New York City Marathon 2014 - Race Report

It was a fairy tale ending to a journey that has spanned nearly five years. A journey that has had its share of extreme highs and lows, both pure exhilaration and bitter disappointments combined. But, none of those previous experiences could ever compare to that special moment in time when I finally reached my destination. The road to breaking 3 hours in a marathon ended on a cold and very windy day in New York City. 

Get Your New York On!

Getting into the New York City Marathon was a big dream come true for me. It's the largest marathon in terms of participation; this year's edition had over 50,000 finishers. I've never had any luck getting in previously for the past 3 years so to get in this year allowed me a chance to complete all the major marathons of the world (Berlin, Chicago, London, Tokyo, Boston, New York). There are so very few runners in the world who have achieved this grand slam and this makes me 1 out of 2 New Zealanders so far to complete the Big Six.

The six world marathon major events.

To run under 3 hours at New York City was a very tall order considering the nature of the course. It has hills in many stages of the course and the roads are not the smoothest to run on, giving the New York City marathon a reputation as the longest cross country race in the world. Before training, I had run 3:04 at London, which was an ideal foundation to build on over the summer. Preparation for New York was to do the same as what I did for London, only to do it better, faster and longer. Intervals at the track were completely removed in favour of lots of long runs, tempo runs and hills. 

Profile of the New York City Marathon - first 15 miles.

At the end of the 14 week training cycle, I had logged 926 miles and set two new PBs in the 5k and half marathon. I didn't get sick and had only one injury scare. It was a dream run in preparation and it gave me sufficient confidence that I would have a good race, but in a marathon you have to deal with the uncontrollable... and the uncontrollable threatened to ruin my chances of running a good race before it had even started.

Statue of Liberty.

From the very moment I got off the plane at JFK International Airport, everything just started going very wrong. I waited in line at passport control for over 2 hours and Delta Airlines managed to send my bag to Austin, Texas, which contained some of the important running stuff I needed on race day! Very heavy winds were forecast a few days earlier and this forced the organisers to remove all the signs on the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge and shorten the wheelchair races by 2 miles. To top off my bad luck, on race morning, my watch failed to start so I had no visibility into how fast I needed to run to meet my time target. A sub-3 hour time didn't seem to be in the hand I was dealt with.

When things go wrong, it's time to Get Your Invincible On!

After the airport saga, I had to quickly refocus all of my negative mental thoughts into positive ones and this was where Louise, my girlfriend, came in. I met her at the hotel and was so happy to see a familiar face and have a reassuring presence with me. If she had not been there I wouldn't have gotten over that slump. With only 24 hours to race morning and no luggage, I was forced to look for useful items at the marathon expo. There, I got chatting to Runner's World Chief Running Officer and creator of the Yasso 800s workout (which I've never done), Bart Yasso, who gave me some tips on how best to handle the waiting game at the start line - wear lots of disposable warm clothes so that the body does not waste precious energy trying to keep warm. It was inspired advice as Louise ventured out into Upper West Manhattan in search of a dollar store finding the cheapest, unfashionable, clothes for me to wear. She returned with size XL thermals, a beanie and a rain poncho. It will have to do!

Ready for race day. Dressed up in clothes bought only 12 hours earlier.

Things were looking up on race morning. My luggage finally made it to my hotel, without my navy blue blazer! With no time to mourn the loss of a nice jacket I got the rest of my race gear together and set out in the darkness to get the subway to Battery Park, where the Staten Island ferry was waiting to transport runners to the start line. Once we reached the terminal we had to be taken to the start village by bus. It was a long wait in the wind and cold, and a lot of the runners looked very uncomfortable trying to keep warm. The winds were as strong as I'd feared and, for the length of time I was waiting in the start corral, I was praying that the wind would be mostly behind me.

Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, spanning Staten Island and Brooklyn and the start of the New York City Marathon.

At the start village I got talking to Sebastian, the lone 3-hour pacer. His strategy was to bank some time in the first 2 miles, get to halfway in under 1:29:30 and then run a slightly slower second half. It wasn't the sort of strategy I was really comfortable with as I preferred a slower start with a gradual build up in speed later on, but I resolved to try keeping within striking distance between us. I quickly went through my warmup drills to physically and mentally prepare myself for what was to come. The body responded very well and the legs felt ready. Then the runners were herded to the base of the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, I joined the 50 or so runners in the sub-3 hour pace group, the elites were introduced and the cannon had sounded. My 3 hour countdown had started!

Course map traversing the five boroughs of New York City.

