Boston Marathon 2025

 

Boston, MA

Monday, April 20, 2025

My Boston history:  This was my 7th running of the Boston Marathon, having previously run this famous race in 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2010, and 2013.  As I write this "foreword" two days before Boston 2025, this is my planned final Boston.  I'm not retiring from marathons yet, and not a knock on Boston Marathon itself, but seven is a good stretch, the logistics aren't easy, and there are so many other good races.

My previous best Boston was in 2013.  It was the year of the infamous bombing, but I was finished and on my way home before I had any idea of that horrific and meaningless attack.  I have run the marathon in the full sun and high 80s (back when the race started at high Noon), and I've run it in cold wind-driven rain, but in 2013 the weather was pretty favorable in the 50s and cloudy.  I finished in my best Boston time that year in a 2:56:16.

Goals:  

Original:  beat my 2013 time AND podium in my age group.

Revised:  "A" goal sub-3, "B" goal sub-3:10, "C" goal sub-3:20

I've revised downward based upon significantly slowing times this year.  I am aware that this could very well be the race that I finish north of 3 hours, and I'm finally OK with that.  And now onto the race ...

------------------------------

(next section written 24 hours post-race)

Boston minus one:  Headed up to Boston with Matthew and his friend/UNH roommate Andrew mid-day Easter Sunday.  Missed any Easter Sunday festivities or family get-togethers, but that's fine with me.  Easter was fun when the kids were young and we had Easter egg hunts, but nowadays it doesn't really mean much to me.  Took Amtrak from Westerly to Boston's Back Bay station, and walked to the finish line on Boylston, got lunch at Finagle a Bagel, and walked to the expo. 

At the finish line

Not that I want to spend all afternoon walking around an expo, but the expo was really disappointing and small with just major sponsor booths, as compared to the last time I ran Boston and they had many different shoe manufacturers, running clothes and apparel booths, booths from marathons around the world, etc.  

Bib pick-up was easy enough, although they ran out of men's
small shirts and offered a women's medium instead

Took MBTA to Mansfield and Uber to the hotel we'd be staying in Wrentham.  Had a decent pasta dinner at a restaurant within walking distance, laid out my race "kit" for the morning, and called it a night early.

Race kit is ready to go

Race morning:  Alarm went off at 5am.  Had oatmeal and a bagel, dressed, and out the door.  Pre-booked Uber to North Attleboro Elementary School, where we met up with friends Tommy and Shara for a nice coach ride to Athlete's Village.  For $100, the coach bus organized by Evolution Road Runners was an easy decision.  Bypass the bumpy and uncomfortable school ride from Boston Common and skip the Athlete's Village with sitting outside and long porta-jon lines, and instead enjoy a nice coach bus and a dedicated area at Athlete's Village with NO porta-jon lines and stay on the bus as long as you want.

(l-r:  Shara, Tommy, me, Andrew, Matthew)
Just before taking coach bus in North Attleboro, MA

Tommy and I were both in Wave 1, Corral 7, with a departure time from Athlete's Village of 9:15am.  Things had gotten a lot more structured since I last ran Boston in 2013, and the 9:15am was a hard fixed time where you were detained by a closed gate until exactly 9:15am.   When the gates opened promptly at 9:15am for Wave 1, we then saw that there were separate roped off queues for each of the corrals, or move specifically for Waves 1/2, 3/4, 5/6, and 7/8.  We got to the very front of our roped off area, and about every 5 minutes, another corral was released to head to Athlete's Village.  This was all new since I last ran.

Had my last Untapped waffle, and volunteers came out to collect garbage, which was convenient.  When our corral was finally released, Tommy and I started to jog, but only until we reached the main road heading to the starting line area.  It was completely clogged with runners walking, and no opportunity for a warm-up or strides.  Again, another change, this time in the negative category.

Just before reaching the corrals, there is a big porta-jon and urinal area on our left.  But it is insanely packed and the line we're in doesn't appear to be moving.  We note that it's ten minutes before ten (race start), and we see some people peeing in bushes up against a CVS, we exit the line and proceed to those pushes.  I just start to pee, when a BAA race official comes by and yells at us to leave, yelling that "CVS is not a urinal!".  Well, OK, BUT you've got to do something better about providing enough bathrooms as we'd miss the race start if we waited in those insane lines.

