New York Marathon Race Recap
On June 13th, I received a dm from Michelob ultra that would change a lot about how my 2024 would play out. “Hi there, congratulations! You have contingently won a 2024 TCS New York City Marathon Bib as part of the team Ultra Marathon giveaway. We know you are super excited but we ask that you do not post on social media or talk to anyone until making the team until you’ve signed the necessary paperwork.”
I reviewed the message very closely to be sure that I wasn’t being spammed and sure enough, it was from the verified Michelob ultra X account. I replied back with all the pertinent details they asked for and tried my best to wait patiently. In July, I finally received the legal documents after some small hiccups, but we got it signed and sent back and I was invited to join the ‘mighty’ app where we would have weekly discussions, live videos, runner info, details and dates. Christie Thomas and Carlee daub were the two Michelob Ultra ambassadors and are members of Wahoo Running that helped pump us up every week and get us fired up for the big day.
In August, I received a comp code to finally register for the race. It was really coming to fruition once I had the confirmation from the New York Road Runners Services. The race actually cost $315.00 this year for anyone that had to pay for it.
November 1st, we made the flight from Des Moines to Chicago and then Chicago to the Newark Airport which was beautiful! After we grabbed our bags, we hopped in an uber for the 16ish mile ride, but thanks to New York traffic, the ride cost about $100. Eventually, we made our way to the Thompson Hotel, and what a gorgeous hotel it was. After we got situated, we took off to go see the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. My grandpa came to the US from Germany through Ellis Island over 100 years ago so it was neat to visit. We also made a quick stroll through the 9/11 memorial. The building was closed, but the fountains where they stood were beautiful. It was eerily quiet so I was happy that people were respectful. It was an exhausting first day of traveling and walking but New York was much cooler than I thought. The people were nice and it was a lot cleaner than I thought it would be.
Saturday morning, I was set for a group shakeout run in Central Park with team Ultra. We took over 56th street for a photo session, pleasantries and lots of videos and tik-toks. I found a group running a perfect pace that seemed to know where they were going, I’d guess there were close to 100 of us with the VIP winners, Staff, and friends and family that came along. Central Park was cool. Lots of statutes, bridges, beautiful trees, flowers and plants. We would go back the last day of the trip and make a lot slower trip through to really admire everything there.
My mom and Kaylee were out shopping for the day and scoping out all of the cool shops they’d seen in movies, so I decided to take a stroll as well and found myself a street hot dog, it was delish. The city actually rates the vendors in New York so it has basically a visible report card so you know if it’s okay to eat or not. After my stroll, it was time to go to the expo and pick up my packet. I was struggling to get an uber, so I made the choice to jog the 2 miles to the expo. It was a perfect way to get a visual of even more of the city. I couldn’t believe how big the expo was. New Balance is the official sponsor, so they had signs everywhere and a store that was as big as Schools. Hats, Coats, Shirts, Shoes, you name it - they had TONS of it. I knew I wanted an Official Jacket, so it was all I grabbed and just laughed when I saw the price tag of $150.00. Then I hopped in line for the packet pick up which went fast and smooth. A long sleeved orange shirt was included with my bib. Eventually, it was time to make my jog back and since the girls were still shopping, I ventured out yet again after dropping off all of my stuff. I knew I wanted to get some things to eat race morning since I had a 3:30am wakeup time set. I found a cool pizza place called Original Famous Rays Pizza. It was nothing like any pizza I’ve ever had. The crust crunched like a potato chip, and was one of the best slices I’d ever eaten. I’ll definitely go back if I’m ever in NY again. A few blocks away, I found a grocery store that had just what I was looking for. Cinnamon raising bread, a jar of peanut butter, and bananas. A perfect breakfast that didn’t require me a stove or microwave. I went back to the hotel after that to map out the remaining hours for my trip before meeting Team Ultra at Butter, a restaurant owned by Alex Guarnaschelli. The restaurant was a few blocks from the hotel so Team Ultra slowly made their way over for the 5:30pm dinner. As we walked in one by one, we were greeted by the team and handed “Michelob Ultra Zero” - an brand new beer that hadn’t been released to the public. We were literally the first group of people other than employees to try this new zero alcohol beer. It was delicious and we were given an endless supply, though I only had 2. The first hour was setup as a happy hour with delicious appetizers such as grilled chicken skewers, spicy shrimp skewers, sweet onion bread, and more. I found myself at a table with some other runners that didn’t know anyone, so we exchanged pleasantries and spent the rest of the night chatting before finally grabbing a table to enjoy the buffet style dinner. The pasta was amazing. I probably should have gotten a few more plates, but didn’t want to overdo it before bed. One by one, people made their way back to the hotel to shut it down for the night. I did the same and was in bed by 9.
