New York City Half Marathon

I was originally pretty disappointed when I didn’t win the lottery for entry into the NYC Half Marathon. I ran the race last year and found it to be an incredible experience. Leaving Central Park and running into Times Square with not a car in sight was just unbelievable. In addition to the scenery you also have the legendary NYC crowd out in full force cheering you on the entire way. That being said, I quickly realized there would be other years and plenty more races. Little did I know at the time that I would be banged up and would likely have had to sit out the race regardless.

So with much excitement I broke out the ‘High Five Station’ sign I made for the 2009 NYC Marathon (see below) and went to dish out some high fives. I got the idea for the high five station sign while running the Brooklyn Half last year when I randomly high fived an unsuspecting course volunteer. At the time it helped get me going so figured it would work for other runners as well. Having run races with no crowds I can firmly say that the cheers from spectators can help push you through a race. High fives just play into the spectator/runner energy interaction and I find people really appreciate the personal interaction.

For today’s race I biked up to the park and set up at mile 2. I saw Maura and some runner friends while giving out a few hundred high fives. At mile 2 people were all smiles and full of energy. Runners found the High Five Station to be amusing, with many people joyfully slapping my hand. It was a slightly different story when I got down to mile 11. The runners were close but by no means done. I felt like many of the runners at mile 11 needed a high five, or some sort of encouragement. I got many more heartfelt thank yous at mile 11 than earlier in the race. It’s so much fun to see a runner’s face light up when they see the sign and come running over with their hand raised. In the end I think I had just as much fun not running the race as I would have had I participated.

As for my running, I did get a few miles in after the race. The hip is feeling better and I may be ready soon to start tackling some new runs and getting back to my goal of covering all the streets in Manhattan. Right now I am taking it easy and staying close to home, still staying involved in running and having a great time doing it.