Why did the turkey cross the road?

Hi all,

I didn’t run this race. In order to automatically qualify for the 2009 NYC Marathon, NYRR members now have to run nine races and “volunteer” at one. I had hoped to volunteer at the Club Championships (I’m not a team member and not eligible to run that event), but I think everyone else had that idea, too. So, I picked the Fitness 4-miler, which holds difficult memories for me, anyway (I was hit by a car the evening after I ran this event in 2006).

My call time was 7:30. I had gotten up early to walk my neighbor’s dog and to cover any delays caused by the MTA’s continuing disruption of my subway line, so I ended up arriving just after 7. I received a goodie bag and a massage (there were no lines and I told everyone I was a volunteer) and then headed over and checked in about 10 minutes early. Because of NYRR’s communication efficiency, I didn’t receive an e-mail telling me where to check in (even after calling the NYRR and requesting the information and receiving a promise that I would get it by e-mail). I assumed I checked in at the start-line area, but was wrong. The woman offered to transfer me to chip-clipping, but I’d committed to being a Northwest course marshal and didn’t want to leave them short a person, so I walked a mile up the west side of the park until I found the group. Doug, the volunteer coordinator (wrangler?), was giving people instructions about course marshalling and pulling people off the group to stand along the course. I positioned myself in the center of the group, towards the inside of the course, so that I would stay in the group as long as possible and guarantee a short walk to check-out at the end of the shift. It turns out that there was an uptown check-in where I was supposed to have gone in the first place. Thanks for the info, NYRR! Anyway, I arranged it so that I ended up at the 72nd Street Transverse crossing. I could see the finish line from where I was standing!

There were 4 of us at the transverse with Doug. It’s a difficult area, because tour groups come in from Strawberry Fields and want to cross the course into the park. We cut off two of the three entryways to funnel the crowds and control them better. We had to keep them, the cyclists, the regular pedestrians, and the racers from colliding. The general plan is to allow a line of five to cross in two sections (first to the edge of the race course, across the cyclists and non-racing runners lane, and then across the race path), but the tourists didn’t always understand that clearly. Luckily, we had no collisions and only one or two nasty cyclists (I had been promised I’d be cursed out, but I won’t hold it against Doug that it didn’t happen). The entire event went fairly smoothly, with only two incidents of note.

During the men’s race, I was on my way up to help guide a tour group to the single pathway to the road and I turned back in time to see a Korean Road Runner fall. He clutched at the fence (wire mesh with 4” open squares), but couldn’t hold himself up and he hit the pavement headfirst. His head actually bounced off the road. I ran back, pulling a fresh bottle of water out of my backpack and Doug was there, too, along with some spectators. He kept insisting he wanted to finish, so, after cooling himself off and getting some fluids in (and washing some of the blood off his face), Doug walked him to the finish (he was on the phone with medical the entire time) and he went to medical after getting his chip clipped.

The other incident was the appearance of a wild turkey on the road. Apparently, there are two wild turkeys in the park and this one decided to wander around on the road while the men were racing past. She was unfazed by the activity, sauntered across the cyclists’ lane to peck around the grass for awhile, then wandered back into the road and settled into the inside course lane for a while. Finally, she flung herself up and over the afore-mentioned wire fence and hung out there ignoring barking dogs and snap-happy tourists (including me) until some curious children herded her out of my view.

Congratulatory treats (I finally qualified for the 2009 NYC Marathon): I went to Bouchon Bakery at Columbus Circle and got myself a chocolate bouchon and a plain scone (which was delicious with and without Nutella).

Next up: Expedition Everest Challenge (9/27), Grete’s Gallop (10/4), Staten Island Half Marathon (10/12), Tower of Terror 13k (10/25)

Turkey pictures are here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/7411850@N04/sets/72157607168616558/

9/11 Bells and Flags of Honor pictures are here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/7411850@N04/sets/72157607168923730/ (Fr. Judge, who was the chaplain of the fire department when he died on 9/11, was from my church and there is a procession every year from my church (St. Francis of Assisi at 31st and 7th) to Ground Zero. These pictures are from the beginning of the procession when the vehicles and people were gathering in preparation for the Mass before the procession.