Around 4:00am, I made my way into the hotel bathroom to get ready for the day. I didn’t want to wake up Kaylee, so I took a quick shower and then ate breakfast in the bathroom while I scrolled X, checked e-mail and revisited the rules and event schedule. Around 4:45am, I kissed Kaylee goodbye and headed to the hotel lobby where I found a handful of Team Ultra stretching, laughing and guzzling coffee. I have never had coffee and still to this day, can’t stand the smell of it. I picked up my loaf of cinnamon raisin bread, peanut butter and a few bananas to go with my Powerade. Finally, we all strolled out onto 56th street and started our walk towards the VIP busses that were parked just under a mile away. It was around 40-45 degrees outside, so I had gloves and a stocking hat on to keep me warm. Eventually, I made my way onto the MU VIP bus with a handful of others, luckily, I had eyes on Carlee (one of the ambassadors for team Ultra) or I might have had no idea where to go. At 5:45am, the bus took off headed towards Staten Island. We were gifted a beautiful sunrise as we drove through town. Upon arrival on Staten Island, our bus driver got turned around and ended up ‘lost’ and put us back behind a lot of traffic and many other busses. He kept asking officials how to get to our destination but was left without any real answers. It was after 7am that we finally parked a few blocks from the entry point. It was like airport security, pat downs, bags through x-ray machines and everything! The New York Marathon separates people into different waves and within each wave, there are different corrals. We were set for the Orange Wave in corral F. I eventually made my way to the VIP tent provided by Michelob Ultra. It wasn’t heated, but it was covered and kept the wind out and luckily had about 7 bathrooms just for us. I found a nice spot on the floor and started my stretching routine and continued to demolish my cinnamon raisin bread and peanut butter. Many of the Team Ultra members were getting temporary tattoos, glitter, and stickers to cover their bodies. I took the tattoo (Thanks Dale) and got back to warming up. By the time we were ready to leave the tent, it had warmed up another 5 or 6 degrees but it was still fairly cold and windy. The volunteer lead us up to the back side of the bridge behind a fence and said that he’d be giving us a countdown in a while and to just hang out. So many photos were taken. People were singing and dancing. Eventually, I heard the first few words of the National Anthem which was blasting on the bridge - it brought a smile to my face. An extremely loud cannon fired off after the song was over and the first wave took off. The cannon literally shook the ground. I wish I could have seen it. A few minutes later, it was our turn. We got escorted out of Fort Wadsworth to the Verazzano-Narrows bridge. A cool fact about the bridge is that there is no pedestrian walkway or sidewalk. The ONLY way to be on the bridge outside of a car is to run the New York Marathon, so that was cool. Once again, cameras were firing off in all directions. I decided that throughout the entire day, I was never going to pull out my phone and that I would just soak it in visually the entire way and do my best to appreciate it. Then just like that, almost 7 months in the making, it was my turn. I took off with plans for a 3:40 finish. If the crowd would allow, a 3:30 and then if it felt fast, I’d go for 3:20. I had no idea how crowded it would be but guessed that there probably 10,000 people in each wave so I would spend the day jostling in and out of runner traffic. Michelob Ultra provided a race jersey with my name on it, little did I know that hundreds of people would be shouting “Go Bruce!” Thanks to that shirt.