Tommy and I made our way to Corral 7, and it wasn't long before the race started.  I was thrilled to hear AC/DC's Highway to Hell (I think we both were), and then Tommy pointed out the military flyover (two F15 planes from MA National Guard), and we began the slow walk to the finish line.  It would take us 6 minutes 24 seconds after the start of the race just to reach the start line!

1st half:  It was fun running with Tommy.  In general I was trying to keep splits no faster than 6:30 and no slower than 6:45, and while neither one of us had a specific stated goal, it seems we had similar target pacing and pulled it off.  We would each call out splits each time our watches indicated each mile, and it was good that Tom was calling out his splits as well as it became obvious his splits were more accurate and closer to the actual mile markers.   (Sidenote:  I love my Garmin Fenix 5, so hopefully this was just an anomaly this time and I don't need to look for a replacement.)

One of the early on highlights for me was seeing the Spencer statue
at 4K as you enter Ashland.  Tommy knew the story better than me,
but Spencer was the "official Boston Marathon dog" who watched
and cheered runners from the sidelines (left) for eight years,
and now a statue memorializing him is in the same area facing runners.
Pretty cool!

Other than my Garmin splits here being off by probably about 5 seconds,
you can see that my pacing was pretty consistent in the 1st half of the marathon.

I mentioned to Tommy that I was getting pretty warm, and he indicated the same.  It was nice anytime we had the opportunity to run in the shade, but those were increasing few and far between.  In Mile 12, I was feeling niggles (aches, pains, etc) in my legs.  That's pretty normal in every marathon I run, but not by Mile 12.  If that keeps up (it did), I knew it was pretty much game over.

At the end of Mile 12, we went our own ways as unfortunately I just couldn't hang anymore.  Tommy looked back a few times but I just didn't have it anymore.  Pretty depressing.  In Newport Marathon 2017, we ran together for 21 miles, which was fantastic.  But today it was not to be.  I saw Tommy not to far ahead of me for the next mile and across the halfway mark, but after that he was out of my sight.

2nd half:  This was a LONG LONG slog back to Boston, both literally and figuratively.  The further I went, the worse I felt and the slower I got.  Every mile marker seemed to take eternity to reach, and I was generating a lot of negative thoughts along the way.  

I felt myself getting sunburned, I was not having fun, and I questioned whether I should continue.  At one aid station just after the first hill (Mile 17?), I saw a couple of buses lined up presumably to take back the DNF'ers.  I gave that some thought, but I knew in my heart of hearts that I was in it to finish, not matter how bad my time.  The more serious thought I considered was to enter one of the many medical tents that were well marked towards the end of the course.  Maybe just go in there, rest up for a bit, get some electrolytes, and finish.  It's not like my time my mattered one iota anymore anyway.

I bypassed each and every medical tent, continued to slow, but had no issues at all with any of the four Newton hills.  Of course that was because I was going so slowly at this point!  Bob Segal and his wife were out on the course at Mile 18, and he called out to me, as I did my best to put on a smile and wave back.  It is really encouraging to see people you know out on the course.  In the last few miles I heard "Jeff Walker!" called out several times, but it was so crowded I never saw anyone else that I recognized.

Beacon Street was a long, ugly slog.  I had to pee (maybe because I didn't get to finish before the start?) and while I could possibly hold out until the finish, it's not like there will be bathrooms there and what's the point of having an uncomfortable bladder given my time is already shot?  At Mile 24, I pull into a bank of porta-jons.  Exiting the porta-jons back into the race, of course now the problem is it's very hard to get "running" again.  I do it, I'm hating it, and tell myself just run until the Mile 25 mark and then take a walking break.  I get to the Mile 25 mark, and tell myself that I just have 1.2 miles to go, so don't stop now.  I don't.

Reduced to a mere shuffle on Beacon Street
in Mile 25
(Photo courtesy of Karen Short)

Final result:  3:20:45 (7:40 average pace).

And my official splits and time from timing mats.
Yeah, pretty bad.

Ouch!  Didn't make my "A", "B", or even my conservative "C" goal.  Just an awful performance.  It's of little consolation for me that I easily requalified for Boston (3:50:00 for my age/sex), but of much bigger disappointment to me that I didn't come close to re-qualifying for World Majors Age Group Championships (which depending upon the 2026 selection, I may want to do):

I wanted to just get out of there and hide.  I didn't sulk, but I certainly didn't smile or engage with any of the finisher volunteers.  I took the medal in my hand (didn't want that put on me), skipped the "food" (bag of mixed stuff, mostly junk food) and took the very first exit out of the finish area and walked/shuffled to the hotel.  I wish I could've just gone to the train station directly (like in my last Boston 2013) and headed home, but my slow performance meant we missed the 1:43pm train back to Westerly anyway, so off to the hotel to collect my gear.

