Race Report- NYC Half March 16
Expo- They allow proxy pick up for this race and if I ever do it again I would definitely have my DH pick up when he's at work. I had made plans to meet up with some friends for dinner, so I went in on Friday night to get my bib. It's about a one hour 15 minute train ride from my house. The bib pickup was quick and easy. Interestingly they don't assign you a bib number until you get there. They just give you a bib from your wave color and then add a sticker for the corral within the wave. They also don't ask for a shirt size in advance so you just decide when you get there. I was in and out of the whole thing in about 20-30 minutes. The "expo" was like two vendors and lots of official merch. Kind of lame for such a big race.
Race Day- I had to leave my house at 5:45a to catch a train for a 9:20 start. The first wave starts at 7:20 and then there's a half hour between subsequent waves. I was in Wave 5, the last one. I got to the start area around 8. You have to check your bag before going through security so you have to really plan and know what you want to take with you. Bag check was super quick, no line, done by bib number. Security line was not too long, but my gels all being in one pocket set of the detector so I had to get wanded. The porta lines were totally insane and the smell was the most unpleasant I've ever encountered. Definitely one of the low points of the day.
It was a misty, chilly, foggy morning so I kept my hoodie until right before starting. It took about 8 minutes from when my wave started until I crossed. Although there were six letter corrals within wave 5, they don't stop between letters. It's just a constant flow over the line. One thing that I didn't love was that the start felt so anticlimactic. By the time I started the winner had already finished the race an hour before. It was just weird.
The first 4 miles went really great and I was thinking this is awesome I'm going to finally get a sub-3 hour. But alas, I hit the Brooklyn Bridge (first time any NYRR race has gone over it!) and I just started feeling awful. I don't know if it was the incline or the absurd humidity or what, but I just felt done (and it was only mile 4!) My head had been hurting since starting, my ankle hurt, my hip hurt. I was in a bad spot. Luckily, a girl from my hometown passed me on the bridge and we ran for about a mile together. She's also a runDisney person and is in for Dopey '26 (her first marathon!) Being with her kept me distracted enough the get to about mile 6 easily. But then she took off and it was me and the FDR. The FDR is basically like World Drive. Straight, boring and monotonous. I was definitely hurting until we finally got to 42nd street. The crowd gave me a bit of a push, but it was also a steady incline so I wasn't going any faster. Times Square was fun too because of the crowd, but it felt weird to run through it "backwards" from south to north. It was also uphill. Finally got to Central Park and stopped for a pee break because my sub-3 was definitely not happening. I forgot how hilly the park is and just wanted it to be over at that point.
I finished in 3:12. Not what I wanted but I guess it just wasn't my day. My training had been going well and I really thought I could do it, but it was a tough course and less than ideal temps/humidity. Oh well. I realize now why I don't like racing other than runDisney. Because when I try to race for time I inevitably fall short and then I get really down on myself when really I should be proud of having trained and finished.
Sorry for the long report. This is a great race overall and I recommend it to anyone wanting to run NY but not commit to the full marathon.
. I may hit some local races but nothing that would be in danger of a sell out. For me, Dopey keeps me running consistently throughout the year. It gives me a reason to not slack off.
I want the coverage to be like a documentary!!!
