Having spent most of my working life in newspapers, I thrive on deadlines. I need that finality to emerge from the fog of competing distractions to get the job done.
And so it is with my first marathon – the Grand Daddy, or shall I say Grand Mama, of marathons – the NYC marathon, the world’s largest and among the most storied.
The race is one month away. I finally booked the flights (non-refundable) and am saying out loud – ‘I’m going’. Still seems surreal. Of course, my battered body is all too aware that something is happening (four blackening toe nails, a new record).
When it was first held in 1970, 55 people finished and were awarded cheap watches and used bowling trophies. Last year, more than 50,000 people participated and two million lined the route to cheer.
It’s time to set a few goals for the race.
#1 – Beat David Lee Roth’s finish time. The rocker and late-night partier is among the celebrities who have ran through the city’s five boroughs. He finished in 6:04:43. The average time is 4:30. This leads to all sorts of quips such as “I used to run, but the ice cubes kept falling out of my glass.”
Robert Yager photo of David Lee Roth. Sooner or later, we all feel the pain.
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#2 – Don’t get lost on the course. During the 1994 marathon, leader Germán Silva took a wrong turn seven-tenths of a mile before the finish line. He ran a 5:15 final mile, including the detour, to overtake his competition and win the event by two seconds with a time of 2:11:21. He was forever known as ‘Wrong Way Silva’. Given that I will be way, way, way back in the pack, I don’t think I’ll have a problem figuring out which way to go. Even if I’m delusional with fatigue near at the end, I’m hoping there’s a few people left behind me to push me forward.
#3 – Don’t get peed on. Thousands of people are corralled onto upper and lower spans of the Verranzo Bridge where they wait for a long time for the race start. Some have drank a litre or more of sports drink. Let’s just say that spray from the edge of upper deck can carry in the wind. Beware those on the lower deck.
#4 – Leave fuzzy moose costume at home – I realize the Nov. 2 race date is close to Halloween but seriously folks, can’t you just struggle through a marathon like the rest of us without showing off. While you’re breezing past me in your non-breathable shag-carpet costume or plastic-and-styrofoam head piece, I’m gasping for oxygen in my light-as-air tech T-shirt.
For more costumes, see Buzzfeed's collection
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#5 – Beat Pamela Anderson’s finish time. I don’t have, how do I put this politely, the same aerodynamic challenges as Pam, and thank god I’m not participating with the glare of the paparazzi. Vancouver Island’s most famous blonde, after Diana Krall, finished the 26.2 miles last year in 5:40. I want to finish outside the glare of the cameras, a celebrity in my own mind with a sub-5:30 time.
Pamela Anderson as photographed on-route and her own Twitter pic having fun with post-run remedies.
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I don't have as many followers as Pam, but I AM on Twitter at @Victoriarunner