Unfortunately, it got much worse from there, as once I reached the hotel room reserved for the folks on the bus, I sat down in a chair and pretty quickly I was in a lot of pain (not soreness, but searing pain bringing tears to my eyes) and also felt very cold and shivering.  I wish I could have just recovered from this in the privacy of a medical tent but instead became even more of a spectacle in front of my friends and fellow bus riders as the hotel's head of security came in and insisted that he call emergency responders.  He (George) was obviously following protocol and doing the right thing, and he was a really nice guy, but it was a tad embarrassing.  EMS arrived and wrapped me in blankets, but I continued to shiver on and off for a while and felt light-headed.  Fortunately, all my vitals were fine, and they said my body temperature was actually very warm.  Then why I was shivering?  They said think about a time when you had a fever and may have had cold sweats and shivered.   OK, got it.  They asked me three separate times if I wanted to go to the hospital and I declined, saying I was pretty sure it would pass.  Which it did, and they said my color was coming back nicely and as long as I could stand up on my own, and walk a few steps without falling, they would release me.  And I did.

A slow and painful walk to Back Bay train station with Matthew, Andrew, Tom, and Shara was next.  We coincidentally ran into Jeff V and friends on the walk over, but I just explained that I was in a lot of pain, moving slowly, and just wanted to keep moving.  (Fortunately I ran into most of them the next day at Avondale, where I was able to be a bit more sociable!)

---

So now looking back (it's four days post-marathon now), here's my take on:

What went well (including training, race logistics, my own race):

• Training upsides:  I started my training according to schedule (Christmas time), got in three 20+ milers, and had a good closing week.
• Race communications and race registration process were all crystal clear and easy.
• The amount of mile markers, kilometer markers, clocks, and mats out on the course were all top-notch (this is a world class marathon after all).
• My first half of the marathon was run pretty smoothly and consistently (thanks notably to Tommy for helping keep me in check) and really close to what I was looking for.
• Running in general with Tommy, including lining up, just made the process that more enjoyable.
• I never bonked (probably because I was going so slow).

What could have gone better:

• Training downsides:  My training was interrupted for two weeks with a PF issue.  I didn't get in nearly enough MP miles (yes, some of that was due to recovering from PF and road running hurt for a while, but it doesn't change the fact).  
• Weather:  It certainly could have been worse (it was almost 80°F in Boston just two days prior), but I don't buy reports that it was "perfect weather".  I was warm out there and got sunburned.
• I walked too much the afternoon before the marathon, mostly getting to and from the expo.
• Despite Tommy and I being at the front of our wave/corral queue when they released us, I didn't have enough time to use the bathrooms.
• It was impossible to run either a warm-up or strides.
• Second half of the marathon I just completely fell apart early on and progressively got worse.  My legs were sore, did not want to move, and there was no correction.
• Post-marathon was a horrendous embarrassment with being attended to publicly by EMS while shivering and in pain.

I wish I knew the specific factor(s) that caused my race basically to be over at Mile 12, but it's easy to overanalyze and hard to pinpoint what went wrong.  I just need to move forward.

Congratulations to all the WTAC runners
completing Boston Marathon 2025!

--- 

Nice finisher's medal

Here are the seven Boston Marathon finisher medals I've earned:  
2004, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2013, 2025
It's interesting to see how the medal has evolved during these decades,
from smaller and black and white, to color and more than three times the size.

So what's next?  I switch now more into trail running, and my upcoming goal races are trail races, culminating with a 55K ultramarathon in Iceland in mid-July.  That doesn't mean I won't be running road races during this time, and in fact I have a few of those I'm really looking forward to, including running Gaspee Days for the first time ever in June, and returning for my 23rd consecutive Blessing of the Fleet 10-Miler in July.