The amount of smiles on the bridge of everyone beginning their journey was pretty cool. So many first timers. As soon as we stepped off of the bridge onto 4th avenue, the crowd support was nothing like I’d ever experienced. Thousands and thousands of people lined both sides of the street, many rows deep. The race announced that there were an estimated 2.5 million spectators. People were constantly cheering my name and other runner names. Sign after sign with witty running messages, messages of encouragement and more. The race starts in Staten Island but quickly makes its way into Brooklyn. At mile 3, we passed Bay Ridge and Sunset Park. The city was filled with people repping all of the New York sports teams. I made a conscious goal to try to get water or gatorade at just about every aid station to assure I stayed as hydrated as possible. Luckily, it wasn’t hot, so I was only sweating due to movement and not being cooked by the sun at all. Mile 5 passes the 72nd street traverse and the Central Park Boathouse then climbs Cat Hill and heads towards the Fred Lebow statue. Mile 9 was mostly downhill and I was feeling great. Around mile 10 or so, we approached a Hasidic Jewish neighborhood. I was told that they work on Sundays so the amount of people I saw trying to cross the street in the middle of 10,000 people was bonkers. I almost got run over by a man trying to push his stroller through the crowd. Additionally, it’s mostly quiet in that 2 mile stretch, no fans were in that neighborhood so it was the sound of feet and heavy breathing. I actually enjoyed it because the crowd noise had been non-stop since we started.
After Brooklyn, we strolled into Queens after crossing over the Pulaski bridge. The music was great. The people were great and the city was pretty neat to see. This was about mile 13. The Queensboro bridge was an uphill battle around mile 14-15. From there, we cross the bridge and end up in Manhattan. We arrived on First Avenue, a nice long wide stretch here through mile 17 or 18. The crowd support and noise here was INSANELY loud. I was still enjoying the race at this point and doing my best to soak it up because I knew it would be over soon. Around mile 18ish, we made our way into East Harlem. Again, the music was loud and the fans were even louder. This area has a large Latin community. I gave so many hi-fives to the kids that lined the streets during that stretch. The Bronx was cool. So many songs mention it, so I was trying to get the feeling of everything that surrounded me. At this point in the race, I was starting to suffer. The streets are basically peaked in the middle so it’s slightly slanted (like a triangle) allowing the rain to flow to the gutters. Unfortunately, this meant I would be running unevenly so it was destroying my hips. There were so many people, I could rarely make it to the center of the road where it would be less slanted.
At mile 21, we arrived at the Madison Avenue Bridge which is the 5th and final bridge. The crowds were starting to thin out a bit compared to First Avenue in Manhattan, but by this point, the street surrounding the aid station were covered in smashed cups on the ground and it started getting slippery. As I approached mile 22, my hips and now my left knee were screaming. I knew I’d get the race done but I wanted nothing more than to just sit down for a few minutes. The entire 22nd mile is an incline which didn’t help. Mile 23 is back to Manhattan where the crowd support was once again loud and crazy. Eventually, I started seeing signs that Central Park was ahead and I knew that was the home stretch. Team Ultra went for a shakeout run the day before so I knew what to expect. Mile 25 hit and all the pain went away. It was time to kick it into gear and just get the damn thing done. The park is twisty and curvy. We approached Columbus Circle and the crowd was quite literally deafening at this point. I tried looking left and right to find my mom and Kaylee, but unfortunately, there were just too many people. The Marathon put up mile marker flags on both sides of the course but also put up kilometer markers as well. When it got to 400m left, I slowed down because the 7 month journey was a few minutes away from being over. As I rounded the last corner, I saw the tower surrounded by photographers, finishers and an insanely crowd cheering section. I pumped my fists and stopped my watch. Finishing time was 3:38, just two minutes faster than I’d planned. I was elated.
