NYRR Holiday 4 Miler 12 15 07 (Read 457 times)

(Written on December 16th) I ran in the New York Road Runners Holiday 4 miler yesterday. Despite the weather, or maybe because of it I did OK for me. Certainly it was not the kind of day to inspire one to slow down and admire the scenery. But it was a strange race, because it was the last timed race of the year and the members, knowing that they need 9 timed races to qualify for automatic entry into the New York Marathon all came down for the face. It must be pointed out that the Road Runners are not really prepared for such on onslught of perople. The race started at 9:30 at 102nd street on the east side. I got to the headquarters at 89th Street to pick up my bib and chip and found a line that stretched all the way down the block and around the corner. By 9:15 I was on my way to the start, and by 9:27 I had check my bag and was making my way to the starting coral. Had to line up near the back of the pack the front was jammed. I looked at my watch and it said 9:31 and I was thinking that perhaps the NYRR had decided to postpone the start of the race to allow extra time for runners to make their way to the starting area. I was waiting, listening for the horn. after about 6 minutes everyone started walking then running. Seems the horn had gone off at 9:30, but I was too far away to hear it. I ran feeling strong and healthy. The course was 102nd street transverse down the west side to 72nd Street transverse, over to the east side, up past cat hill (so-called for the small statue of a cat crouching on the hillside) and back to 102nd Street. The roadways of Central Park are quite narrow and it seemed like there were thousand and thousands of people. It also seemed like I was passing people all the way. I finished chip time 36:51, not bad for a day like that. I see that I crossed over the finish line at the same time as 8 other runners more or less. But the web pages says there were 4,951 runners and tht doesn't seem right. to me it sure looked like more! Much More! I'm wondering if The Road Runners didn't just turn off the mat at the 1:30 hour mark. They gave out bagels and hot chocolate right there in the park, a wise idea considering that the sheer number of runners would have overwhelmed the local school where normally the after race treats are given out. The Road Runners seem to have anticipated a larger crowd, as there was certainly enough bagels and hot chocolate and bananas to go around (but those raisin bagels went first). I got a bagel that seemed unusually brown it color, and at first I thought mabe it had been cooked too long but when I tasted it, it tasted sort of like maple syrup(?). So much for tradition. My year recap: Stress fracture and law school slowed me down. 12 Races, 10 with road runners. 1 Age Group Award. (Westchester Quarter Marathon). 934 miles so far.

Yes. I hope to run ING New York Marathon with Elliot Marsden, a lawyer friend from DC.