Unfinished business:  I understand and accept that I'm aging and slowing, but I refuse to accept (until proven otherwise) that aging accounts for me slowing by more than 27 minutes in the marathon (a 16% decline) in just the five months since I ran Indianapolis Marathon in 2:53:26.  Yes, I'm signed up for the NYC Marathon, but being the largest marathon in the world and with NYC Marathon having so many similar logistical downsides to NYC Half and Boston Marathon (long walk to expo, long transportation ride to the start, likely limited or no option for warm-up or strides, very crowded start, etc), I'm not so optimistic that the odds are in my favor to run well there.

So I'm actually thinking of adding in another marathon that has better logistics than NYC.  Idle talk or really a possibility?  Time will tell ...

Clamdigger 2025

 

Westerly, RI

Sunday, April 13, 2025

Clamdigger 2025 is eight days before Boston Marathon.  Should I run in the Clamdigger?  I used my Li'l Rhody age group winner free race coupon to sign up for the Clamdigger back in November, figuring I had time if I wanted to opt out and defer to another WTAC race later in the year.  Potential upside was scoring in the RI Grand Prix as Clamdigger was selected as one of the seven races this year.  Potential downside was racing too close to Boston might impact my marathon, but then again it's only a five mile race and it's still eight days away.  Google/Reddit searches on my question not surprisingly find mixed opinions on whether I should race, but the majority indicate that the marathon is far enough away and the distance of my race (Clamdigger) short enough that is should be fine.

Fast forward to race day.  Yes, I'm in.  Jana and arrive at 8:30am, 2 1/2 hours before the race.  As Race Director, there is much to, including organizing, set up, and well, directing.  There is some occasional light rain and temperature is only about 40°F with a 15mph wind, but I'm prepared wearing several layers, including waterproof pants and a waterproof rain jacket as outermost layers.  I stay dry, but am cold pretty much the entire time.

Race expectations:  Pretty low, honestly.  I've run four road races in 2025 to date, and every one of them was way off both my expectations and my 2024 performances.  This would be my 2nd 5-miler this year, after running Winter Wonderland 5M on January 26th in 32:06.  So I set my goal pretty conservatively at 32-flat.

Race start:  After I get the cue from the police officer who temporarily closes the road, I give the OK for runners to enter and line up on Atlantic Avenue and we're off fairly promptly at 11:01am (according to Strava).  I am lined up in the second row behind mostly a bunch of teenagers.  They blast out pretty fast so it's no issue, as they're not in my way at all.

Within a quarter mile it thins out enough that we can all move to the right-hand side of the road per police request.  Matt S quickly goes past me as he calls out to me, and I give him encouragement as I remind myself to run my own race.  I have plenty of room to run near the right shoulder of Atlantic Road.  It's mildly windy, but oddly out of the north, so on this east-west course, for once the wind really is not an issue in this race.  Tommy goes by me towards the end of the 1st mile.  He mentions that he is not going all out, but for me, yeah, this is pretty much all out!  Mile 1 is 6-flat average pace, so I'm happy with that.

Clamdigger course

At the course split, about half the runners ahead of me, including all of the teenagers, go left for the 5K, while the rest of us saunter on for the 5-miler.  Over the breachway, and then pretty fast on Wawaloam, with a Mile 2 split of 6:06.

Shara goes by me somewhere around here, and that might be the first time that's happened in a race, but I remind myself she's a very fast runner in her 30s and I'm a 60-year-old.  Run my own race.  The 3rd mile is the most scenic, especially the ocean view on Spray Rock Road.  We round the corner in sight of the Weekapaug Inn, and have a very slight 40' hill up Noyes Neck Road in a very short northbound (into the wind) section, so I'm fine with a Mile 3 split of 6:14.

Slight downhill on Fenway Road back to Wawaloam, where we are now running against back-of-the-pack runners in their 2nd mile.  Again, we have plenty of room.  Short distance back to the breachway, and then it's a fast, flat 1.5 mile back on Atlantic Avenue to the finish.  Mile 4 split 6:05.

In the final mile, I have a birds-eye view to watching the women's race unfold, as Shara passed the lead woman.  I caught up to and passed the lead woman as well, and other than back-of-the-pack 5K'ers, she would be the last person that I passed.

Went past my Mom and Jana at the gate entering to the beach parking lot, and hustled it in across the finish line.

I don't normally wear long-sleeve, hat, and gloves
at races in mid-April, but I was just cold and damp.
I finally warmed up in the race itself.

