Forums >Racing>2018 New York Marathon Thread
You are allowed to fall back in the corrals. I'd think it would really depend on the person(s) controlling the corrals and how flexible they are in terms of changing colors. For you, I suspect you're probably Blue. Blue isn't bad, since that's where the elites start. Orange for the city view. Green to get peed on (although I never got peed on in green, but a fun myth nonetheless). This is from 2015, but I suspect it still is pretty close for this year as well. Not sure if the start times are the same though.
You are allowed to fall back in the corrals. I'd think it would really depend on the person(s) controlling the corrals and how flexible they are in terms of changing colors. For you, I suspect you're probably Blue. Blue isn't bad, since that's where the elites start. Orange for the city view. Green to get peed on (although I never got peed on in green, but a fun myth nonetheless).
This is from 2015, but I suspect it still is pretty close for this year as well. Not sure if the start times are the same though.
I am in Green, Corral B
I lost my rama
For a better chance of time, I'd stay where you are in Green. We're only talking the first couple miles of the race, and while everyone likes to be on top (kinda like taking the top of a bunk bed), I thought it was pretty cool to be on the lower deck, but that's just me. But it looks like you could fall back into a Blue or Orange corral if you wanted to.
Once the corrals collapse, it's pretty much a zoo anyway. But you can't (shouldn't) change lanes (blue, orange, green) until everyone comes together around mile 8.
3/17 - NYC Half
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For a better chance of time, I'd stay where you are in Green. We're only talking the first couple miles of the race, and while everyone likes to be on top (kinda like taking the top of a bunk bed), I thought it was pretty cool to be on the lower deck, but that's just me. But it looks like you could fall back into a Blue or Orange corral if you wanted to. Once the corrals collapse, it's pretty much a zoo anyway. But you can't (shouldn't) change lanes (blue, orange, green) until everyone comes together around mile 8.
I ran in Green corral B for my first NYC. Everybody likes the idea of starting on the top of the bridge for the views, which I would imagine leads to fewer runners actually coming out of Green, which is a good thing for the first 3 miles or so. I also agree that it was actually pretty cool starting on the bottom, and the whole peeing on people thing is almost certainly a myth.
The other benefit of Green is that you avoid some of the wind, especially when you're waiting on the bridge for 30+ minutes. You're sort of in this protected area because the top of the bridge is above and to the right of you. For a cold day or anything with wind/rain, it's actually better to be down there.
5K: 16:37 (11/20) | 10K: 34:49 (10/19) | HM: 1:14:57 (5/22) | FM: 2:36:31 (12/19)
Put your name in the lottery for 2019. Doesn't cost anything anymore. 1 in 6 chance, if my info is correct. I know you're running Boston in the spring, so how cool would it be to do NYC in the fall? Just sayin.
My wife would not think it was so cool.
Dave
Waltons ThreadLord
From what I've read, you can move down/back in colors the same way you can move back in the corrals. The order is Blue, Orange, Green. Orange seems to be least favored because of the extra turns early in the course so the advice I read is if you get Blue, stay there, but if you get Orange, consider moving back to Green. That assumes you don't have a strong preference for running on the upper level of the bridge. (One thing about running Green is you have a slightly smaller climb by running on the lower level of the bridge.)
I'll be in Wave 2, Green C.
5k 23:48.45 (3/22); 4M 31:26 (2/22); 5M 38:55 (11/23); 10k 49:24 (10/22); 10M 1:29:33 (2/24); Half 1:48:32 (10/22); Marathon 4:29:58 (11/23)Upcoming races: Clinton Country Run 15k, 4/27; Running is Back 10k, 5/12
From what I've read, you can move down/back in colors the same way you can move back in the corrals. The order is Blue, Orange, Green. Orange seems to be least favored because of the extra turns early in the course so the advice I read is if you get Blue, stay there, but if you get Orange, consider moving back to Green. That assumes you don't have a strong preference for running on the upper level of the bridge. (One thing about running Green is you have a slightly smaller climb by running on the lower level of the bridge.) I'll be in Wave 2, Green C.
I've only run Green (once) and Orange (twice), but I will attest that while you get the nice city views on top of the bridge in Orange, there are extra turns once off the bridge and making your way to 4th Ave. I haven't been in Blue yet though. For time, I'd agree with Fred and stay with Green.
She doesn't want to see NYC?
I was only able to convince DW that I'd run Big Sur because she loves the town of Carmel.
Mel
Green Wave 2 B for me. I put 3:55 for a predicted time, which is probably soft by 5-10 minutes at this point, so I’m afraid to move back. I did get the top of the bridge experience in 2016 in the Orange start, so I’ll probably stay where I am. You guys better be right about the whole pee thing being a myth!
https://www.strava.com/athletes/5411361
She doesn't want to see NYC? I was only able to convince DW that I'd run Big Sur because she loves the town of Carmel.
No, she would love to visit NYC. I'm just not sure what kind of weekend getaway it'd be. I'd be blowing most of a day running a stupid marathon, and probably not too up for doing a ton of walking around either before or after. And things would be more crowded and expensive than usual. I guess? Maybe 50k runners descending on NYC is barely a blip on the normal tourist load. Those of you who have done it can advise.
50K runners is nothing, it will have zero impact on how crowded things are. Hotels around midtown may be a touch more expensive, but it's nothing like Boston where prices are insane. Plus, remember that probably 10K people in the race live here locally, so that dampens the impact a bit.
My NYRR "best pace" puts my just under a 4 hour marathon (flatteringly optimistic), so it makes sense we're just one corral apart. I may drop back a bit within the wave so I'm not in the way of all the faster people trying to pass me.
Not only a very considerate move of you, but smart. Everybody starts out too fast, so by moving back, you'll be more in line with people running the pace you want to start the race.
I heard that at the Boston Marathon runners were told to expect their GPS watches to register about 26.3 - 26.5 miles and to adjust their expectations accordingly if they were pacing by their watches (i.e. they'd have to run a faster watch pace in order to achieve a desired goal time).
Are there any guidelines for what to expect in NY? In know that people like me, running in the pack, can't expect to hit all the tangents and thus will run more than 26.2. I'm just wondering how much farther I'll likely run.
In the big picture, this may not be something worth worrying about and I should probably focus on enjoying the race, but in the time leading up to the race, this is the kind of thing that I can focus on to avoid worrying about things I can't control.
Count me as guilty of this in the past. I'll be trying hard not to do it again this year.
Are there any guidelines for what to expect in NY? In know that people like me, running in the pack, can't expect to hit all the tangents and thus will run more than 26.2. I'm just wondering how much farther I'll likely run. In the big picture, this may not be something worth worrying about and I should probably focus on enjoying the race, but in the time leading up to the race, this is the kind of thing that I can focus on to avoid worrying about things I can't control.
For me:
2014 - 26.39
2015 - 26.34
2016 - 26.46*
* This year I video-d much of the race, so I purposely took the long way around corners so I wouldn't be in the way of others. 26.3 to 26.4 I'd say is what you can expect.
Also, the GPS will be inaccurate on the lower level of the VZ (Green) as well as the Queensboro (Ed Koch) Bridge. Otherwise, I don't think it's too bad.