NYC marathon…start to finish with incredible nuggets along the way

At expo picking up our Bib numbers.

A week ago I had the privilege to be a guide in the New York City Marathon with a friend of mine who has a mobility disability. I first met Kim a year ago when I sent an SOS out to the local running club for another crazy runner to run with me in the dark at 4:00am. She was the only one to respond and was willing to run at that ridiculous hour. She was training for her first NYC and I was training for my first marathon. Our paces were different but we were a good match because we supported each other on our journeys. So when she asked me to be her guide for this year’s NYC marathon, I jumped at the chance!

A week has passed and I still am at a loss on how to describe the experience. I was able to experience a marathon through someone else’s eyes and be a part of something I would never have been able to experience.

at 4:00 am in front of Lord and Taylor 5th Avenue

Our alarms went off at 2:30 in the morning so we could be at 5^th avenue at 4:00am. We get to 5^th avenue and the streets of NYC were quiet, yet alive. 5^th avenue was lined with city buses to bring the 50,000 runners to the start. Being a part of Achilles International, Kim and I were part of a 26-bus convoy to the Fort Wadsworth. We were in bus #1 of the Athletes with Disabilities (AWD) and had a police escort. As I sat in the bus listening to everyone chatter, I was wondering about the various disabilities impacting these athletes. Some had ambulatory issues such as a missing leg. Some were there due to being blind, deaf or something prohibiting them from running such a large marathon independently. I was struck with my job as a guide. It was my job to help Kim reach her goal and to keep her safe in a crowd of 50,000 runners.

NYC is the largest marathon in the world, known for the pictures of the crowded Verrazano Bridge.

Kim at the start of the 2015 NYC Marathon Verrazano Bridge belongs to just us! (and one hand cyclist!)

But when we reached our village and then the starting line, it was very different. There was no star spangled banner, no hubbub to announce the start. It was just the hand cyclist on one side of the bridge, and the ambulatory athletes on the other. They announced, “START” and we looked at each other and started walking the incline up the bridge. The entire bridge was empty ahead of us. It was incredible to experience. We reached the crest of the bridge and she began to run. We ran through Brooklyn alone for the first 5 or 6 miles. The streets were lined with spectators and they yelled and clapped for Achilles and for Kim. To be alone and be cheered by people we did not know was very moving. Eventually, the elite women, elite men and the rest of the mere mortals surrounded us and the streets of NYC belonged to everyone again…not just us. At one point she said something about being slow and that she was sorry. I was dumb struck. I was having a blast…absorbing NYC and the energy of the marathon. At that point, she was still feeling okay and appeared to be having fun as well. I reassured her that I will never have this experience ever again even if I race NYC next year just me.

at starting line…

on way to starting line

In some ways we experienced the entire marathon…from being the absolute first to cross the start line with the empty Verrazano Bridge in front of us, to the finish line, in the dark with the race workers starting to take down the banners and put away the supplies. We saw, ran, and experienced the entire race and that is not something I will ever forget, nor something many get to experience.

I know for many runners, marathons are so much more than the time it takes to complete it. The average time to complete the NYC marathon is 4:34. The winner, Mary Keitany of Kenya finished in 2 hours and 24 minutes. The official stop time of the marathon is 7:30 pm. But the race stayed open until the last runners crossed the line. We were hours from being  last. There were people at the finish cheering us in, recognizing the determination of a woman who has finished her 2^nd marathon.  Kim ran her marathon in 8 hours and 45 minutes. She ran. She walked. She laughed. She threw up. She smiled. She had cramps. She saw medics. She needed Tylenol. She refused to give up. To me, she is what a marathon is all about. That determination to achieve and push yourself toward a goal…with perseverance, grit, humor and a smile.

I spy MEB!!!

And a marathon is filled with many moments that you keep with you like little nuggets…for me, the NYC marathon has these nuggets: the quiet of the Verrazano bridge with the view toward the city skyline. The bands that played and the cheering of people. Kim photo-bombing the elite men…GO MEB!!! The pushing of the runners and me being in “Mama Bear Mode…AKA DON’T GET NEAR MY RUNNER WENCH!!!” The woman at the last bridge with a sign and a chant, “LAST DAMN BRIDGE.” The man from Ohio who thanked Kim for sharing a bible verse with him. The hand cyclist, Edwin, from Ghana who made me think of my dad by talking about drumming
in Ghana as a young boy. A sweaty hug from my friend Chris at mile 16. Watching Kim high five kids with her disabled hand reminding me to be thankful for all the gifts I have in my life. I never think of Kim as disabled at all. She is simply my friend Kim. But watching her and helping her last weekend, I was struck with how we get used to our lives. We get used to the pains that are there and we no longer notice the strength it takes sometimes to get through. Well, I noticed how hard it was for Kim. I noticed that she needed help with her hair. I noticed she needed help getting things. I noticed she needed help with her bags. But mostly, I noticed her strength. Many would have given up when bouts of nausea hit them. Many would have stopped when a severe cramp forced her into a medic tent at mile 15 and again at mile 16. Many would have stopped when she crumbled to the ground at mile 25, feeling sick again. Many wouldn’t have even started. But for me, what I noticed most was her essence…her quiet smile when she said, “I will NOT not finish. That is not an option.”

Being a guide was one of the hardest, emotionally draining days so far in my running experiences, but I’d do it again. I am inspired anew to be all that I can be and to encourage, promote and share my love for running and exercise with everyone. So I say a thank you today to Kim for asking me to be her guide and for Achilles International for letting me be a part of NYC Marathon 2015.

I will never have another marathon like NYC 2015….and being a guide?  highly recommend it!

At start

as a guide i had my fitletic belt with my phone, a hiking fanny pack with extra fuel for her and me, advil, band aides, tissues etc, and then i had kim’s fuel belt as well

🙂

WAKE UP!!!