Radio Silence

On Sunday morning we were pretty quiet. I kept imaging where we should have been. Doug would be on Staten Island, I would be just getting up.

Doug would be heading to the start line. I would be heading out with my backpack and camera. I would be wearing my bright red Canada hoodie, ready to grab a coffee. 

Doug would be crossing the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge. I would be walking up First Avenue to secure my spot at the base of the Queensboro Bridge at Mile 16. 

Doug would then head up First Avenue and I would head to Central Park for his big finish. 

We would meet up at the rendez-vous and head back to the hotel - Doug and I nattering away about our unique experiences of the day and everything we had seen. 

Instead we were sad. We were quiet. 

We packed up our suitcases and got them ready by the door. We had managed to change our flight from Monday to Sunday and needed to leave before noon to get to the airport. 

We headed out in search of muffins and coffee. It wasn't long before we saw people running. I saw a group of Asian runners heading towards us. A group of runners from another country were coming up behind us. The groups cheered when they saw each other. Maratón!!

We saw runners in their orange marathon shirts wearing their race bibs and timing chips. Some had their race bibs on upside down. As a joke? Or in protest? 

I fought back tears. Doug was somber. 

Some people chose to run the marathon route anyway - on their own and without support. 

Some people ran around and around Central Park until they had clocked 42.2km. 

Some headed to Staten Island to volunteer where they could. 

We walked the streets taking it all in and then headed to the airport. Because the tunnel was still closed, we had to take a slightly longer route which took us, of course, over the Queensboro Bridge. We hit it at just about the time Doug would have been running over it. The sun was shining. The weather was perfect. 

And we were heading home. 

There has not been any word yet from the New York Road Runners about what the next steps will be. No word yet as to whether runners get guaranteed entry next year. No word yet whether they will be reimbursed for this year's entry fee or whether next year would be free. No word yet to even acknowledge how many runners were affected by the way the decisions were made and the timing of their announcements. 

It has been radio silence. 

So we wait to see what the options are. Wait to see if we can go back next year and at what cost. And then I guess we decide if we want to. 

The Language of the Maratón

Saturday morning was sunny and beautiful.

We sat in bed for a while devouring every marathon story in every newspaper we could find. The same three messages were everywhere:

1. runners understood why it was cancelled
2. runners were (furious, upset, angry, overwhelmed etc) about the timing of the announcement
3. runners were even more (furious, upset, angry etc) that they had been told to come and then the decision was reversed.

We read stories about people who overcame huge odds to get there.

One woman was coming from Italy but there were problems with her flight. So she flew from Italy to Hong Kong and then to New York just to get there on time. She found out as soon as she landed in New York.

One group of runners from Europe had spent $30,000 to get there. They found out at the Expo that they should have stayed home.

We dressed and headed out. We figured we might as well enjoy our day in New York City. We strolled around exploring the famous spots. Some we had seen together in January - others we discovered for the first time.

Look who was in town for the race? Apparently he was NOT happy to find out their rules against running with sharp objects. 

Our midmorning snack was a muffin (or in my case a piece of baklava) and some coffee.

Notice Ebenezer's Eyelash Extension across the street? 

We made our way to the New York Public Library where Doug was supposed to join thousands of runners at 5:30am on Sunday morning. We talked about how crazy that would have been - up to a thousand busses were going to be needed to shuttle everyone. How much fun would it have been to watch that orchestration? 

We settled on a photo at the base of one of the huge pillars. Notice his orange gloves? The name of each of the five boroughs the race goes through are written on the fingers. A fun little souvenir from the Expo the day before. 

We're getting much better at the whole aim the camera and take a picture trick. 

We went for lunch. I was wearing my Medtronic jacket and was approached by a Spanish-speaking runner. He pulled out his Medtronic pump. I pulled out mine. We grinned. He explained that he was from Spain and was there with a group of 15 runners - all of whom have Type 1 diabetes. They came with a support crew of 15 others. They were part of a study of how long-distance running affects blood sugar. They were, of course, supposed to run the marathon. 

We walked to Rockefeller Centre which was all set up at Democracy Square in preparation for the November 6th election. 

A map of the US painted on the ice and American flags flying everywhere. Methinks there is an election going on. 

I met one of the candidates. He was so charming that I brought him back to my hotel. Was that wrong? 

We went to the Apple Store which had a line up down the street to get in. 

Apparently this little gadget is quite popular at the moment. 

We played with puppets. 

We marvelled at the size of candy bars in the US. 

If I ate these two peanut butter cups I would need to take 40 units of insulin to cover the 240 carbs in it. I get kinda panicky when I take more than 10 units at a time... 

We walked through Macy's, Times Square and the Art Brown Pen shop that we love. 

Everywhere we went we saw runners. Many wearing their orange race shirts. Every runner seemed in tune with every other runner. In a town that has drawn together because of Sandy, I felt like the runners were developing their own special bond. Marathon sounds a lot like maratón which sounds a lot like maratona. Mention the word and people responded with sad eyes as they pointed to themselves or the person they were with. 