NYRR 50th Anniversary Run and my 100th NYRR Race!!

Hi all,

Race number 17 was the NYRR 50th Anniversary Run. We ran the lower 5-mile loop counter-clockwise, starting and finishing at Tavern on the Green.

Goals: i) to run between the water stations; ii) to set a PR (sub 45:06); and iii) to finish in under 45.

This race was capped without prior notice by the NYRR and I hadn’t remembered signing up for it (I’d been debating whether or not I wanted to get up early enough to get to a 5:30 am start), but then I received the e-mail from NYRR with the race details, so, after the Japan Day race, I stopped by the NYRR office to pick up my gear. There wasn’t any, so I just thought it was a mistake. Yesterday, though, the reminder message was still on my mind and I decided to call the NYRR to ask about it. Turns out, they did have a bib for me! Luckily, I was able to stop by again after work to pick up my gear – no race day pick-up for this one!

Unfortunately, the trains are bizarrely screwed up between midnight and 5 am, so I had to get up before 4 am to get to the start. It’s normally 45 minutes at most to get to the start, but this morning, I left the house just after 4 am (because I’d checked the train schedule and there was supposed to be a train at 4:11), waited half an hour for the downtown train, which runs on the downtown track as a shuttle, so there are only 2 each hour, had to cross over to the downtown platform at 168th Street, wait there for the train to take me the rest of the way, and arrived at the start at 5:25. I was exhausted and a little stressed, because I hate waiting!! Plus, I could have slept another half hour!!

So, we’re lined up and it’s pouring rain. There are the usual announcements, including a shout-out to one of the runners who was celebrating not just his birthday, but his 50th! He is the exact same age as the NYRR and is a runner!! What wasn’t announced, but was equally important to me, was that this was my 100th official race with the NYRR (not counting the two races that were converted to fun runs due to weather issues)!! So, less than ideal circumstances for a 5-mile run – the metal grates and painted white lines get slippery and I’m afraid to twist my knee, so I tend to be a bit tentative when the ground is wet. I decided that I would run this for fun and be glad that I was participating in such an important event for the NYRR and for me. I also knew from the course map that there was only one water station on the course (on the 102nd Street Transverse)**, so I wasn’t sure what to do about the breaks I usually take. I headed out nice and easy, but the humidity caught up to me and I ended up taking a break in the 2nd mile and then 2 more in the 4th mile. I also hadn’t realized I was running this race until the night before and had run a ladder the morning before, which I wouldn’t have done, otherwise. I’m not unhappy with my performance, though. I managed to hold on the last mile and brought it home fast – no finishing kick, but the entire mile was solid. At previous anniversary runs, they’ve handed out Little Debbie cakes at the finish, but I was disappointed to see that we got the usual bagels and bananas at this one. There were no medals or t-shirts or any other commemorative souvenir for this event, either, which seems strange. I have my bib, though, and I save all of them, so that’ll have to do!

Official stats: my official time was 45:30 for an average pace of 9:06. My splits were 9:08, 9:21, 8:52, 9:37, and 8:37. I was out 1156 of 1784 total runners, putting me in the 35th percentile. It was 55°F* with 97% humidity.

Celebratory treats: I know I didn’t hit my goals, but it was my 100th NYRR race and the 50th anniversary of the NYRR, so I’m celebrating!! I had one of my favorite breakfasts: toasted everything bagel with olive cream cheese from Bagel Maven, plus a Frango dark chocolate mint cookie from Sue, who ran 2 amazing track races the night before and kindly shared her celebratory treats with me. Thanks, Sue!!

Next up: Anaheim 5k (6/14)

Race pictures are available here (I haven’t had time to rotate or caption them, but I will as soon as I get a chance): http://www.flickr.com/photos/7411850@N04/sets/72157605437824364/

*The NYRR website says that it was 62°F, but one of the buildings we ran past indicated that it was only 55°F.

**This is not a complaint. Because of the need to have the course cleared for traffic by 7 am, I completely understand why there was only one station.