Final result:  30:43, 12th of 146 overall, 1st in age group.  Full results here

What went well:

• Clamdigger 5-miler was part of the RI Grand Prix this year!  (This definitely brought in more 5-mile participants.)
• Team WTAC won the RI Grand Prix event!
  
  
  
• Largest field size ever!  (384 registered, 302 finishers including kids' run)
• Chowder from Blount was really good.  (despite a last minute change to get NE clam chowder instead of RI chowder, which was unavailable)
• This year's special retro design tech shirt (50th club anniversary) was very well received (kudo to Matt S for design, and JMack for final updates)
  
  
  
• My own race exceeded my expectations.  My sub-30 days might possibly be gone (to be determined), but no complaints with low-6 consistent pacing, and also getting 1st overall on an age-graded basis!
• Great catching up with so many running friends!
• Awesome volunteers
• Our event was certified "green" by DEM this year for the first time ever (NOTE:  town and state agencies are increasingly asking for this environmental certification)
  
  
  

What could've gone better:

• We ran out of chowder before all runners finished (kind of a victim of our own success with record field size, but will look to improve upon for next year)
• Weather was pretty raw (not that we can control that, but I won't complain too loudly as we've certainly had worse weather years!)

All in all, this was another great event.  It reminds me of Wakefield Running Company owner Keith recently singing our praises by saying that the Clamdigger is a "race put on by runners".

Mt Archer Trail Race

Lyme, CT

Sunday, March 23, 2025

This was a last minute decision for me to run this brand new trail race and newest addition to the USATF-CT MUT series.  As in I signed up the night before.  I was already signed up for the first race of the RI Grand Prix (Aquidneck 10K road race) on the same date.  And I almost always run the races that I am signed up for.  BUT, having just run a disappointing time in the NYC Half seven days prior, after three straight earlier disappointing times in road races this year, I just felt I needed a break.  I also noticed it would be a windy day, favoring the trails over an open road course along the ocean, and frankly I was pretty sure I would have more fun running this new trail race.  When one of the Mohegan Striders reached out to ask if I'd be running in the men's master team, that pretty much made up my mind.

Race morning:  It was only about a 45 minute drive to Lyme.  I had never been to Mt Archer before, or frankly even heard of Mt Archer.  Arrived to weather of 29°F and a wind-chill of 17°F.  I've certainly raced in much colder weather, but this was a little chilly and breezy for late March in an open field while in line to get your bib, separate line to get your shirt, and then a line for the single porta-jon.  The first two lines moved really quickly, but overall this made my decision easy to wear a long-sleeve shirt to race, with my team singlet over the shirt.

I went for a 2-mile warm-up, starting off solo, but then joining up with speedy teammates Sam A, JP, and Mark Olivier.  Back to the car to strip a couple of layers, down an Untapped maple waffle, change into race shoes, and off to the starting line!

Race 1st half:  There were two distances today, a 9.2M (which I was running) and a 3M.  Our race started 15 minutes ahead of the shorter race, and it was running a different race, so there was never any overlap of runners.  I only caught part of RD Chris Colangelo's race remarks, as nature called, but I did hear his description of course marking that we should be following (pink ribbons and also spray-painted arrows in the dirt).  I know I didn't belong on the starting line, so I lined up about two rows back.

Other than a narrow single-file bridge very early on in the race, the trail was open enough that it was easy to pass (this would change later on), which was helpful as I passed a couple of runners and a couple of runners passed me, including a younger guy with long hair.  At a fork in the trail maybe half a mile in, long-haired-guy went straight despite the course markings clearly indicating the course went right.  I went right, but also yelled to him that he missed a turn.  He near sprinted back, and I motioned for him to go back ahead of me, and also reiterated that we need to follow the pink markings.  I thought to myself that a simple "thanks" from him would've been nice, but oh well.

Narrow single-lane bridge early on

In the first mile through a
stand of cedar trees

The first two miles were pretty flat and easy, and I knew from studying the map that at two miles "the fun" would begin.  Before the ascent, I ended up passing long-haired-guy back.  I figured he'd retake me on the climb, but never saw him again.  We had a 250' ascent, moderately steep, with 200' of that in about 1/3 mile.  Someone came up on me right away, and I know I'm a slow uphill runner, so I offered him to pass me, which he did.  Another runner came up on me, and I offered the same, but he said he was good.  