After the race, each runner has to walk another mile out of the finishing chute back towards Columbus Circle but before that, we were greeted with hundreds of volunteers passing out orange fleeced ponchos. The lady that buttoned me up smiled, said congrats and that was it. There were hundreds of people snapping selfies with their medal, but for the most part, it was pure silence. And boy, was it a welcomed silence. I can still to this day hear the crowd noise. It was insane. The plan was to meet the family at the Mandarin Oriental - a hotel that Team Ultra setup for the official VIP after party. As I was walking mile 27, there were photographs all over. I snapped a few and even took my traditional “hulk Hogan” pose that I do after most races. One of the race volunteers had a mic and a speaker and was asking all of the finishers where they were from, “Spain!, Rhode Island, Texas, London, Queens, California, and eventually, Waukee IOWA!?” I finally exited the finishers mile and made my way up to the Mandarin to meet my lovely wife and mom who were so excited for me. I was excited for the change of clothes and new shoes.
What an experience. Being a small part of a world record 55,646 runners in the largest marathon to ever take place is pretty cool. I’m sure that number will get smashed eventually. I’d never really thought about doing the big 6, but now it’s definitely peaked my interest. I’ve applied to run the Chicago Marathon in 2025, I’ll find out in December if I’m in or not. Fingers crossed!
Massive thanks to everyone that supported me on this fun journey. The texts, messages and well-wishes at work and around town were truly appreciated. A few years back when I ran my first half-marathon, if you’d have told me I’d be running the New York Marathon a few short years later, I would have probably laughed in your face. The New York Marathon was my 157th race since I started keeping track. Now I am an Ironman, an Ultramarathoner and a man with big goals and massive races on the horizon. I can’t wait to see what finish lines I get to cross next year.
#NewYorkMarathon #NewYorkMarathon2024 #TeamUltra #Marathon #teamultra2024
On June 13th, I received a dm from Michelob ultra that would change a lot about how my 2024 would play out. “Hi there, congratulations! You have contingently won a 2024 TCS New York City Marathon Bib as part of the team Ultra Marathon giveaway. We know you are super excited but we ask that you do not post on social media or talk to anyone until making the team until you’ve signed the necessary paperwork.”
I reviewed the message very closely to be sure that I wasn’t being spammed and sure enough, it was from the verified Michelob ultra X account. I replied back with all the pertinent details they asked for and tried my best to wait patiently. In July, I finally received the legal documents after some small hiccups, but we got it signed and sent back and I was invited to join the ‘mighty’ app where we would have weekly discussions, live videos, runner info, details and dates. Christie Thomas and Carlee daub were the two Michelob Ultra ambassadors and are members of Wahoo Running that helped pump us up every week and get us fired up for the big day.
In August, I received a comp code to finally register for the race. It was really coming to fruition once I had the confirmation from the New York Road Runners Services. The race actually cost $315.00 this year for anyone that had to pay for it.
November 1st, we made the flight from Des Moines to Chicago and then Chicago to the Newark Airport which was beautiful! After we grabbed our bags, we hopped in an uber for the 16ish mile ride, but thanks to New York traffic, the ride cost about $100. Eventually, we made our way to the Thompson Hotel, and what a gorgeous hotel it was. After we got situated, we took off to go see the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. My grandpa came to the US from Germany through Ellis Island over 100 years ago so it was neat to visit. We also made a quick stroll through the 9/11 memorial. The building was closed, but the fountains where they stood were beautiful. It was eerily quiet so I was happy that people were respectful. It was an exhausting first day of traveling and walking but New York was much cooler than I thought. The people were nice and it was a lot cleaner than I thought it would be.