The 1 mile climb up the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge was the most significant climb of the whole course but it provided an equal measure of breath-taking experiences and scary moments as the wind relentlessly pounded everyone crossing over to Brooklyn. Being so high up, I was especially fearful that my race number, and timing chip, would be ripped off my vest and blown into the harbour, which would've been Game Over right there! My strategy to combat the winds was to draft behind the bigger and taller runners but the wind direction was unpredictable as a tailwind quickly turned to crosswind and headwind, even though we weren't changing direction!

Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, miles 1 and 2.

Eventually we entered Brooklyn and Sebastian was already nowhere to be seen in the distance. I crossed the 3 mile mark and looked at my watch. It hadn't started! With no time to panic I had to quickly gather my wits and try to catch up to Sebastian, who was the only one in the field to rely on whether I was on target or not. The gun times were displayed at each mile marker so I had to do the maths on the run to know for sure whether I was within my target splits written hastily on my arm. I poured on the pace in miles 4 and 5 to look for him.

Brooklyn at mile 3.

To my relief, I managed to spot Sebastian early and stuck with his group. I took the lead a couple of times but, as the course reached a new hill or changed in character, he took the lead again where I was forced to react to stay with him. By halfway we crossed Pulaski Bridge, crossing into Queens, and I crossed 13.1 miles at 1:29:58 - obviously without a working watch I didn't know my time for sure as all I was focused on was staying with Sebastian.

Mile 12 in Brooklyn.

Then, things took a turn for the worse when we climbed Queensboro Bridge leaving Queens for Manhattan. The climb was long and Sebastian seemed to put in a surge on the uphill. I tried to keep with him, dropping a few of the runners I was with, but the gap grew to over 100 metres. It was there that I thought I was going to fail again. I was starting to get tired and I couldn't really find the extra energy to close the gap.  

First Avenue at mile 16. Met Louise at mile 18 and things started getting better!

Eventually I managed to respond to claw back the gap and the downhill from Queensboro Bridge into First Avenue really helped as I managed to catch Sebastian and his many followers. Louise was waiting for me at mile 18 on First Avenue holding a couple of creative cheer signs that she had drawn up over breakfast. In a split second I decided to stop to give her a quick hug and kiss before she urged me to keep running. It happened so fast but I heard her words, You're doing brilliantly, clearly through the noise of spectators. It was the ounce of inspiration I needed and instead of reaching mile 20 and working hard in the last 6, I decided to work hard right there with 8 more miles to go. It was a risky move but it paid off handsomely. The gap between Sebastian and I grew and I never saw him again, for if he did pass me later on then that would be very bad.

Mile 20 on Willis Avenue Bridge, crossing from Manhattan to the Bronx.

The pack got thinner and soon I found myself in the company of solitary, tired runners, already shuffling, as we went through Bronx and Harlem. I tried my very best to avoid looking at them and focus on the task at hand, to maintain goal pace as much as I could. The final test came on 5th Avenue on the approach to Central Park. There was a long uphill and a stiff headwind, and it was the time where I really pushed myself to maintain pace. In fact, the hill felt like running up a mountain!

Mile 22 on Fifth Avenue, with a long stretch of uphill still to come on the course.

Surprisingly I felt stronger at mile 23 compared to other marathons and, even though my legs were close to trashed, I still managed to make surges to bank precious time. Louise was waiting at the entrance of Central Park and screamed my name, but sadly I didn't acknowledge her as I was 100% in the moment. With two more miles to go and 16 minutes to do it in I started to believe that the sub-3 hour time was as safe as it could get, but Central Park had even more hills and my poor body was getting slammed on them!

Working hard at mile 24 in Central Park. The other guy didn't seem to enjoy his closing miles!

In my mind, I kept thinking about how well my training went - that I've ran workouts and hills that were tougher than this. I thought about the support I've received over the months and years and how it has shaped me to be the runner and person I am now. I thought about all the friends back home tracking me on Facebook and Twitter and how they must be reacting at my progress. I thought about the amount of time it took me to reach a standard to break 3 hours – I’ve been trying for nearly 5 years. The remaining miles went quickly and, on a slight incline in Central Park, the final telling statement of how tough the course was that day, I finished New York City, my final World Marathon Major, in a new PB and a finishing time of 2:58:35. 

The final sprint for the line!

I couldn't believe what had happened. All those years of training, trying and not succeeding, followed by more training had counted for something. The previous PBs, my first GFA time for London, the Boston Qualifying time, my comeback from injury... and now this! A huge weight was finally lifted off my shoulders and I got pretty emotional as I walked through the post-finish area. A very excited Louise met me as I exited Central Park and we embraced for what felt like a very long time, but was probably only half a minute. I couldn't have felt any happier to come away with the result that I wanted, and to share it right there and then with her.

At last!

