Filed under: NBR Goings On, Races | Tags: marathon, New Jersey Marathon, Races, running, volunteering
The road to the Marathon is long. The road on the Marathon is long. The road to recovery post-Marathon is long. Even those of us, like myself, who did not run the BIG RACE, are still reeling a bit.
So since everything to do with the Marathon is long, I’ll keep it short.
We had 19 ass-kicking North Brooklyn Runners members running the streets of NYC last Sunday and 20 or more NBR volunteers cheering, pouring water, and mixing horrifying quantities of sticky electrolyte fluid at Mile 12 on Bedford and N.12th on the Williamsburg/Greenpoint cusp for 8 hours straight.
We had no fewer than 3 or 4 people qualify for Boston (two of them first time Marathoners), and at least 6 NBRs who are planning to run that Marathon come April. This race got people sick. Sick with Marathon Fever. And the only cure is… MORE MARATHONS!
So whether you’re up for the rag-tag crew forming to run the NJ Marathon in May, joining the ever-growing Boston contingent, or have another spring marathon up your sleeve… you and your need for long, cold weather runs are well met here.
Some Mile 12 photos by Mike E. below and some photos by Karl here.
Also some local NBR Marathon press here.
Everyone is amazing. I <3 NBR!
-Aja
By now you know that Mile 12 is the “official” NBR noise-making point for the Marathon. Wear your NBR shirt, come out, bring friends, shake a poster, play DJ, get rowdy!
Mile 12 = Bedford @ North 12th
The action starts with the bad-ass handcycles & wheelchairs around 9am, followed by Paula & co. around 10:15am, Ryan & the arm warmers around 10:40am, and “everyone else” right after until 1:30pm. The bulk of our runners will be passing by between 10:45am and 12:45pm.
NBR Love to everyone running! Kick ass!
NBR rocked the Greenpoint 5K this past Sunday, picking up no fewer than 6 trophies and a case of Brooklyn Lager in the process! And yes, there were some dance-offs.
With a 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place sweep in the Women’s 20-29 category, high fives to Beth, Jen, and Aja! Misha and Matt place 2nd and 3rd in the Men’s 20-29 category and Mike E. placed 3rd in the Men’s 40-49 category, woohoo!
Our friend Miriam B. was the top overall female finisher! Yeah! 
Thanks to all of those who came after the Staten Half or otherwise and cheered on the sidelines and hung out after. (And congrats to Karl and Anna M. who ran qualifying times in the Half that morning!)
Check out the photos and dance-off video!
Click here for full results from the Greenpoint Get to the ‘Point 5K.
NBR has long been excited about manning the Mile 12 aid station (Berry @ N14th) during the NYC Marathon. Now we can register! I was hoping I could just collect everyone’s names and submit them, but they’ve asked that everyone register individually through the NYRR website so nothing and no one gets lost in the shuffle.
It’s possible there will be enough of us volunteering that we can extend our reach to the other aid stations at Miles 11 (Bedford @ S4th) and 13 (McGuiness @ Green). But let us first focus on volunteering efforts to Mile 12, which equals Aid Station #11. Again, AID STATION #11 is our first priority.
Also see the bottom of the post for F.A.Q.
- Aja
Please read the below carefully and follow all the instructions!
1. To register to volunteer, follow this link.
1a. If you have already volunteered with NYRR you should have a password. Login.
1b. If you have not yet volunteered with NYRR it will take you through a short registration process. During which, there is a place where you can say you are volunteering in affiliation with North Brooklyn Runners (you’ll type it in).
2. When it asks you if you will be volunteering on “Marathon Sunday” (as opposed to the other pre-race day options), click “yes” and use the drop down menus to select Aid Station #11 as your first choice, and Aid Station #10 or #12 for your second choice. Scroll down and click “Continue.”
3. Review your form. Assuming it’s all right, click “Confirm.”
4. You did it! You’re registered!
5. One last thing…post your name here so I can keep track of who’s volunteering at what station!
NBR F.A.Q. About Volunteering for the Marathon
Q: What are the hours?
A: According to the Marathon website, 7am-3pm for Aid Stations 10, 11, and 12.
Q: Ugh, that early? Is it okay if I show up in last night’s Halloween costume? What will we be doing?
A: Hey, at least it’s not 5am and costumes are always welcomed, no matter the season. The job at each of the 24 aid stations is to assist with the setup, breakdown, and cleanup of the station in addition to the distribution of water and Gatorade to the runners. Also a lot of cheering is involved.
Q: That sounds like things might get a little wet. Will we get to wear ponchos?
A: I hope so! In the photo on the website they are wearing snazzy ING ponchos. I did just look into customized NBR ponchos, but cheap, short runs are hard to find. If someone want to donate the purchase and printing of 100 or fewer NBR ponchos, I won’t say no.
Q: I cannot commit to the NYRR volunteer hours. Can I still come out and help/play/cheer/bring snacks?
A: I don’t know what NYRR thinks, but I think having a hoard of crazy NBRs on the sidelines would be awesome, no matter if you’re up to your elbows in Gatorade or not. So the answer is, “hell yes!”
Q: Will there be a poster-making party pre-Marathon?
A: Name the time and place and people will magically appear with markers, paint, glitter, and posterboard.
NYRR has a “Local Competitive” program for the NYC Marathon for members of area teams. To be accepted into one of the limited spots runners much have run a qualifying time in a half-marathon or marathon (does not have to be a local race) in their respective age groups between January 1, 2008 and October 3rd, 2009.