Saturday morning, I was set for a group shakeout run in Central Park with team Ultra. We took over 56th street for a photo session, pleasantries and lots of videos and tik-toks. I found a group running a perfect pace that seemed to know where they were going, I’d guess there were close to 100 of us with the VIP winners, Staff, and friends and family that came along. Central Park was cool. Lots of statutes, bridges, beautiful trees, flowers and plants. We would go back the last day of the trip and make a lot slower trip through to really admire everything there.
My mom and Kaylee were out shopping for the day and scoping out all of the cool shops they’d seen in movies, so I decided to take a stroll as well and found myself a street hot dog, it was delish. The city actually rates the vendors in New York so it has basically a visible report card so you know if it’s okay to eat or not. After my stroll, it was time to go to the expo and pick up my packet. I was struggling to get an uber, so I made the choice to jog the 2 miles to the expo. It was a perfect way to get a visual of even more of the city. I couldn’t believe how big the expo was. New Balance is the official sponsor, so they had signs everywhere and a store that was as big as Schools. Hats, Coats, Shirts, Shoes, you name it - they had TONS of it. I knew I wanted an Official Jacket, so it was all I grabbed and just laughed when I saw the price tag of $150.00. Then I hopped in line for the packet pick up which went fast and smooth. A long sleeved orange shirt was included with my bib. Eventually, it was time to make my jog back and since the girls were still shopping, I ventured out yet again after dropping off all of my stuff. I knew I wanted to get some things to eat race morning since I had a 3:30am wakeup time set. I found a cool pizza place called Original Famous Rays Pizza. It was nothing like any pizza I’ve ever had. The crust crunched like a potato chip, and was one of the best slices I’d ever eaten. I’ll definitely go back if I’m ever in NY again. A few blocks away, I found a grocery store that had just what I was looking for. Cinnamon raising bread, a jar of peanut butter, and bananas. A perfect breakfast that didn’t require me a stove or microwave. I went back to the hotel after that to map out the remaining hours for my trip before meeting Team Ultra at Butter, a restaurant owned by Alex Guarnaschelli. The restaurant was a few blocks from the hotel so Team Ultra slowly made their way over for the 5:30pm dinner. As we walked in one by one, we were greeted by the team and handed “Michelob Ultra Zero” - an brand new beer that hadn’t been released to the public. We were literally the first group of people other than employees to try this new zero alcohol beer. It was delicious and we were given an endless supply, though I only had 2. The first hour was setup as a happy hour with delicious appetizers such as grilled chicken skewers, spicy shrimp skewers, sweet onion bread, and more. I found myself at a table with some other runners that didn’t know anyone, so we exchanged pleasantries and spent the rest of the night chatting before finally grabbing a table to enjoy the buffet style dinner. The pasta was amazing. I probably should have gotten a few more plates, but didn’t want to overdo it before bed. One by one, people made their way back to the hotel to shut it down for the night. I did the same and was in bed by 9.