At the top of the climb, in the distance I could now see teammate Jared a couple positions ahead of me.  The course overall was NOT technical, but over the next couple of miles there were several rock gardens and the course was really undulating.  At one point just over three miles in, there was a sharp downhill with rocks in the middle of the trail leading up to a sketchy stream crossing.  At this point, I went ahead of the guy in front of me, who turned out to be Ryan Murdoch, who now lives in Westerly and I think is newer to trail running.  I took the rocky stream crossing really awkwardly and off balance, but I stayed upright and caught right up to Jared.  I was right on his heels, but on the next uphill, he pulled away from me.  

3+ miles in, just ahead of Ryan Murdoch

On a subsequent uphill, two runners passed me and then Ryan caught back up to me and ran alongside me before pulling ahead.  We pulled up to the first road crossing and only water stop, about 4.5 miles in.  I grabbed the plastic cup and it immediately shattered, spilling liquid on me.  Crossed the road to start the second half of the race.

Race 2nd half:  Jared, Ryan, and the two that had just passed me were not in the view for very long, and unlike the first half where I could see runners the whole time, I was soon running as an island.  I reminded myself these guys were all in their 20s and 30s and to run my own race.  I don't think I slowed, but clearly the terrain got easier and while there were still some rolling hills, the trail itself was pretty even and with few exceptions, no rocks or roots.

Seven miles in.  No one around me.

While course trail turns were marked and I never went off-course, I began questioning whether I had missed a turn because there were very few of what I call "confidence markers", and also I was now running without others in sight.  There was one trail intersection that I didn't see markings either way, and I opted to take the more established trail.  I spent at least the next quarter-mile worrying if I took the wrong turn until I finally noticed a pink spray-painted arrow.  (Not to toot our own horn, but we do get a lot of compliments from trail runners at our WTAC trail races with how many "confidence markers" we put out on the course, with about 1,000 flags at Grills 10M Trail Race.)

I saw no one the next few miles, but as I approached the next road crossing about seven miles in, I could hear the course marshals cheering me as I went past and then not long after I heard them cheering again.  Uh-oh, someone is on my tail.  I turned right onto Mt Archer road, as directed by the course marshal, who said I would see another course marshal in about 400 yards.  That part was all clear, and as I turned off the road back onto trail at the second set of course marshals on the road, I glanced back and saw the person behind me had caught up.  Ugh.  Over the next half-mile downhill, I put some distance on my pursuer, but at a sharp-right turn and start of another climb, he caught and passed me.  I noticed then that this was just a kid, so I focused back on my own race.

A little over a mile to go, and fast downhill.  This last mile went by very quickly, and soon we were back in an open field and I could see the finish line.  The kid was back in sight, but not within my grasp.  Hoofed it in.

Finish line in sight!

Final result:  1:15:03, 13th out of 199 overall, 1st of 12 in age group, 1st overall age-graded.  Full results here

Finished!

Caught up with Jared at the finish line, and then went on my own warm-up for two miles.  I thought I timed it to be back 5-10 minutes before the published time of awards ceremony for my race, but I missed the awards ceremony completely.  No big deal.  I got first in my age group and Chris got me my award, which was a goody bag.

What went well:

• First and foremost, I had a lot of fun out there!  
• There was zero pressure for me to finish in any specific time.  (What's your 9.2 mile trail race PR?)
• The Striders men won both open and masters divisions!  
• I won my age group.  In fact, I was both 1st 60+ and 1st 50+!
• For the first time in five starts this year, I was happy with my race performance.
• Very reasonable price (I paid $35 signing up one day before the race).
• Volunteers made it an easy experience, from parking marshals to check-in to on course marshals.
• Race communication was great, both before, during, and in the days after the race.  Top marks.
• Race course was great.  Single-loop, well laid out, mix of easy and moderately hard terrain, some good hill climbs, and a nice downhill finish.
• Free race photos!
• Race shirt.  I certainly did not expect a shirt at all given that I uncharacteristically signed up last minute.  And normally I wouldn't care, as how many race shirts do I need?  But this was a nice one!

  

  Cool shirt!  And blank canvas on the back.

  
  

What could've gone better:

• It would have been nice to have more than one porta-jon at the packet pickup.  Yes, the RD made it clear there were additional porta-jons (2 more?) on the way to the start, BUT I've just arrived and I need to go now.
• There could have been a lot more confidence markers out there on the course.  I would run quite a ways between markers, and although I never went off course, I often questioned whether I was still on course.
• The water cups were cheap plastic that broke easily.  Personally I think any kind of plastic is a bad look for our environment these days, and increasingly at our WTAC races we are being requested or required by the permit issuer (typically towns and/or state agencies) not to have any plastic cups or single-use water bottles.