Nobody was happy but, like it or not, we were in this together. 

Disappointment

"If you had to describe this weekend in one word, what word would you use?", I asked as we drove home from the Buffalo Airport at 11pm on Sunday night.

"Disappointing", replied Doug. 

And so ended his dream of running the 2012 New York City Marathon. 

Let's back up a few days though because there are lots of stories between now and then that really need to be told. 

Hurricane Sandy started it all. She hit and she hit hard. Particularly on Staten Island where the marathon begins. People on the mainland were flooded and lost power but people on Staten Island lost everything. 

The city was a mess and the marathon was days away. Runners from around the globe were set to travel in New York. What to do? What to do? 

On Wednesday night, Doug, and all 47,000 other runners received an email from the New York Road Runners. The race would go on. It would be dedicated to the recovery effort in New York and runners were encouraged to donate to the cause. We were going. We didn't know what to expect. We didn't know if our hotel would have power or if they would have to reroute the race but we were going. 

We arrived at JFK airport on Friday at 11am. We took the Airporter to Grand Central Terminal and walked about 12 blocks to our hotel. Police officers were stationed at every intersection to control traffic because there was no power. We walked past 3rd Avenue - no power. Fourth - no power. Fifth Avenue - the most famous street in NYC - no power. It was full of people but eerily quiet as all stores and restaurants were closed with signs saying, you guessed it, no power. 

At Seventh Avenue, there was power. Our hotel was between 8th and 9th and, with a sigh of relief, we discovered that we had power and running water. The lobby was crawling with runners. There were signs posted in Flemmish (?) and French as apparently a contingent of 30 runners from Belgium were staying in the hotel. As were runners from Germany and France. We unpacked and headed to a little café for lunch were we found ourselves sitting between people from New Jersey. They had made the trip to Manhattan because they had been without power and running water for several days and needed a shower. One guy was a massage therapist who couldn't work because his office had not power. He had several full days of massages booked with marathon runners. None of them were going to get their pre-race massage - from him at least. 

After lunch, we headed for the Expo.

It was Friday afternoon and it was throbbing with excited runners. We heard so many different languages and saw huge groups of people who had obviously come from all over the world to be there. They had team jackets made. They were buying up all the swag at an alarming rate. Alarming for me but not for Adidas I'm sure. 

Doug got his race packet and his orange race shirt. 

We explored the expo, nibbled on chia bar samples and chatted with, oh yes my friends, the Tel Aviv Marathon folks. I was thrilled to see them and proudly informed them that I would be running the 2013 half. They were in turn pretty excited to hear that.  

Gillette is the main sponsor - maybe we get free razors or leg shaves before the race??

We marvelled at the number of people there and commented on how the race organizers had made the right decision to go ahead with the marathon. If for no other reason than the surge of money that the runners and their families bring in to the city. 

We walked back to the hotel, excited and chatting about everything we had seen. 

Doug settled at his laptop to reply to a few emails. I settled on the bed with all the race books to go over every tiny bit of instruction for Sunday - like the 8-step process for attaching the timing chip to your shoe. Halfway through the first book I logged in to Facebok and spotted our friend Cathy's post: "New York City Marathon will not be held this weekend. We heard this 20 minutes after we picked up our bibs." 

WHAT!?!?

We hopped on the internet. We turned on the television. We discovered very quickly that this was not a joke. 

We were stunned. We were so sad. We completely understood why the decision was made but were upset by the timing. THEY said it was on. THEY told us to come. WE came. 

If they had announced it on Wednesday - thousands of people would not have made the trip. By announcing it on Friday - most of the runners were already in town or en route. Runners began hearing the news at the expo, on the street, on the internet, in their hotel lobbies and from friends. 

Runners broke down and cried. Runners were furious. Runners were relieved and sad and hurt and...disappointed. 

It might have been the right decision but it was not handled well. 

We called and changed our return flight to Sunday afternoon. We headed out for dinner. We saw runners and their families everywhere we turned - looking lost and upset. We sent emails to let people know what was happening. 

We went to bed. 

Staten Island Cries

Start spreading the news (ba ba da ba ba)

We're leaving today (ba ba da ba ba)

We want to be a part it.

New York! New York!

That's right folks. Just a few days after Hurricane Sandy shut down the New York subway system and wreaked havoc at the airports, we're heading to NYC. It was touch and go for a while and they only made the official decision to hold the race late Wednesday night.

They changed the deferral regulations to allow runners to defer as late at Saturday night at 11:59pm. There will not be 47,000 runners and there will not be 2 million spectators. They may need to change the course. They still haven't confirmed how they will get everyone to the start line since the subway system is still not up and running. But there will be a marathon

I'll be cheering.

Doug will be running.

