ING NYC Marathon Week – It’s Here!

Well, Marathon Week didn’t start as usual this year. Because of the crazy Snowtober storm on Saturday, the Poland Spring Marathon Kickoff race was cancelled. The trees in Central Park are still covered in leaves and the heavy snow on top made for unsafe conditions. Plus, a lot of the suburbs around the city were hit hard (um, can we say 19 inches of snow in some places?!) and lost power, so while some people may have been unhappy and it did mess things up in some ways, I definitely agree with NYRR’s decision to cancel the race.

I love running this race; it’s a great distance – 5 miles – and starts the excitement of the week. Plus, because it’s the weekend before Halloween, people are bound to dress up and be entertaining! I definitely signed up to run, but obviously even if it hadn’t been cancelled, I wasn’t running this year. *Sigh*

There are advertisements up now all over the city and ads running on TV. It’s super exciting. I wish I could get to Central Park though, because it’s always best around there. In my opinion anyway. There are tons of events throughout the week; I’m really not sure how NYRR is able to do it all. They must all be absolutely exhausted by the time it’s all over.

I can remember the ball of mixed emotions I was at this time in 2009, when I ran the NYCM. It was so exciting and terrifying at the same time. For those who run this race yearly though, I can imagine there aren’t too many nerves but rather it’s a thrilling run through the city. While some people are, justifiably, turned off by the sheer size of the field, it really is a party along almost the entire race (all but the bridges and a few blocks in Queens, Upper Manhattan, and the Bronx).

I found this video on YouTube, which was put together by WNYC and had to share! Unfortunately though, the camera’s battery ran out of steam before the runner finished, so you don’t get to see the best part of the race! But I still think it’s pretty cool.

And here’s a picture I took of the finish line last year

• Will you be running in or spectating this year’s marathon?
• If you’re a marathon runner, what’s your favorite tip to pass on to others who are running their first or thinking about running one?
• If you’re a spectator, where do you prefer to cheer for all the awesome runners?