NYC Marathon Team Spot Followup
Thomas Knight -
Finishers Time: 3:08:33
Highlight of the Day: The last mile into the finishing line. My family was there to cheer me on, and I even felt good enough to put in a small kick at the end.
Post-Race Meal: Didn't have any appetite, but I managed to eat a few pickles at the Utopia Diner.
Next Goal: Sub 3!
Ashley Wolfgang -
Finishers Time: 4:43:13
Highlight of the Day: The highlight of my day was definitely running into so many people that I knew cheering throughout the race! I didn't realize it going in, but seeing someone you know makes so much of a difference— especially when you're not feeling your best and when your mind starts playing tricks on you. I also unknowingly ran past the (now viral) marathon duck in my current Clinton Hill neighborhood! Surprisingly my favorite part of the race was the last 3 miles—there is truly nothing like running through a crowded Central Park during the final stretch!
Post-Race Meal: I had two of my favorite things: carnitas tacos and french fries, haha.
Next Goal: I would LOVE to try and run NYC again next year and really crush my goal of finishing between 4-4:30 hours. I truly did what everyone told me not to do and started out this race WAY TOO FAST. Halfway through the race I PR'd my previous Half Marathon time and thought this was the worst thing I've ever done—miles 13-23 were truly a dark time. However, I was able to push through those last 3 miles and really surprised myself. This race was extra hard for me because I just got out of quarantine from a breakthrough COVID case just two days before. I'm so thankful for my body (and for vaccines for making my case very mild!) for recovering quickly and for simply making it to the start and finish line—something I didn't know was going to be possible a week prior. Looking back, even though I was miserable, I wouldn't exchange this opportunity for anything and can't wait to get back out there. While I wait for the Chicago and NYC lotteries to determine my fate, I'm going to try and focus on racing some Half-Marathons and speed work to test my endurance even more.
Kendal Enz-
Finishers Time: I finished the marathon in 3:58:34, which is about 28 minutes slower than I wanted to be. Around mile 15 of the race, a wave of nausea washed over me and clung to me like damp plastic wrap for the remaining 11 miles. I spent the last four miles of the race focusing on not puking (and at least succeeded at this). As I've said before, the marathon is a grueling race and sometimes it rips your intestines out your butt and laughs at you.
Highlight of the Day: My favorite moments of the marathon were right before the race when I was in the corral with a bunch of NBR team members. Everyone was bursting with nervous excitement and the energy was amazing.
Post-Race Meal: I was so nauseous after the race, my parents pretty much had to carry me to the pedicab that took us back to their hotel. My mom hand fed me pretzels on the way there because I could barely move. Pretty cute, huh?
Next Goal: My next goal is to get as fast as I possibly can at the mile. I have no idea what I'm capable of, but I'm going to find out.
Erin Conlon-
Back in May, everyone was posting their NYC Marathon plans and I was feeling really emo about it. After much deliberation that probably really only amounted to a max of five minutes, I decided to register for the Philadelphia Marathon.
And then my NYC team spot happened. Really, this story is all a lesson in FOMO.
As I mentioned in my team spot check in, training was feeling hit or miss. When race day came around, I was prepared for some things and came to find out (quickly!) I was very unprepared for others. For example, did you know you shouldn’t double up on socks just to prevent blisters because your feet will swell up like balloons and make the experience extremely painful? I went into NYC with a pipe-dream goal of sub-4, but more importantly, the goals of just finishing and not pooping my pants. And I had pretty much zero expectations. And I can very proudly say I achieved the last two.
If I had no expectations for NYC, I had even fewer for Philly. Despite being told (by the few people I actually told I was doing it because deep down I knew it was an absurd idea) that back-to-back marathons for your first two ever was an unhinged concept, I told myself that it was ok because it wasn’t about time, it was just about showing up. And, more importantly, not wasting money. And as Lady Gaga said multiple, multiple times in that one press cycle, “There can be a hundred people in the room, and 99 don't believe in you, but one does.” For me, that person was Caitlin Papageorge. Cait was in the same boat as me with back-to-back NYC-to-Philly dreams, though the very negligible difference is the sheer number of marathons she’d completed up to that point (11) compared to me (1 lol). But she talked me into it — gently, might I add, with very little convincing needed — and very gracefully fielded all of my annoying questions, most of them happening before the sun even rose at Doves.
When I made the early morning trek to Philly a mere two weeks later armed with new, non-torturous shoes that had maybe 20 miles on them, I was locked into my only goal: Unfuck anything I fucked up in New York (can I say “fuck” in this?). Aside from my sock saga, I had completely dropped the ball on mid-race nutrition and also went out way too fast, resulting in the need to mall-walk through some latter miles (and take more than one bathroom break). This time, I was determined to not do those things. And I cannot overstate the fact that looking down at your watch and realizing you “get” to slow down is one of the most underrated feelings in the world.
Obviously the vibes of the two races were completely different — in NYC, the crowd unequivocally kept me going and entertained, not to mention spending the first ~10 miles with NBR friends. In Philly, it was pretty much just me talking to myself, though when the crowds were there, they definitely didn’t disappoint (especially seeing NBR faces along the way!). I spent 97% of the race giving myself pep talks, reminding myself when I had to take gels, and wondering what the hell my form looked like, and magically the miles were ticking away. Not without pain, but still. (And that mile-12 Tylenol I took really hit, not gonna lie.)
In the back of my mind I did have a tiny, nagging desire to chase a 4-hour marathon, but I didn’t want to be tied to it at all. However, as the last few miles came around, I realized it was actually within reach, with the best part being that I didn’t really have to change anything I was doing. With visions of two weeks ago when I very gloriously puked at the finish line in front of every single photographer and news station seemingly in the tristate area fresh in my mind, I told myself that I could, under no circumstances, go as hard as I did to the finish this time. I paid $90 for photos and one of them included vomit literally coming out of my mouth.
Lo and behold, I crossed the finish line at 4:02:35, shaving off a whole 29 minutes from my NYC time. I shed a single tear and tried my best to look decent for my main-character moment; that photo is TBD, but at least I wasn't throwing up.
Sara Cohen -
Finishers Time: 3:29:28
Highlight of the Day: This year was hands down the best version of the NYC Marathon I've ever experienced. The spectators were out in full force and I got so much from them. Thank you to fellow team spot recipient Kendal for putting up with me for the first 13 miles while I talked to myself (and through all of training TBH). Thank you to all of the teammates who volunteered at the water table who made me feel like a celebrity running through mile 12. Thank you Liz, Carrie, Anthony, Mary Kate and Seth for the halfway point serotonin bump and the mile 23 resurgence. Thank you to all of our teammates who's cheers were the ones that rang over everyone else when I least expected it. Thank you everyone who cheered for me but I didn't see while I was blacked out in the pain cave. Thank you NBR for giving me the best birthday gift in March 2020 that I finally got to cash in over a year later.
Post-race Meal: After almost barfing at the finish line... chicken fingers, mac and cheese, and pizza at the after party.
Next Goal: I'm running CIM on Sunday so we'll see what happens there. I finally hit my long standing marathon goal of breaking the 3:30 mark so will have to come up with something new.
