----About the New York Marathon ----
Of the more than 38,000 runners this year from around the globe, almost half were running the race for the first time. If you missed Part I of Jerry's story Marathon Sunday - From a Runner's Diary, please visit http://www.postcardsfromnewyork.com/.
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Dear Postcards from New York Reader,
I found myself on an airplane going to New York. I landed at Newark, my friends had told me to take public transportation to the New York Port Authority.
Oh my God, from the window of the bus I saw the magnificent New York skyline, the Chrysler Building, the Empire State Building, the World Trade Center. I was in New York! I got off the bus at the Transit Authority and hailed a cab. Under a mosaic that said New York City, I saw a homeless man fast asleep oblivious to the city's noise and bustle. Now I was in New York!
My friends, Al and Donald, lived on 92nd between Amsterdam and Broadway; having a key I let myself into the apartment, since they were at work. I immediately brushed my teeth, went out to Broadway, hailed a cab and I went straight to Tiffany’s to look in the window with a cup of coffee in hand; just like Holly Golightly.
As a huge sports fan I had often heard how teams on the road lost their focus. I could never understand what it meant. Each morning I got up at 7am, entered Central Park at 86th Street, and ran around the reservoir. After a quick shower back at the apartment, I was off to continue my adventure in the greatest city on earth.
I saw every tourist spot it was possible to see during the day, and went to the theatre every evening. I even went to the Met to see "Aida." Here I was, a kid that lived on a farm in a town of five hundred at the Met. I did manage to take time to register and pick up my goodie bag at the New York City Marathon headquarters. Inside the goodie bag was a souvenir shirt, official program, tickets to a carb loading dinner the night before the race, and many snacks provided by sponsors of the race.
On Saturday, the day before the Marathon I took a train to Princeton to see an Ivy League football game. When I arrived back in the city, I knew I should be in bed early, but instead I went to the top of the Empire State building. Below me, the city lights glittered like diamonds in the dark. Suddenly I realized, I had lost my focus. I forgot the reason I had come to New York. Immediately, I left the Empire State Building, found an Italian restaurant, loaded up on carbohydrates, took the subway back to the apartment and I went to bed.
Next morning, the alarm rang at 5am. Lying in bed, I took a deep breath while thinking; this was the day I had prepared for months. It had arrived, and it felt so surreal. I put on my jogging clothes and I was off to the subway. At each subway stop dozens of men and women got on wearing jogging clothes. Hundreds of riders in jogging clothes cramped together on the train made the situation only more surreal.
I looked down at my watch, 6am and I was on Staten Island surrounded by thousands of other runners. 12,000 men and women were allowed to run the marathon by the lottery. A feeling of pulsating anxiety mixed with joy was in the air. We were like 12,000 horses ready to run the Kentucky Derby.
The press with cameras and news trucks was there. I took every opportunity to be seen on TV. People were drinking Poland Springs and Gatorade, and eating power bars, donuts and bagels, provided by the New York Runners Club. Of course there was a long line to the Porto Potties. The Statue of Liberty looked down on us with a big smile as the time neared the start of the Marathon, 9am.
To be continued...
Jerry Petrasek
For Postcards from New York
Photo courtesy of the New York Road Runners Club
© Copyright 2007 The Cable Group
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