Around 4:00am, I made my way into the hotel bathroom to get ready for the day. I didn’t want to wake up Kaylee, so I took a quick shower and then ate breakfast in the bathroom while I scrolled X, checked e-mail and revisited the rules and event schedule. Around 4:45am, I kissed Kaylee goodbye and headed to the hotel lobby where I found a handful of Team Ultra stretching, laughing and guzzling coffee. I have never had coffee and still to this day, can’t stand the smell of it. I picked up my loaf of cinnamon raisin bread, peanut butter and a few bananas to go with my Powerade. Finally, we all strolled out onto 56th street and started our walk towards the VIP busses that were parked just under a mile away. It was around 40-45 degrees outside, so I had gloves and a stocking hat on to keep me warm. Eventually, I made my way onto the MU VIP bus with a handful of others, luckily, I had eyes on Carlee (one of the ambassadors for team Ultra) or I might have had no idea where to go. At 5:45am, the bus took off headed towards Staten Island. We were gifted a beautiful sunrise as we drove through town. Upon arrival on Staten Island, our bus driver got turned around and ended up ‘lost’ and put us back behind a lot of traffic and many other busses. He kept asking officials how to get to our destination but was left without any real answers. It was after 7am that we finally parked a few blocks from the entry point. It was like airport security, pat downs, bags through x-ray machines and everything! The New York Marathon separates people into different waves and within each wave, there are different corrals. We were set for the Orange Wave in corral F. I eventually made my way to the VIP tent provided by Michelob Ultra. It wasn’t heated, but it was covered and kept the wind out and luckily had about 7 bathrooms just for us. I found a nice spot on the floor and started my stretching routine and continued to demolish my cinnamon raisin bread and peanut butter. Many of the Team Ultra members were getting temporary tattoos, glitter, and stickers to cover their bodies. I took the tattoo (Thanks Dale) and got back to warming up. By the time we were ready to leave the tent, it had warmed up another 5 or 6 degrees but it was still fairly cold and windy. The volunteer lead us up to the back side of the bridge behind a fence and said that he’d be giving us a countdown in a while and to just hang out. So many photos were taken. People were singing and dancing. Eventually, I heard the first few words of the National Anthem which was blasting on the bridge - it brought a smile to my face. An extremely loud cannon fired off after the song was over and the first wave took off. The cannon literally shook the ground. I wish I could have seen it. A few minutes later, it was our turn. We got escorted out of Fort Wadsworth to the Verazzano-Narrows bridge. A cool fact about the bridge is that there is no pedestrian walkway or sidewalk. The ONLY way to be on the bridge outside of a car is to run the New York Marathon, so that was cool. Once again, cameras were firing off in all directions. I decided that throughout the entire day, I was never going to pull out my phone and that I would just soak it in visually the entire way and do my best to appreciate it. Then just like that, almost 7 months in the making, it was my turn. I took off with plans for a 3:40 finish. If the crowd would allow, a 3:30 and then if it felt fast, I’d go for 3:20. I had no idea how crowded it would be but guessed that there probably 10,000 people in each wave so I would spend the day jostling in and out of runner traffic. Michelob Ultra provided a race jersey with my name on it, little did I know that hundreds of people would be shouting “Go Bruce!” Thanks to that shirt.
The amount of smiles on the bridge of everyone beginning their journey was pretty cool. So many first timers. As soon as we stepped off of the bridge onto 4th avenue, the crowd support was nothing like I’d ever experienced. Thousands and thousands of people lined both sides of the street, many rows deep. The race announced that there were an estimated 2.5 million spectators. People were constantly cheering my name and other runner names. Sign after sign with witty running messages, messages of encouragement and more. The race starts in Staten Island but quickly makes its way into Brooklyn. At mile 3, we passed Bay Ridge and Sunset Park. The city was filled with people repping all of the New York sports teams. I made a conscious goal to try to get water or gatorade at just about every aid station to assure I stayed as hydrated as possible. Luckily, it wasn’t hot, so I was only sweating due to movement and not being cooked by the sun at all. Mile 5 passes the 72nd street traverse and the Central Park Boathouse then climbs Cat Hill and heads towards the Fred Lebow statue. Mile 9 was mostly downhill and I was feeling great. Around mile 10 or so, we approached a Hasidic Jewish neighborhood. I was told that they work on Sundays so the amount of people I saw trying to cross the street in the middle of 10,000 people was bonkers. I almost got run over by a man trying to push his stroller through the crowd. Additionally, it’s mostly quiet in that 2 mile stretch, no fans were in that neighborhood so it was the sound of feet and heavy breathing. I actually enjoyed it because the crowd noise had been non-stop since we started.
