I always had, and still have, a great admiration for marathon runners and often have talked about it with my daughter Marta, who has so far finished 9 marathons. It was a great surprise when, for my 70th birthday, Marta gave me an entry for the 2024 NYC Marathon.
I am not a runner, but I am a serious walker and, with my boots and backpack, have for decades been walking trails all over the world. The 42km are not very common (my walking days are usually between 20km and 40km) but they inevitably happen a few times on each longer, multi-day walk. The difference is that, in these longer walking days, my pace is slower and with stops for eating, sketching or resting. Usually, these walking days will be 8 or 9 hours long, and I will be happy if the final average pace is of about 12 min per km (5km/h).
I was definitely not prepared for a nonstop 42km of speed walking.
But Marta introduced me to her Define New York Run Club @definenewyorkrunclub and the noname Program. For 16 weeks I received perfectly written e-mails with very detailed weekly and daily instructions that would, and did, lead me to become a finisher in the 2024 NYC Marathon.
I began training on my own, mostly on hilly and rough trails, wearing my boots and, sometimes, a backpack. But I tried to adapt and follow the precious teachings from Coach+Coffey at the noname Program.
Every week I saw the Instagram fotos and envied all the team training together with specific pace leaders and encouragements from each other. Then I had a visit from Marta, we trained togheter for a while and somehow I felt closer to all the New Yorker Define Run Club and noname runners.
I bought a pair of running shoes and trained a lot on running paths along Tejo River, and along the ocean coast near home at Lisboa.
One week before Marathon day I arrived in NYC and finnaly met Coach and Coffey. After that, each day I was introduced to new runners and attended the last meetings of the training program. What a wonder. I knew there would be a lot of people but the first shock was in the Javits Center, when picking my race bib. What a crowd. And what a perfect organization.
Marathon day came clear and cold (4ºC). Over the Define New York Run Club shorts and t-shirt we had to use some other clothes to keep us warm during the hours of traveling to, and waiting at the Marathon Village in Staten island. We also took some food and some cardboard materials to sit on the floor at the Village. I also brough with me a tiny sketchbook and a pen that fitted on my waistbelt pocket – I would not be sketching during the race, but did not want to miss out on sketching before I started!
During the marathon the crowd was always enthusiasticaly and non stop cheering. Very dear friends and family punctuated the day with wonderful and emotional meetings. The croud showed such diversity of humorous posters that it was impossible to remember all of them after the race, but I enjoyed them and laughed as I walked.
After the race all the finishers are given a heavy Marathon Medal. A trophy! This medal will give acess to some special gifts, like free beers on our favorite neighborhood bar. And next day is Medal Monday, where every marathonist happily and proudly sports the trophy everywhere. The whole day we spotted fellow marathonists on the street, stores, offices, subway… we smile and change congrats. The whole city looks at marathonists with tenderness, we receive congrats from everyone and other bonus like free tickets for the Edge Observation Deck.
Saturday on the following week our regular Define New York Run Club runs resume, starting at Adelphi Street in Brooklyn. A new training season begins with new races on the horizon, but surely none as the 2024 NYC Marathon! It was a most wonderful experience to walk all the NYC Marathon with Marta – and I know she feels just the same.
I began training alone, mostly on hilly and rough trails…
… walking rough trails, with boots and backpack
…then I had a visit from Marta.
I bought a pair of running shoes and trained a lot on running paths along Tejo River,…
and along the ocean coast near home at Lisboa.
in NYC I finnaly met Coach and Coffey.
Over the Define New lineYork Run Club shorts and t-shirt we had to use some other clothes to keep us warm on our way to the start
The ferry to Staten Island was busier that on a weekday rush hour.
There was a huge line of buses to take runners from the ferry to the Marathon Village, and every bus left fully booked.
Dozens of restrooms were available but thousands of runners were lining up to use them.
At the Village runners ate, stretched, rested, and waited.
Already in the start corral, sitting on the curb, with an horizon of shorts, legs, and running shoes.
Dear Friends with carefully written signs.
Very dear friends…
Dear friends and family punctuated the day with wonderful and emotional meetings.
After finishing, the inevitable foto with the nedals.
Two medals, Two beers.
