ING New York City Marathon - RunMarathon

This was a spectacular race held on a spectacular day. I ran a hard race and ended up doing really well. I hit my goal of qualifying for Boston (3:10:59) and had time to spare. I used a "fly and die" race tactic (unintentionally). The first 18 miles I averaged sub-7:00 pace, but then I blew up and started running 7:40 miles. It is worth noting that my longest run was 18 miles, so maybe there is a link between longest runs and where you hit the "wall".

I thoroughly enjoyed the atmosphere of the race and all the spectators that lined both sides of the entire course. It was particularly interesting to see the evolution in the atmosphere of each neighborhood throughout the course. In particular, I can vividly recall the gospel choirs that sang uplifting songs in Harlem as well as the orthodox Jews that populated Brooklyn. The 1st and 5th Avenue crowds were pretty fantastic too.

I can't believe I ran 26.2 miles through all 5 boroughs of NYC in one day!

I would definitely pace myself better. I got way too aggressive in thinking that i could go sub-3:00. This was clearly not possible for me today, or, at least, I made it less likely by starting out way too hard. Averaging 169 for the beginning of the race is not a good way to start a 3-hour race.

Also, I wasted too much energy giving high fives to the spectators and little kids. I was weaving left and right and really having a good time early on in Brooklyn. I probably could have shaved a minute by just focusing on running straight.

Finally, I would ensure that I got put in the right starting block. I got stuck in the block with 4:00 runners--clearly too slow for me. I had to weave every second of the race. This was taxing on the body and definitely added a good amount to the distance run.

Walked for an hour.


Poor pacing. I went out WAY too hard.


The NYC Marathon is more than just a running race--it is a full (and surreal) running experience that is not to be missed.