New York City Marathon Recap

New York, New York, I love you so much.

The New York City Marathon is my Oscars/Grammys/Super Bowl/Christmas all rolled into one whirlwind of a weekend. I’ve run it five times, and I was super excited to run it for my sixth time this year with FP Movement and Release Recovery! 

But this year ended up being a totally new experience for me. I had casually talked to my friend Caitlin about running together, but when the race got closer, I found out that she was participating in the MasterCard Priceless Start, a VIP experience that gave a few select runners a once-in-a-lifetime chance at a head start on the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge. Fortunately, MasterCard was generous enough to extend me an additional invite—and the opportunity to interview their partner Shalane Flanagan (stay tuned on that front)—so we could race together. 

We took the bus out to Staten Island at 5:30 a.m. like normal, but there was no sitting around killing time because as soon as I was done chatting with Shalane, we were immediately hustled out to the starting line, and the metaphorical gun went off for us at 8:25 a.m. sharp. 

The New York City Marathon is the largest marathon in the world. On Sunday, 51,933 runners crossed the starting line. You’ve seen the iconic photos of the packed Verrazzano Bridge; my experience was the complete opposite. After we started charging uphill—the first mile of this race has 151 feet of elevation gain, FYI—we quickly lost sight of Shalane and Matt James and the rest of the MasterCard group quickly spread out, leaving Caitlin and I essentially alone for miles. It felt like we were out for a casual long run together, except the city had graciously shut down the streets just for us.  

That feeling continued into Brooklyn, where the crowds were sparse so early in the morning. We started 15 minutes before the elite women and 40 minutes before the elite men, so people seemed very confused to see two girls just conversationally running alone along the course. It was weird! We just kept laughing about how insane it felt, like we were dreaming and would eventually wake up for the real race. 

Even though there were less spectators than I was used to (my original wave was slated for a 9:45 a.m. start, which is when I started last year), there’s no crowd like a New York crowd, and we got plenty of “welcome to Brooklyn!” shouts along the way. But the relative quiet allowed us to hear the cannon boom back in Staten Island that signified the start of the female elites. I kept looking over my shoulder, waiting for them to overtake us. Sure enough, around mile 6, the elite women were upon us; Kellyn Taylor, who went on to place top American woman, was leading the charge, with Molly Huddle and Edna Kiplagat on her heels and Helen Obiri, the eventual race winner, and Sharon Lokedi, last year’s NYC Marathon champion, at the back of the pack. They were absolutely flying, and it was so cool to get to see how pros move in a pack up closer (I tried to hang on for a few seconds, if only for the content, but I…could not.)

After they blew by, we settled back into our pace with a newfound appreciation for how different it is for the pros when the race. Turning from Fourth Avenue onto Lafayette Avenue, a much smaller, tree-lined street in Brooklyn was a highlight due to the cheering crowds and the lack of the bottleneck you typically get when the three color waves for the mass start finally converge. Around mile nine, we could hear the cheers behind us indicating that the men were coming—we quickly moved ourselves to the shoulder of the road so we wouldn’t be in their way but they were moving so fast and they were so focused, they didn’t even register us (Tamirat Tola, who eventually won, and Albert Korir, the eventual runner-up were in lockstep.)

Just before we approached the halfway point, on the Pulaski Bridge connecting Brooklyn to Queens, the mass start—which kicked off 45 minutes after us—finally started to overtake us. This was actually more anxiety-inducing than the pro flybys, because these guys (it was mostly guys until we were solidly in Queens) were moving, and there were a lot of them. Caitlin and I tried to stick together so they would flow around us, and we definitely got a few funny looks from dudes who I’m sure were wondering what exactly we were doing there. 

Before we knew it, we were on the Queensborough Bridge heading into Manhattan. This was the first time I ran that stupid bridge without stopping to walk, and I’m really proud of that! It was also around mile 15 that I was passed by my first Denver friend, which was exciting—I never get to see my faster friends during races, so it was fun to cheer them on during the final 10 miles as they outpaced us. 

By the time we entered Manhattan just after mile 16, the streets were filling up with runners and the crowds were exactly as I expected. I usually race in headphones, and this was the first marathon that I ran entirely without them; it made hearing that “wall of sound” coming from the crowds waiting for us on First Avenue that much more special. As we ran up those first three and half miles through the Upper East Side, I saw so many familiar faces—and I say up, because it’s all a freaking hill—and I just want to say how meaningful it is to find your supporters on the course. Whether I barely see someone as I run by or full-on tackle them with a sweaty hug, just knowing that those people showed up to support me is something that sustains me for MILES. Spectating is no small thing. 

Caitlin and I were still feeling pretty good heading into the Bronx, and now the race felt much more like what I was familiar with. People often think of the Bronx as the quietest part of the course, but I think that’s really changed over the past few years. There were so many run crews up there, it felt like a non-stop party for that two-and-a-half-mile stretch (although I’m deeply upset I didn’t find the people handing out little cups of Coca-Cola this year—I really needed it). 

