The Running Thread --2025

[marty3d]

Finally getting around to writing my recap of the NYC Marathon.

NYC Marathon - November 2nd

I've been wanting to run NYC for almost as long as I've been running. I finally started entering the lottery in 2022 but decided my odds of getting in weren't getting any better - and I wasn't getting any younger. Since I don't live in the US, I have the option of booking guaranteed entry through an International Tour Operator and I finally pulled the trigger on it this year.

I felt really good going in. I took my marathon training more seriously than any since my first in 2014. The gorgeous fall weather here certainly helped as I never had to move any of my training indoors (I find long runs on the treadmill to be brutal and not looking forward to it in the lead up to MW). Based on my training paces and half marathon race pace, I went in knowing that I could likely hit about 4:45 on a flat marathon. NYC is not flat, plus I wanted to take my time, enjoy it - and also enjoy the 2 post marathon days we had scheduled in NYC. My target for the race was to finish in 5 to 6 hours.

Getting to NYC was a different story - with the high winds in NYC, we ended up with 2 ground stops and another 40 minutes of circling before landing. All told we arrived almost 4 hours late on Halloween.

Race Day

Unlike Friday, the weather was perfect (for me) on Sunday. I was in Wave 5 and it was about 55F and sunny at the start and the temperature seemed to remain pretty constant for the race.

• The NYC Marathon is incredibly organized - best I've seen
• Starting uphill on a bridge for the first mile was a challenge. I'm glad I was prepared and didn't try to race it.
• The crowds - I've never experienced anything like it - it's wall to wall people cheering on for almost the entire 26.2 miles - I wasn't planning on listening to music but it would have been impossible to anyway. Just incredible - NYC really knows how to party. @fatmanatee - based on your pictures I might have passed you twice along the course!
• The bridges - they were tough - but again, I was prepared and just took it easy on the uphills. This may be just my opinion but I think I'll take the NYC bridges over the WDW overpasses any day.
• We planned it out well and DW was able to see me twice (once on 1st and again in Central Park)
• Finishing in Central Park. No words.

I finished in 5:28:56. Right in the middle of my target time and also beat my previous PR by over one hour 17 minutes (to be fair - all 5 of my previous marathons were at WDW).

All in all, one of the best experiences in my life. Maybe coloured a bit by the fact that NYC was already one of my favourite cities anywhere.

Of course, now I want to do it again. I'm going to go back to entering the lottery with no expectation of getting in that way. But I do think in 3 to 5 years, I'll want to do it again - either the ITO or charity route (I think I'd try a charity next time).

One last thing - I know the medal was posted on here when it was announced. It's even nicer in person and a great example of less is more. runDisney could learn a thing here (even though I still love a lot of the rD Medals).

 

[jmasgat]

@marty3d ”Finishing in Central Park. No words”……. I had words…for all the walking and contorting you had to do to get out of CP once you were done!. Glad you enjoyed the race. I will continue to remain an outlier as one who doesn’t have stars in her eyes over the course. (It was just too loud for my liking) I think I would have liked the half though-probably should have signed up when I got a guaranteed entry.

 

[marty3d]

@marty3d ”Finishing in Central Park. No words”……. I had words…for all the walking and contorting you had to do to get out of CP once you were done!. Glad you enjoyed the race. I will continue to remain an outlier as one who doesn’t have stars in her eyes over the course. (It was just too loud for my liking) I think I would have liked the half though-probably should have signed up when I got a guaranteed entry.

So strange I almost forgot about the extra km or two after the finish. It felt like a shuffling orange zombie apocalypse.

 

[LatebloomerultraF3]

Thanks for the insight!

 

[DianaMB333]

Finally getting around to writing my recap of the NYC Marathon.

NYC Marathon - November 2nd

I've been wanting to run NYC for almost as long as I've been running. I finally started entering the lottery in 2022 but decided my odds of getting in weren't getting any better - and I wasn't getting any younger. Since I don't live in the US, I have the option of booking guaranteed entry through an International Tour Operator and I finally pulled the trigger on it this year.

I felt really good going in. I took my marathon training more seriously than any since my first in 2014. The gorgeous fall weather here certainly helped as I never had to move any of my training indoors (I find long runs on the treadmill to be brutal and not looking forward to it in the lead up to MW). Based on my training paces and half marathon race pace, I went in knowing that I could likely hit about 4:45 on a flat marathon. NYC is not flat, plus I wanted to take my time, enjoy it - and also enjoy the 2 post marathon days we had scheduled in NYC. My target for the race was to finish in 5 to 6 hours.

Getting to NYC was a different story - with the high winds in NYC, we ended up with 2 ground stops and another 40 minutes of circling before landing. All told we arrived almost 4 hours late on Halloween.

Race Day

Unlike Friday, the weather was perfect (for me) on Sunday. I was in Wave 5 and it was about 55F and sunny at the start and the temperature seemed to remain pretty constant for the race.

