on the road, and soon after accepted a water bottle from a spectator who was kindly handing them out. I had to constantly push myself to keep running, I wanted to just walk so bad at this point in the race. I told myself that I could just get back to Manhattan running, then I could take a break. With every corner we turned in the Bronx I expected to see that last damn bridge, and every time it wasn’t there I questioned if I could make it to the bridge… until, finally, I could see it, and knew that I would make it back into Manhattan.
I had taken a few walk breaks up until this point, and each one was harder to talk myself into running again after. So while on the bridge I decided to set my watch to run/walk intervals, knowing that I could skip the walk portions if I felt good, but mainly hoping that having the intervals would up my mental game, and keep me from walking too much. I went with a 2 min run/30 second walk.
I made it across that last damn bridge, and back into Manhattan. Now I just had to make it to central park. The sun was starting to set, and I really wanted to make it to the finish before it got dark. Thankfully, the crowds were still out in full force cheering, and putting a smile on my face each and every time someone shouted at me with wishes of “Happy birthday!”
Finally, I saw the sign welcoming me into central park, and made the right turn onto the familiar roads of central parks, where I have spent plenty of weekend mornings logging miles at the smaller NYRR races. I kept up with running intervals as I made my way through the park, looking for Jennie and her brother as I went, knowing that they would be in the park to cheer me on. As I ran, I spotted Darren, who I hadn’t seen since the Verrazano. We chatted for a minute, and griped about how the race was going. He had lost his salt early on, and was as over the warm weather as I was. We ran together for about a half mile, but then he opted to walk a little longer when I was ready to go into another run interval, and we parted ways.
Soon after I spotted Jennie, around mile 24. As much as I had struggled to make it through this race, I couldn’t believe that it was almost over. I gave her a quick hug and she cheered me on as I rejoined the runners moving through central park. Even though there were only two miles left, I would still get to see Tommy and Sophie at mile 25.5 and Dennis and Jude at the finish line grandstands. I willed myself to keep moving forward, even though my body was tired.
At this point I basically could not use my phone for anything other than reading messages that got relayed to my watch, as it was too wet to be useful. Tommy started sending messages saying that him and Sophie were going to have to abandon their spot and head to the dinner reservation we had booked, and I was super bummed, as I was almost to the little span of 59th street that you pop out onto before making the final turn back into central park, where I knew they were waiting. I has resigned myself to not seeing them, when during a walk interval I heard Tom cheering for me, and Sophie yelling out as well. I almost cried happy tears when I saw them, and it was exactly the push that I needed to start running again, and get myself to that finish line (Tom later explained that he had checked find my friends, and when they saw I was so close opted to wait for me to run by before going to check in to the dinner reservation).
I was back in the park, and in the end of the final mile. There were signs up telling me I only had 800 m to go – two laps of the track, I could do that. I could hear the finish, and the sides of the course were lined with spectators. 400 m to go. It was the end of the marathon. I came up one final hill and around a corner, and could see the finish line at last, as lit up as the sun went down. The grandstands lined the finish, and I spotted Dennis and Jude holding up a giant cat head, and smiled as they cheered me to the finish.
I crossed the finish line, and felt like I was in a dream. It was over, the race was done. I followed the stream of runners, barely aware of my surroundings, but with a smile plastered on my face. I got a medal from a volunteer, and picked up a recovery bag that was filled with snacks and drinks. I had run with the NYPD team, so a volunteer directed me to a tent right at the finish, and I got to avoid the very very long walk out of central park, instead plopping my butt in a chair in the NYPD tent for a few minutes, while I collected myself.
I was able to dry off my phone, and checked the tracking to see where Mike was at on the course. It was going to be about 40 minutes before he was projected to cross the finish, so I decided to make my way to meet Tommy and Sophie at the restaurant for dinner, that way I could change into dry clothes. I collected my checked bag, and hobbled my way out of the park. When I got to the security exit, Tommy was waiting to escort me to the restaurant, which was about a block away. He offered me a piggy back ride, which made me laugh – I was pretty sure I would not be able to jump up onto him, and instead handed him the bags I was carrying and took his arm, shifting some of my body weight onto him.
We were eating dinner at the Smith, and luckily the table was ready when we got there. We were a party of 8, Me, Tommy, Sophie, Carson and a friend of hers, plus Mike, Jude and Dennis, who would join us once Mike crossed the finish line. I was able to change into dry clothes and we ordered some apps while we waited for the rest of the group – I could probably write a whole blog post about the injustice of their bathroom being in the basement, but I’ll stop yammering on. Once everyone arrived, I ordered something bubbly for a group cheers, and did my best to eat a burger. It was delicious, but I struggle to eat after long races. It was a good call to eat before going home, as in past years I have felt delirious after making the hour plus trip home before eating post race.
We took the subway back to penn station, and the LIRR back home. It was a long, hard day, and there were moments that I wanted to quit, but I was proud of myself for continuing to show up and put one foot in front of the other.
I am also proud of Mike, who somehow managed to pull off a marathon PR despite the bad weather!