Overall, just a great race and a fun experience!  So glad I ran this inaugural trail race.

NYC Half Marathon

 

New York, NY

Sunday, March 16, 2025

Applying:  I applied to get into NYC Half back back in October, using my 1:23 time from New Bedford Half from last year.   The qualifying standard for my age group is only a 1:41, so I felt confident I would get in, which obviously I did.

Race day minus one:  Took Amtrak with Matthew from Westerly last Saturday morning.  Got in with plenty of time to take the afternoon easy with nothing rushed.  Got a bagel sandwich at Liberty Bagels and walked over to the expo at Center415. 

Nova lox bagel was fantastic!

For a race with 28,000 runners there actually wasn't that much of an expo, but that was just fine as we weren't looking to spend much time there anyway.  Picked up our bibs and shirts and then checked in at our hotel, Hilton Garden Inn Central South-Midtown West.  What a mouthful!  Pasta dinner just a couple blocks away at Joe G's.  The linguine alla vongole dish that I had was really good.

Pretty easy check-in at expo.  Short lines.

My race "kit" is all ready next to
the bed for me.

Race morning warm-up:  After a very fitful night of interrupted sleep, the alarms went off at 4am.  Ugh.  I was tempted to wish Matthew a good race and sleep in, but after lingering for about half an hour more in bed, I was up and ready to get moving.  Had my usual oatmeal with granola, and we were out the door at 4:55am for a warm-up of about two miles.  Obviously it was dark (which I seldom run in) and I was initially a little leery of running in the dark in a large city, but there were many (like more than a hundred) NYC police officers on the streets already, and that made me very comfortable.  What was not comfortable was the strange and not at all pleasant smells emanating out of of grates and pipes on our run.

Travel to race start:  Large races in big cities can often make for difficult logistics, and this was compounded by a point-to-point race.  Ran to Times Square, where we took a subway to Franklin Ave in Brooklyn.  The anticipated 20-minute subway ride ended up being closer to an hour, on a packed subway train with a bonus of a couple of freaks in our car.  The main freak might have been under the influence of drugs, as he babbled incessantly to himself in gibberish, sometimes exploding into laughter, and sometimes just making guttural noises as he alternated standing, sitting in a seat, sitting on the floor, and precariously lunging towards subway riders with his Taco Bell tall cup full of some green liquid.  Between that, the guy playing rap music loudly, and just a lot of quick starts and stops making my stomach queasy, the subway ride couldn't end soon enough for me.

Race ready:  Fortunately, the security check-in and bathroom lines were both surprisingly fairly quick and we ran some strides in a coned off area not far from the start.  We were in Wave 1, Corral A, and just like Boston, you had to show your bib to get through a gate and into the corral, although the process here seemed much more lax.  We got as far to the front of the corral as we could and were soon packed in like sardines.  With about five minutes to our wave's start (7:20am), Matthew bid adieu to me as he wriggled his way further forward.  I went for one more pee break, and due to time constraints and crowds, I went behind the line of porta-jons, only to find three women squatting to pee.  Awkward!  I said sorry and was starting to turn around, when the first woman mid-pee just said "no problem" and said I can come back there also.  Time was really tight, so I opted to go there, albeit again awkward as the woman was pulling up her shorts as I got to the narrow area and went past her.  Got back into the sardines, took off my long sleeve shirt to toss/donate (much easier than dealing with bag check), and had an UnTapped Maple Waffle.

1st Half - Brooklyn to Manhattan:  After a countdown, we were off.  Kind of, as it took me exactly 30 seconds to get to the start line.  

Once we get started, we very quickly hit two right turns, right in the first quarter-mile.  The course is still very congested at this point; and there are a few runners that I bump into and vice versa.  But the difficulty of navigating these first two turns pales in comparison to the 180-degree cone turnaround about 2/3 mile in.  Here we came to a complete stop, with my analogy of "rounding the buoy" in either a sailboat race or triathlon, the latter where you're bumping into a lot of bodies at least for a slow swimmer like me.  I could feel hands on my back of runners coming up on me, but the runners in front of me were at a stop so it's not like I had a choice to continue running myself, and I also come to a complete stop and walk a few steps.