If you qualify and are interested in participating in the Local Competitive program (YOU MUST ALREADY BE ACCEPTED INTO THE 2009 NYC MARATHON), let me know NO LATER than 10/3. Sooner is much better. The info you will need to provide me is detailed towards the bottom of this post.
Please read all the info below.
NYRR will verify times based on the following criteria:
MEN:
1. Open Men: 1:20 half-marathon or better 2:50 marathon or better
2. Men 40-44: 1:30 half-marathon or better 3:10 marathon or better
3. Men 45-49: 1:32:30 half-marathon or better 3:15 marathon or better
4. Men 50-54: 1:35 half-marathon or better 3:20 marathon or better
5. Men 55-59: 1:37:30 half-marathon or better 3:25 marathon or better
6. Men 60-64: 1:40 half-marathon or better 3:30 marathon or better
7. Men 65-69: 1:42:30 half-marathon or better 3:35 marathon or better
8. Men 70+: 1:45 half-marathon or better 3:40 marathon or better
WOMEN:
1. Open Women: 1:35 half-marathon or better 3:20 marathon or better
2. Women 40-44: 1:40 half-marathon or better 3:30 marathon or better
3. Women 45-49: 1:42:30 half-marathon or better 3:35 marathon or better
4. Women 50-54: 1:45 half-marathon or better 3:40 marathon or better
5. Women 55-59: 1:47:30 half-marathon or better 3:45 marathon or better
6. Women 60-64: 1:50 half-marathon or better 3:50 marathon or better
7. Women 65-69: 1:52:30 half-marathon or better 3:55 marathon or better
8. Women 70+: 1:55 half-marathon or better 4:00 marathon or better
Athletes who have been approved by NYRR to participate in the local competitive start program will be notified via e-mail and/or telephone. More information will be provided in mid-October to the athletes who have qualified and been invited to participate in this program.
Please provide the following information Aja to be submitted to NYRR:
- First and last name
- Team name
- E-mail address
- Marathon entry number
- Qualifying time and year
- Website where your results can be found (if applicable). If possible, please hyperlink the link.
Fifteen people ran under the NBR banner this weekend at the Fitness, Mind, Body, Spirit Games 4 miler in Central Park. Check out the results here.
The men’s and women’s races were run separately so we were able to cheer each other on. I like when they do this because we get to see at least one whole race from start to finish. Thanks to the women who came an hour early to cheer on the men!
The women’s team placed 12th overall and was led by Beth with 26:22. All the NBR women looked really strong coming to the slightly uphill finish.
Karl smokin' the competition at the Fitness Games 4M.
The men’s team was 10th overall and (if our calculations are correct) first in the men’s B division. Karl ran a blazing 21:34 and raised NBR’s best ever age graded percentage to 79.3%. He also made the club photos page wearing a sweet NBR cotton t-shirt.
Long story short – NBR is getting faster, both as individuals and as a team. No matter what your pace, it’s a really satisfying feeling to simply work at something and get better at it. See you at the track!
-Matt
NYRR recently sent out an email saying you could still run the marathon by running for one of the charities, if you sign up with one with available spots by the end of the month. Last year, I ran the NYC Half for The Fresh Air Fund, and it was a really rewarding experience.
- Aja
———
The spiel from NYRR:
An Opportunity to Run the
ING New York City Marathon
Running the ING New York City Marathon is the experience of a lifetime, and you can still enter the race this year while helping a worthy cause. NYRR has many charity partners that can offer you entry if you join their team by the end of August. Visit the website to check out the teams you can support by pledging to run on November 1.
Charity Partner Benefits:
* Entry to the ING New York City Marathon 2009
* A worthy cause to motivate your fundraising and training efforts
* VIP Bus Transportation to the Fort Wadsworth start
* Charity Tent access at the start
* The ING New York City Health and Fitness Expo, the Post-Race Party Presented by Clear Channel, and more
Running with a charity can make your marathon experience incredibly fulfilling. Check out all the charities that are part of this spectacular race, and choose the one that’s best for you.
A few NBR members at the Harlem 5K!
Four of our ten runners placed in the top 10 of their age-gender group and the Women’s Team placed 2nd overall! What a great showing!
Everyone who ran should be proud of themselves.
Every time I wake up early on a Saturday morning to do a race, cheer at one, or just go for a run, I think maybe I’m a little crazy and I ask myself why I do this. But that feeling of accomplishment I have when I’m done, no matter how I did… well that speaks for itself.
GO NBR!
-Aja
Now we have this fancy new blog/site/homepage and it’s an interesting thing to balance out with the fairly active GoogleGroup. So, in an effort to be balanced, here’s a few important NBR goings-on discussed in the Group.
- Meet Up for Harlem 5K – Saturday, August 22nd
Meet ON the Bedford L platform by the police hut / cop-in-a-box thing near the Bedford side exit at 7:00AM sharp! We’ll travel up to the race together and meet other runners at the Registration area at 8AM.
- What Upcoming Races are you Running?
We’ve created a new Google Spreadsheet for you to declare what races you’re planning to run from September to the end of the year. If new non-NYRR races come up that seem cool, we’ll add them to the spreadsheet. The link will also always be on the “Upcoming Races” page so you can change it as necessary.
– T-Shirt Pre-Order, Round 3
We’re planning another t-shirt reorder come mid-September. Get your pre-order in now!
- Singlet Pre-Order, FINALLY!
The time has finally come for SINGLETS! We’re finalizing the design and pricing details, but in the meantime, let it be known that you plan to order one by pre-ordering here. We’re hoping to place our order with Asics no later than 8/24, so act fast!