Coming in to the finish at the Hamilton marathon last November, the race where he qualified for an automatic entry into New York with his stellar 3 hours and 38 minute run. 

It's a controversial decision to hold the race. A lot of New Yorkers have been hit really hard by Sandy and a lot of New York is still trying to recover and will be for weeks. As of Thursday morning Central Park was still closed as well as most of the subway system and La Guardia airport. Many people think that holding the race after such destruction is rather tasteless. Many others think that it sends a message of perseverance and resilience. Others think that the influx of runners and spectators will bring much needed money into the city.

We have decided that we are going. Our flights and hotel have been booked for months and Doug is ready to run. I'm bringing my camera to take photos and a strong back in case we have to help clear trees out of Central Park. It might not be exactly the race we've been imagining for the last year for but it will certainly be memorable.

We'll be back next week and I'll have a race recap on Tuesday or Wednesday.

See you on the other side!

Another Hero in the Family

My races are done for the year.

I get to spend the next two months running simply for the joy of running. No training schedules on the chalkboard. No required distances to run.

I also get to pack my bags because we're going galavanting again.

This time, Doug gets to be the hero.

One week from now, we'll be packed and ready to head to New York City so my marathon man can do what he does so well and check one more fabled race off his bucket list.

In the past three months, we have gone cycling for a week in Québec. We travelled to Minnesota for Global Heroes. Doug also gave up Saturdays and Sundays so he could support me through two triathlons and one half marathon.

Oh, and somehow he found the time he needed to train for a marathon.

He managed to run five days a week. He managed to run for 3+ hours, multiple weekends in a row. He managed to squeeze in his hill training as well as weekly swims and bike rides.

Now it's his turn to wear the hero cap. And it's my turn to chase him around the running route and scream my head off at the finish line. To take his pictures and carry his dry change of clothes. To slowly walk with him back home after the race, make sure he drinks his water, rub his legs and feed him electrolytes.

I can't wait!

This video made me cry when I first saw it years ago. Watching 45,000 people running across the Verrazano Narrows Bridge from Staten Island to Brooklyn was jaw-dropping. Little did I know I would get the chance to watch my own marathon man join the ranks of the NYC marathon runners.

November 4th 2012. Exactly four weeks after I had my hero weekend, Doug gets his turn.

NYC...Encore Une Fois

We're going to New York...again.

My first trip ever to New York City was a few short months ago.  I loved it.  I knew I would but I didn't know I would love it that much.

Happily - we get to go back - in November.

November 2nd to the 5th to be exact.

And it's all because of my marathon man.

This picture was taken last November at the Hamilton marathon.  Doug had set his sights on the NYC marathon for 2012 but didn't want to have to enter the lottery to get in.  The only other option was to get a qualifying time which, for those of you who don't know, is actually a stricter time than the one required for Boston.  To go to Boston, Doug needed to run a 4:00:00 marathon.  To get a guaranteed entry into NYC, he had to run a 3:45:00. Last April, he ran a 3:47:00 in Boston so he needed to shave a few minutes off that time.

He decided the tackle the Hamilton marathon and, by the time he crossed the finish line, he had shaved more than a few minutes - clocking in at 3:38:00.  The picture was taken about 50 metres from the finish.  If only we could all look so strong at the end of a race eh?

A few weeks ago he sent in his request to the New York Road Runners.  Last week, once they had verified his time, he received an email telling him that he was accepted into the NYC marathon.  No waiting, no lottery and no mad rush to book accommodations in April when the winners of the lottery are announced.  In fact, we've already secured our hotel which is a huge relief when I think of the thousands of people who will be descending on the Big Apple that weekend.

Did you know that over 100,000 runners apply to run NYC every year?  And just under 40,000 get in.

Check out this promotional video if you want to get a sense of the size and scale of this event.

The marathon is pretty historic and the route takes runners through all five boroughs (Staten Island, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx and Manhattan).  The race starts on Staten Island, at the toll booths of the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge.  Runners are divided into three waves based on previous race times or their predicted finish time.  One wave runs on the lower level of the bridge, the other two run along the top.

The best of the best have run this race.  Grete Waitz, a Norwegian marathoner, famously won the race nine times between 1978 and 1988. Plenty of famous people have run it too.  Ed Norton, Anthony Edwards (Dr. Green from ER), Alanis Morissette, Katie Holmes, Lance Armstrong and Mark Messier have all crossed the finish line in Central Park.

Oprah did not, according to my research, run NYC (I thought she had).  She ran the Marine Corps marathon in 4:29:00 which has since become the unofficial time to beat for countless marathon runners.  Apparently "I just want to beat Oprah" is a fairly common phrase at start lines.

I'll be there on November 4th.  Watching the elite runners sail across the finish line and doing my share of celebrity spotting.  But there is only one runner I'll be scanning the crowds for and I can spot his gazelle-like gait even in a crowd of 40,000.

Hopefully this time I can refrain from screaming like a madwoman long enough to take his picture.