On a day that looked to give virtually little chances for great success, it ended with the absolute best outcome I could've asked for and it called for an awesome celebration in the Big Apple. Louise and I went to a hidden bar somewhere in Nolita that was only accessible via a phone booth. Celebratory champagne was enjoyed. Then, we ate a very big pizza at America's oldest pizzeria in Little Italy. It was such a long day for both of us and when we caught the yellow cab back home, Louise quietly fell asleep in my arms. For me, I was still high and didn't get much sleep, if any, that night. The next day, we bumped into Wilson Kipsang and Mary Keitany, the men's and women's winner, in Central Park and got our photos taken with them.

Mary Keitany, Me, Louise and Wilson Kipsang at Marathon Monday in Central Park.

The race may be over, but the memories of what I experienced on Super Sunday will rest in the heart forever. For those who know me best, I've been working towards a sub-3 hour marathon time consistently for the past 4 years, balancing full time work and other commitments. It's been an incredible journey filled with highs and lows and often I've questioned myself along the way as to whether I could make it. If there's anything I want you to take away from this, whether you run marathons or not, don't be afraid to set the bar high, accept failure no matter how epic, never take your eye off the target and never give up! Anything is possible if you work hard, believe in yourself, surround yourself with positive people and, most importantly, focus on the journey instead of the destination. I hope that it will inspire you to go after a life-time goal that no one can ever take away from you!

All six World Marathon Major medals.

And, to top it off, I ran the second half faster than the first. Now, that’s how you run a marathon!

Splits from the New York City Marathon, based on actual target time of under 3:00:00.

A huge thank you to everyone who has supported me, not only for getting ready for New York but for the entirety of this journey from start to finish. I'm going to throw out names here (and I hope I don't miss anyone off!) because this one single event has really taken a mammoth effort to pull off and, no matter how great or small, I feel it would be remiss not to acknowledge them personally:

• The folks at Reading Roadrunners, including: Coach Tony Canning, Sian James, Catherine Leather, Alan Freer, Andrew Runnacles, Nelesh Kotecha, Simon Denton, Donald Scott-Collett, Dean Allaway, Belinda Tull, Paul Monaghan, Nigel Hoult, Alex Harris, Colin Cottell, Uncle Tom Harrison, Mark Saunders, David McCoy and many many others. 
• The parkrun family, including: David Lewis, Peter Cook, Keith and Jane Ellis, Teresa, Paul and Emma Caswell, Sev Konieczny, Kerry Eastwood, Angela and Cookie Liu, Jenny Oakley, Emma Grenside, Peter Reilly, Paul Noades, Fergal Donnelly, Mark and Veronica Andrew, Robert Tan, Simon Brimacombe, Kerri French, Phil Reay, Gary Brampton, Mandy Carden, Chris Kelly, Kevin Wheeler, Charlie Macklin, Alix Eyles, Patrick Kerry, Lokesh Gandhi, Anthony Collins, Christopher Sutton, Chris Edwin, Simon Riviere, Ben Whalley, Jacob Flannigan for his pacing and many many others.
• My work colleagues, including: Claire White, Jo Reive, Annaliese Davies, Sarah Ormiston, Aliz Kurtossy, Leah Rickard, Conny Chan, Peter Gauld, Matt Bilton, Chloe Irwin Whitney, Emma Murphy, David Hancock, Robert Sparkes, Colin Henderson, Qing Liu, Shanta Sankaran and others.
• My non-running friends both in UK, NZ and abroad, including: Jason and Anna Ewins, James and Christie Oldfield, Jo McCarthy and others. 
• The folks on Twitter who have followed my progress over the years. In particular, shafk, himself a sub-3 hour marathon runner, who has provided me a lot of encouragement and advice. 
• Liz and Andy Atkinson, for treating me so well with their gracious hospitality, good humour, love and support.
• Not to forget, my "useless wingman", Shaun Tan, for putting up with me from the very start. 
• And I can't forget my family too, both in the UK and back home in NZ. 

But my biggest thanks have to go to my girlfriend, Louise, for offering to join me in New York City, putting up with me during those months of training and ensuring that I did the best I possibly could on race day. I honestly couldn't have reached the top without her help and I couldn't have asked for a better support person, and team.

The surprise celebration cake I received at Reading parkrun, 1 week after New York.

So, what's next? It's been 1 month since Super Sunday and, to be honest, it still feels like one big dream! I'd happily relive the moment, only without the pain. But, in all seriousness, I'm still struggling to decide what to focus on, whether it's to do another marathon or something completely different. Whatever the goal, I'm sure that I'll commit to The Awesome Project with the same level of enthusiasm and drive I displayed earlier, with everyone and everything I've ever wanted or needed by my side. I may succeed. I may even crash and burn for all I know. But I've reached the top for now, I've earned the chance to go even higher and I am going to take it. 

Top of the Rock at sunset, the day after Super Sunday.