We cruised past mile 20 and onto the last bridge that would bring us back into Manhattan, and up in Harlem is where my wheels started to come off. I wore the Hoka Rocket X 2, which I really like, but I kept running on my toes for some reason and my calves were now fully pissed at me about that; the rest of my lower body was also not thrilled that I was subjecting it to this kind of stress again so soon after the St. George Marathon. But since this race was more about helping my friend than any of my own goals, I was fully embracing the relentlessly positive “fake it ’til you make” approach (it works!). 

Fifth Avenue, with its subtle-but-brutal uphill grind, was rough. We were deep into the final 10K and counting down the miles, blocks, stoplights—whatever helped make the remaining distance feel easier to cover. Entering Central Park at around mile 23.5 always feels special; right before you turn in is a giant Jumbotron broadcasting other route locations, and once you’re inside the park, the streets are absolutely mobbed with spectators. It’s almost sorta kinda the home stretch, and you’re feeling every bit of those previous miles, but the vibes are so strong and the downhill so welcome that we kept cruising.

When the course spits you back out onto 59th Street for less than a mile, it’s a total mindfuck. But we were surrounded on all sides by cheering spectators and there was no time to stop if we wanted to meet our time goal. Finally, just before mile 26, we re-entered Central Park with mere minutes to the finish. It’s an incredible thing to witness runners near a marathon finish line; there are so many people pushing through serious physical and mental barriers. As we approached the finish, I got to hear my friend, one of the race announcers, call my name, and that was it. We hit our time goal, and there were a lot of emotions in the finish chute.

There’s something really special about running a race with someone else. This sport has always been about the people for me. I’ve paced friends for shorter distances before and jumped in for sections of their marathons, but this was the first time I ran a race from start to finish with someone else.

Running a distance race with someone else requires a certain level of trust and vulnerability. There’s a lot that can happen over the course of 26.2 miles, and I know I’ve felt some (self-induced!) embarrassment or shame in the past when I’ve asked people to pace me and then I haven’t been able to race the way I wanted to, whether because of stomach issues or just a lack of mental toughness. But the running community has always, always lifted me up, and I really enjoyed being able to pay that back this weekend. 

the rundown

ASICS Novablast 4
At last, an update to one of my favorite daily trainers! The ASICS Novablast 4 will be available starting December 1, but I’ve been testing it for the past two weeks. There are minimal updates, including a full-length Flytefoam Blast+ Eco midsole, a softer, lightweight, and highly breathable woven upper, and an updated outsole and midsole to capture more energy return. If you’re already a fan, you still will be—but I do think these feel more cushioned than the previous iteration, almost closer to the Superblast. I do think the Novablast runs a bit large (I’m generally a size 10, but need to size down to a 9), and that may be due to a more flexible upper meant to be more accommodating to wider feet.

Is Strava the New Dating App?
Honestly, this was kind of hate-read for me. Elle published this article explaining how Strava, the activity tracking app, could foster more meaningful relationships than your standard online dating app. I think there’s a reason this app has no private or direct messaging function, and the fact that the writer doesn’t even acknowledge some of the safety concerns women have about it feels a little irresponsible (pro runner Molly Seidel even left Strava a bit after people showed up to her runs and determined where she lives based on her activities). I’m not against meeting potential partners through running at all, but for the love of god don’t use Strava as Tinder.

High-Strain Evening Exercise Disrupts Sleep
I recently wrote about the effects of working out at night for self.com, and a new study confirms that getting your heart rate up too high before bed is a bad idea. Later exercise timing was associated with delayed sleep onset, reduced sleep quantity and quality, and increased sympathetic activity—AKA your fight-or-flight response—compared to no-exercise rest days, research published in October in the journal Sleep Advances determined. The researchers looked at nearly 7 million nights of sleep recorded over the course of a year using a biometric wearable device. The good news: As long as you finish your workout four hours before bed, regardless of strain, you should be fine.

Chirp RPM | Rolling Percussive Massager
When I first got this foam roller-meets-massage gun to test, I was kind of skeptical. It’s shaped like a rolling pin, with eight bumpy roller bars making up the “foam roller” aspect of the device; when you power it on via the button on the handle, those rollers start spinning and digging into your muscles à la a massage gun. Mostly, I like that you don’t have to do much work—instead of holding a massage gun to my sore calves or rolling my legs back and forth over a foam roller, for example, I could just leave it in its tray, prop my calves on top of it, and activate the percussive roller by pressing down on a single button. You can also hold the handles like you would a rolling pin to get at areas like your quads. It’s kind of loud and definitely not portable, but this is one recovery device I think I’ll use regularly.