After Brooklyn, we strolled into Queens after crossing over the Pulaski bridge. The music was great. The people were great and the city was pretty neat to see. This was about mile 13. The Queensboro bridge was an uphill battle around mile 14-15. From there, we cross the bridge and end up in Manhattan. We arrived on First Avenue, a nice long wide stretch here through mile 17 or 18. The crowd support and noise here was INSANELY loud. I was still enjoying the race at this point and doing my best to soak it up because I knew it would be over soon. Around mile 18ish, we made our way into East Harlem. Again, the music was loud and the fans were even louder. This area has a large Latin community. I gave so many hi-fives to the kids that lined the streets during that stretch. The Bronx was cool. So many songs mention it, so I was trying to get the feeling of everything that surrounded me. At this point in the race, I was starting to suffer. The streets are basically peaked in the middle so it’s slightly slanted (like a triangle) allowing the rain to flow to the gutters. Unfortunately, this meant I would be running unevenly so it was destroying my hips. There were so many people, I could rarely make it to the center of the road where it would be less slanted.
At mile 21, we arrived at the Madison Avenue Bridge which is the 5th and final bridge. The crowds were starting to thin out a bit compared to First Avenue in Manhattan, but by this point, the street surrounding the aid station were covered in smashed cups on the ground and it started getting slippery. As I approached mile 22, my hips and now my left knee were screaming. I knew I’d get the race done but I wanted nothing more than to just sit down for a few minutes. The entire 22nd mile is an incline which didn’t help. Mile 23 is back to Manhattan where the crowd support was once again loud and crazy. Eventually, I started seeing signs that Central Park was ahead and I knew that was the home stretch. Team Ultra went for a shakeout run the day before so I knew what to expect. Mile 25 hit and all the pain went away. It was time to kick it into gear and just get the damn thing done. The park is twisty and curvy. We approached Columbus Circle and the crowd was quite literally deafening at this point. I tried looking left and right to find my mom and Kaylee, but unfortunately, there were just too many people. The Marathon put up mile marker flags on both sides of the course but also put up kilometer markers as well. When it got to 400m left, I slowed down because the 7 month journey was a few minutes away from being over. As I rounded the last corner, I saw the tower surrounded by photographers, finishers and an insanely crowd cheering section. I pumped my fists and stopped my watch. Finishing time was 3:38, just two minutes faster than I’d planned. I was elated.
After the race, each runner has to walk another mile out of the finishing chute back towards Columbus Circle but before that, we were greeted with hundreds of volunteers passing out orange fleeced ponchos. The lady that buttoned me up smiled, said congrats and that was it. There were hundreds of people snapping selfies with their medal, but for the most part, it was pure silence. And boy, was it a welcomed silence. I can still to this day hear the crowd noise. It was insane. The plan was to meet the family at the Mandarin Oriental - a hotel that Team Ultra setup for the official VIP after party. As I was walking mile 27, there were photographs all over. I snapped a few and even took my traditional “hulk Hogan” pose that I do after most races. One of the race volunteers had a mic and a speaker and was asking all of the finishers where they were from, “Spain!, Rhode Island, Texas, London, Queens, California, and eventually, Waukee IOWA!?” I finally exited the finishers mile and made my way up to the Mandarin to meet my lovely wife and mom who were so excited for me. I was excited for the change of clothes and new shoes.
What an experience. Being a small part of a world record 55,646 runners in the largest marathon to ever take place is pretty cool. I’m sure that number will get smashed eventually. I’d never really thought about doing the big 6, but now it’s definitely peaked my interest. I’ve applied to run the Chicago Marathon in 2025, I’ll find out in December if I’m in or not. Fingers crossed!
Massive thanks to everyone that supported me on this fun journey. The texts, messages and well-wishes at work and around town were truly appreciated. A few years back when I ran my first half-marathon, if you’d have told me I’d be running the New York Marathon a few short years later, I would have probably laughed in your face. The New York Marathon was my 157th race since I started keeping track. Now I am an Ironman, an Ultramarathoner and a man with big goals and massive races on the horizon. I can’t wait to see what finish lines I get to cross next year.
#NewYorkMarathon #NewYorkMarathon2024 #TeamUltra #Marathon #teamultra2024
RSS Feed