Forums >Racing>NYC Marathon 2012
jfa
Obviously, the powers that be have been paying attention to our thread and have seen the error of their way.
Awesome
Thanks! Yeah, the start on Verrazano and Queensboro in the middle seem like the worst of it to me, but this one guy has managed to rattle me since he's mentioned training for hills twice now. Maybe it's also that "hill" means different things to different people? That's what I'm going to tell myself.
I hear that it's better to take the upper level .
#artbydmcbride
I hear they don't let them pee off there any more.
Runners run
ultramarathon/triathlete
I've never been peed on (that I know of!) and I've run on the top and the bottom. There are no officials on the bridge, so people DO stop mid way across to pee, though many people (men and women) pee squatting at the foot of the bridge in the 30 or so minutes you stand there waiting for the cannon. There's no shame in peeing in front of people apparently (and I've done it in recent years).
As for which is better, there is a better view from the top, but you can also run to the side if you're on the bottom. The other benefit to the top is that your GPS watch will keep the signal.
But people are right, despite the really big incline start, you won't notice it, until you see the clock on the bridge and think WTF, I'm going too slow already (but that's probably a GOOD thing). You WILL probably notice that you're first mile was slower than your second mile when you look at your splits later (again, if you're running with a GPS). You really can shoot down the bridge for the second half.
Who's excited?
HTFU? Why not!
USATF Coach
Empire Tri Club CoachGatorade Endurance Team
Interval Junkie --Nobby
I am.
Green Wave 1, Corral #6.
No idea what that means. I'm sure I'll be rubbing elbows with the elites, though.
2021 Goals: 50mpw 'cause there's nothing else to do
Just found this nice link of Wave / Corral numbers.
Oddly, my number is in the 6k range, which looks like Corral 3. But my registration says Corral #6. Could someone FedEx me a clue?
Also, anyone know the mapping of wave/corral to bridge deck?
green is lower, blue and orange are upper deck
Pooky's world trip
I'm not sure if they've posted it yet, but eventually they post a map of the "Athlete Village." On it, you'll see the routes from each Color Staging Area to their start corral holding area, and then their eventual path to the foot of the bridge.
It's amazingly well set up. I complain about a lot of NYRR things, but the staging for the marathon is not one of them. You can move between any of the color's areas or stay in your own, or stay in the neutral area where the stage and music is. Eventually they make announcements on the many many speakers, and in many many languages telling people to head to their corral. I find it rather surreal hearing the messages in English, Russian, Japanese, Italian, French, German, etc. For some reason, it's exciting.
There's also an area with a Dunkin Donuts truck giving out free coffee and hot tea, as well as an area giving out free bagels (and I think cream cheese). And also usually an area where PowerBar hands out snacks.
There are ample porta potties, but you should still hit one when you arrive since eventually some of them get pretty nasty, and lines do eventually form. There are also some porta potties in the corals once you've lined up and after you've dropped off your bag (if you're dropping a bag). So you can still hit a bathroom while you're waiting for your coral to start the slow march to the foot of the bridge (where you'll wait again for a bit, and maybe join others in another final pee-squat). Eventually, the cannon goes off and you listen to Frank Sinatra sing NY, NY as you start over the bridge. Then the sound of helicopters takes over, then it's the sound of 1000s of beating feet, then, once off the bridge, it slowly becomes a non-stop cheering session.
Best Present Ever
I'm not sure if they've posted it yet, but eventually they post a map of the "Athlete Village." On it, you'll see the routes from each Color Staging Area to their start corral holding area, and then their eventual path to the foot of the bridge. It's amazingly well set up. I complain about a lot of NYRR things, but the staging for the marathon is not one of them. You can move between any of the color's areas or stay in your own, or stay in the neutral area where the stage and music is. Eventually they make announcements on the many many speakers, and in many many languages telling people to head to their corral. I find it rather surreal hearing the messages in English, Russian, Japanese, Italian, French, German, etc. For some reason, it's exciting. There's also an area with a Dunkin Donuts truck giving out free coffee and hot tea, as well as an area giving out free bagels (and I think cream cheese). And also usually an area where PowerBar hands out snacks. There are ample porta potties, but you should still hit one when you arrive since eventually some of them get pretty nasty, and lines do eventually form. There are also some porta potties in the corals once you've lined up and after you've dropped off your bag (if you're dropping a bag). So you can still hit a bathroom while you're waiting for your coral to start the slow march to the foot of the bridge (where you'll wait again for a bit, and maybe join others in another final pee-squat). Eventually, the cannon goes off and you listen to Frank Sinatra sing NY, NY as you start over the bridge. Then the sound of helicopters takes over, then it's the sound of 1000s of beating feet, then, once off the bridge, it slowly becomes a non-stop cheering session.
you make me want to run this marathon.
There's a reason this will be my 7th consecutive time racing it :-)
Getting really excited for this one. I've never run a big marathon before. I'm in Orange Wave 1 coral 14. Hope to see some other RA runners there.
My blog is JT Running DC. It's awesome. Guide to Washington DC Area Running Routes. Guide to the New York City Marathon. Guide to the Boston Marathon. Guide to Running Gear. Guide to Running Clothes.
Short answer, Julia: you'll be fine and you'll get space to yourself pretty early on.
Long answer: Even with that corral and wave, it will thin out for you. It's always a packed race, given the number of runners, but as you run along 4th ave for the first 6 or 7 or so miles, it's a very wide double-road so you will not be elbow to elbow or anything. In fact, I bet once you get going down the Verrazano bridge after about the first mile, you'll find you have some room to maneuver around people and get your pace settled. The congestion at the start will just keep you running a bit slower up the bridge for the first mile, which will be beneficial later on by forcing you to go out easy.
It gets more congested again around the Williamsburg Savings Bank in downtown Brooklyn, which I think is around mile 9. That's where the Orange, Green and Blue merge together and everyone starts using the same timing clocks (up until then there are different clocks along the way for the different colors). Still, you'll have room to move and go fast if you want to.
Even when I ran with the 4.5 hour pacers (when my wife and I ran it together in '10) we had plenty of space to ourselves to move around. There are 40K+ runners, but aside from the start line, you're not really on top of each other. The wave starts, the wide road in the beginning, and the distance, all help spread people out.
Of course, all of that said, keep in mind NYCM is not really a "PR" marathon. The bridges are pretty big "hills."
Short answer, Julia: you'll be fine and you'll get space to yourself pretty early on. Long answer: Even with that corral and wave, it will thin out for you. It's always a packed race, given the number of runners, but as you run along 4th ave for the first 6 or 7 or so miles, it's a very wide double-road so you will not be elbow to elbow or anything. In fact, I bet once you get going down the Verrazano bridge after about the first mile, you'll find you have some room to maneuver around people and get your pace settled. The congestion at the start will just keep you running a bit slower up the bridge for the first mile, which will be beneficial later on by forcing you to go out easy. It gets more congested again around the Williamsburg Savings Bank in downtown Brooklyn, which I think is around mile 9. That's where the Orange, Green and Blue merge together and everyone starts using the same timing clocks (up until then there are different clocks along the way for the different colors). Still, you'll have room to move and go fast if you want to. Even when I ran with the 4.5 hour pacers (when my wife and I ran it together in '10) we had plenty of space to ourselves to move around. There are 40K+ runners, but aside from the start line, you're not really on top of each other. The wave starts, the wide road in the beginning, and the distance, all help spread people out. Of course, all of that said, keep in mind NYCM is not really a "PR" marathon. The bridges are pretty big "hills."