As we pulled away from the cone turnaround, I had one of my last minor bump ups against a runner, and unfortunately, unlike everyone to date, this person was not at all nice.  He turned to me and yelled, "YOU'RE GOING TO KILL US BOTH!".  I was dumbfounded and didn't say anything.  I'm honestly not sure if it was my fault or his, but who cares?  It was clearly unintentional and so minor that our gait didn't even change.  Since I didn't say anything and ignored him, he turned my way once again, and yelled the same phrase even louder.  This time runners around me were clearly annoyed with him, as I heard, "Oh, come on!", "What's wrong with you?", and other phrases.  I know I shouldn't let it get to me, but it did, and took my focus away from the race.

That first mile was a 6:42 split, way off anything I was looking for, but I accepted it based on the congestion and tight turns and told myself my pace would get faster.  Which it did.

We left Prospect Park on a straightaway and my Mile 2 split was a 6:28, despite being uphill.  Miles 3 and 4 were downhill and at least according to my watch, were both in the 5:50s.  I remember thinking to myself that OK, maybe it's game on again for this race, but that is failing to account for GPS inaccuracies in the city.  What I should've done was recalibrate how far off my watch distance was at the next mile split, like I successfully did at Detroit, but didn't even think about it here.

Mile 5 was our last full mile in Brooklyn, and at least according to my watch, was by far my slowest at 6:53.  Mile 6 was on the Brooklyn Bridge.  People were saying to me later, "wasn't it amazing to be on the Brooklyn Bridge?!".  It was interesting, I guess, but I wouldn't use the work amazing.  We were definitely in some pea soup fog on the bridge and I couldn't see the span completely for most of it.

2nd Half -  Manhattan finish:  I would say the descent off the Brooklyn bridge was more interesting than either the ascent onto it or running the main bridge section crossing the East River.  Miles 7-10 were along FDR Drive, on the west shore of the East River.  I heard and read about some people marveling about great this section was.  It was pretty flat here, but I really didn't like the vehicles headed southbound in the opposite direction towards you.  They were separated by a jersey barrier, but it still wasn't pleasant.  Just my opinion, of course.  My pace in these miles was mostly in the 6:20s and 6:30s.

Miles 11-12 head away from the water and through Times Square, but I was focused on my race and barely noticed when we went through there.  My watch pace shows 6:25 and then 6:04, but I'm pretty sure both are inaccurate as my GPS lines look really wobbly (instead of a straight line) through these sections, most likely due to tall building interference.

I was so glad when we finally entered Central Park, as I knew we roughly only had one mile left.  Just wanted this race to be over.  I was passing a lot of runners (many were also passing me) but my interest in the race and result had long disappeared.  

Final result:  1:27:06, 5th of 475 in age group.  82% age graded.   Full results here

I was super disappointed with my result here, borderline depressed.  I kept comparing to my 1:19 PR from just three years ago, and two 1:23 half-marathons that I ran just last year.  But that is neither helping nor healthy.

Did some soul searching a day later, and among many other takeaways, I need to focus less on past results and overall placing, and more on age group and age grading.  Which isn't bad then, to finish 5th out of 475 in my age group in a race with over 28,000 total finishers, 82% age graded, and 1:10:56 age-graded if you believe that.  I'll focus on at least the first two and be happy with that.

These splits are the only accurate ones, as they were based on actual checkpoints on the course,
as opposed to GPS on my watch with tall building interference.  When I look at these splits,
while slower than I would have liked for sure, I am happy to see the relative consistency.

Leaving my performance out of this, here is what I felt went well:

• Race communications to registrants
• Ease of check-in at expo
• Finish line efficiency
• New Balance tech shirt

And what could have gone better:

• Transportation to the start (not saying this was the fault of the race, just that the logistics of getting to the start were not good)
• The race and accommodations are expensive
• We were told repeatedly not to just toss extra clothing and that there was a specific place to put it, but that was far from clear
• The two immediate right turns in the first 1/4 mile were not good and jammed things up
• The cone turnaround less than a mile in was horrendous (I really wouldn't expect this from a major race with 28,000 total runners)
• While results were immediately available after finish, overall positions and age group placing were not available for a few hours
• Course map was not available until less than month before race day
• Post-race, many of the NYC Half links and pages were removed, including a link to a race recap highlighted in an e-mail sent out by NYRR CEO