My experience running the #NYCMarathon

Quick impressions from today’s #NYCMarathon:

1. By far my favorite part was the long 12-mile run through Brooklyn. Brooklyn, to me, is America’s biggest small town. Population: 2.5 million, but an endless stretch akin to Greenwich Village, with small business, mom-and-pops, and it seemed like the whole borough was out to cheer runners on.
2. Also, the smells of Brooklyn. I saw the sign: “Here begins the Donut Mile.” And for a mile, all we could smell was bakeries. Followed by a half-mile of pizza, and later another half-mile of barbecue. I want to move to Brooklyn. Not that I could afford it.
3. Harlem was really cool. DJ Kool Herc, an old-school rap pioneer, was spinning tunes live at 135th. Damn, that was awesome.
4. The noise from people cheering the runners on was so loud that I had a splitting headache beginning about mile 10. That says a lot about how NYC supports the marathon. I needed Excedrin.
5. Random people on the side of the street were giving out bananas, oranges and candy bars to runners. There were official food stations, but I made sure to take the food from the residents, because that was so cool, that folks would do that.
6. You get serenaded at the start of the race with Frank Sinatra’s “New York, New York” blaring over the loudspeakers. Nice.
7. There was a guide service offering assistance to the visually impaired. I ran beside one group for a half-mile midway through the race. The sighted runner described the view from the bridge to the visually impaired runner. Awesome to be there for that.
8. Seemingly thousands of people wanted to high-five you on your way by. I made it a point to high-five the little kids who held their tiny hands out. One little kid, maybe five years old, gave me a Snickers bar as I passed. Awesome.
9. Practically everybody in my pack was running for some cause. Among the causes: pancreatic cancer, cystic fibrosis, early childhood education, Fred’s Team (cancer research). Lots of folks wearing shirts in memory of individuals who had passed on. I don’t know that I saw anybody who wasn’t running for at least one other person or important cause.
10. What a team effort this whole thing was. I applaud the locals who took time out of their Sundays to cheer strangers on, family members who hustled to far-flung spots to cheer their loved ones on for literally a few seconds, then trudged to the finish line to do it all again, the army of volunteers, all of whom encouraged the idiots out there running about what a great job they were doing, the NYPD folks who kept us all safe. Wow, what a day.