• The NYC Marathon is incredibly organized - best I've seen
• Starting uphill on a bridge for the first mile was a challenge. I'm glad I was prepared and didn't try to race it.
• The crowds - I've never experienced anything like it - it's wall to wall people cheering on for almost the entire 26.2 miles - I wasn't planning on listening to music but it would have been impossible to anyway. Just incredible - NYC really knows how to party. @fatmanatee - based on your pictures I might have passed you twice along the course!
• The bridges - they were tough - but again, I was prepared and just took it easy on the uphills. This may be just my opinion but I think I'll take the NYC bridges over the WDW overpasses any day.
• We planned it out well and DW was able to see me twice (once on 1st and again in Central Park)
• Finishing in Central Park. No words.

I finished in 5:28:56. Right in the middle of my target time and also beat my previous PR by over one hour 17 minutes (to be fair - all 5 of my previous marathons were at WDW).

All in all, one of the best experiences in my life. Maybe coloured a bit by the fact that NYC was already one of my favourite cities anywhere.

Of course, now I want to do it again. I'm going to go back to entering the lottery with no expectation of getting in that way. But I do think in 3 to 5 years, I'll want to do it again - either the ITO or charity route (I think I'd try a charity next time).

One last thing - I know the medal was posted on here when it was announced. It's even nicer in person and a great example of less is more. runDisney could learn a thing here (even though I still love a lot of the rD Medals).

View attachment 1022581

Congrats!! Sounds like you have a great experience!!

Curious.. are there real restrooms on the course? Or only porta-potties?
(Odd question, but this is one of the main excuses I have for not doing races outside of Disney lol)

 

[marty3d]

Congrats!! Sounds like you have a great experience!!

Curious.. are there real restrooms on the course? Or only porta-potties?
(Odd question, but this is one of the main excuses I have for not doing races outside of Disney lol)

There were LOTS of ports-potties - at least every mile. What I can't answer because I didn't try is weather any business might allow the use of their real restrooms. That is definitely a plus for Disney races!

 

[Disneyhanna]

Finally getting around to writing my recap of the NYC Marathon.

NYC Marathon - November 2nd

I've been wanting to run NYC for almost as long as I've been running. I finally started entering the lottery in 2022 but decided my odds of getting in weren't getting any better - and I wasn't getting any younger. Since I don't live in the US, I have the option of booking guaranteed entry through an International Tour Operator and I finally pulled the trigger on it this year.

I felt really good going in. I took my marathon training more seriously than any since my first in 2014. The gorgeous fall weather here certainly helped as I never had to move any of my training indoors (I find long runs on the treadmill to be brutal and not looking forward to it in the lead up to MW). Based on my training paces and half marathon race pace, I went in knowing that I could likely hit about 4:45 on a flat marathon. NYC is not flat, plus I wanted to take my time, enjoy it - and also enjoy the 2 post marathon days we had scheduled in NYC. My target for the race was to finish in 5 to 6 hours.

Getting to NYC was a different story - with the high winds in NYC, we ended up with 2 ground stops and another 40 minutes of circling before landing. All told we arrived almost 4 hours late on Halloween.

Race Day

Unlike Friday, the weather was perfect (for me) on Sunday. I was in Wave 5 and it was about 55F and sunny at the start and the temperature seemed to remain pretty constant for the race.

• The NYC Marathon is incredibly organized - best I've seen
• Starting uphill on a bridge for the first mile was a challenge. I'm glad I was prepared and didn't try to race it.
• The crowds - I've never experienced anything like it - it's wall to wall people cheering on for almost the entire 26.2 miles - I wasn't planning on listening to music but it would have been impossible to anyway. Just incredible - NYC really knows how to party. @fatmanatee - based on your pictures I might have passed you twice along the course!
• The bridges - they were tough - but again, I was prepared and just took it easy on the uphills. This may be just my opinion but I think I'll take the NYC bridges over the WDW overpasses any day.
• We planned it out well and DW was able to see me twice (once on 1st and again in Central Park)
• Finishing in Central Park. No words.

I finished in 5:28:56. Right in the middle of my target time and also beat my previous PR by over one hour 17 minutes (to be fair - all 5 of my previous marathons were at WDW).

All in all, one of the best experiences in my life. Maybe coloured a bit by the fact that NYC was already one of my favourite cities anywhere.

Of course, now I want to do it again. I'm going to go back to entering the lottery with no expectation of getting in that way. But I do think in 3 to 5 years, I'll want to do it again - either the ITO or charity route (I think I'd try a charity next time).

One last thing - I know the medal was posted on here when it was announced. It's even nicer in person and a great example of less is more. runDisney could learn a thing here (even though I still love a lot of the rD Medals).

View attachment 1022581

Love the recap, congrats! NYC is definitely a bucket list for me. Have you thought about doing the lottery for the virtual marathon? I believe if you complete the virtual, you're guaranteed entry for the next year! I don't know the odds of that lottery, but I imagine far higher than the regular lottery. That medal is beautiful, the funny thing is if Disney did something that simple (but elegant), I know some people would think it's too plain

My fastest Disney marathon is like an hour and 13 minutes slower than my single non-Disney marathon, so we are in a similar boat! Having the crowd support the entire race sounds amazing. That is my favorite part of the marathon distance, the cheering! I keep begging for a major to just let me in so I can experience it I always get emotional when leaving Studios during the marathon, because that is the first time you encounter a lot of cheering after such a long stretch of miles. I can't imagine having crowd support for 26.2 miles, incredible.