NYCM2002 - Daniel Wellner

Race Report

New York City Marathon

Sunday, November 3, 2002

Hi everybody, For me, this was a very special and very exciting race. It was my twenty fifth marathon and my twentieth in New York City. I enjoyed every minute of it. My time was slower than I had hoped for, and I think this was due in part to the fact that I never did a long training run and in part to the fact that my knee was not completely healed. It was great to see so many Penguin friends. They came from all over: Canada, Ohio, Michigan, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, California, Massachusetts, Missouri, Utah, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Kentucky, Connecticut, New Jersey, and, of course, New York. One came all the way from Austria. All of last week was filled with marathon-related activities. On Monday, I attended a briefing for volunteers in the Javits Center followed by a dinner provided by the NYCM organizers. (The NYCM feeds its volunteers very well!). Vaira had cooked A DELICIOUS MEAT LOAF that evening which I was very sorry to miss. On Tuesday evening I went to a W&B party for the NYCE Penguins. Wednesday and Thursday I spent all day at the international registration desk, working as an interpreter for the French runners. I ate lunch and dinner both days at the Javits Center. On Friday, I had to work at my job: it was the last day of my course and I participated in a marathon of individual oral exams for 102 medical students (1/2 hour each!) In the evening, I went to the dinner arranged by Debbie for about 30 Penguins at Carmine's. Thanks, Debbie! The food was excellent and super abundant. I brought some leftover chicken marsala and salmon steak home in a doggie bag. It will feed Vaira and me for at least a week! (I had still not eaten Vaira's MEAT LOAF). Saturday morning, I went with a bunch of Penguins to Central Park to cheer for Kelly, who was running in the International Friendship Run together with a few thousand runners from abroad, many carrying their country's flag. Kelly saw us and waved. Then we headed downtown for breakfast. After breakfast, while some of the Penguins went on a sightseeing cruise arranged by Ellen, I headed back home to rest. At 4:00, we had the Famous Pasta Dinner at Padrone's. The restaurant was full with 62 guests. I was happy that Vaira decided to come. It was a very festive occasion. The food was delicious and there were several special surprises. There was music provided by Elaine on her violin accompanied by Mike on the guitar. Thanks, Elaine and Mike! There were prizes contributed by Karen for special Penguins. Thank you Karen! And there were some beautifully printed name tags for everyone, made by Peggy. Thank you Peggy! A big surprise for me was to find out that I had earned a third place trophy in the 65 to 69 age group at the previous weekend's 5K race. Julie Cook, who also ran in that race and won a first place trophy herself, and her husband Neil, brought me my trophy. After dinner, everybody went outside for some group photos. Sunday morning, I got up at 4:30. From experience, I knew what to wear in this kind of weather. I planned to wear my Penguin singlet and shorts for most of the race. For the start, I would also wear a throw-away wool sweater and a large plastic garbage bag with a hole for my head. I had a windbreaker (with gloves in the pockets) tied around my waist to wear near the end of the race when I knew it would get very cold. The sweat suit I wore in the morning was put in the UPS bag to wear again after the race. It all worked out very well. THE START: I met Ron in front of the NY Public Library at 5:30 to take the bus to the start. As soon as we arrived in Ft. Wadsworth, we claimed a large portion of a big, almost empty tent, by laying plastic sheets on the grass and covering the entrance with a pink sheet saying "Penguin Brigade" in big black letters. The other Penguins began arriving and pretty soon our space was filled with Penguins sitting and talking or trying to go back to sleep. Our race would not start for several hours. I had a breakfast of bagels and yogurt, but I had nothing to drink. I discovered that not drinking before the race is a good way of avoiding the need for unhydrating along the course. I stay sufficiently hydrated during the run by drinking water at every water station. After taking my bag to the UPS truck and making a final use of the World's Longest Urinal, I returned to the Penguin Condo. I was planning to start with Julia, Cher, and Mary, but they had already left without waiting for me. So I lined up in the Red corral hoping to catch up with them on the bridge. The crowd at the start was very dense, but I managed to creep forward, looking for pink hats. "Excuse me, pardon me, excuse me..." Push, push , push, until I saw Neil and Sweet Julie and decided to start running with them. THE RACE: Waiting for the cannon. Time to take off my plastic bag. Boom! we are off! It took me only 2 minutes to get to the starting line. This is always an exciting part of the race. Everybody is in a good mood and joking around. The helicopters are flying overhead and the fire boats below are spewing colorful jets of water. Before we had gone one mile, there was a long line of men peeing over the edge of the bridge. Golden rain for the Green starters below. Entering Brooklyn, a wall of spectators screaming and waving. This year, for the first time, I had my name on the front of my singlet. I heard my name called continuously. "Go, Daniel!", "Looking good, Daniel", "Daniel, you look fabulous!", "Go, Danny boy!", "Daniel! Daniel! Daniel!" I heard my name at least a thousand times. It was as if everybody in New York knew me. I just smiled and waved. I ran at a comfortable pace, not paying attention to the time. I quickly lost Neil and Julie and I decided to just run at my own pace. I saw lots of Scream Team Penguins popping up here and there along the course: Milt, Lisa, Kathryn, Carlene, Debbie, and others I am having a senior moment about. They appeared here, there, and everywhere. Debbie took my picture with Lola, LOL. Lots of hugs, lots of encouragement. I finally caught up with Mary and Cher. Cher was in the BMZ and soon left us to continue at her own pace. (She had a great run, finishing under 5:00). Mary and I continued together for the rest of the race. Thank you so much, Mary, I enjoyed your company. On First Avenue, my students were there to cheer for me and give me some cookies. I saw Vaira with her red jacket at the corner of our street. She gave me apple slices and chocolate chip cookies. I stopped to talk to her while waiting for Mary who had gone to MacDonald's to unhydrate. We crossed Willis Avenue bridge into the Bronx (mile 20) and our legs started to feel tired. We started walking the uphills and running the downhills. We caught up with J'net who was walking the whole way. She was in good spirits. Mary had cold hands and I gave her my gloves. Later, she got a mylar blanket from a medical station to wrap around herself. I was still in my singlet and shorts, but when a cold breeze started blowing I had to put on my windbreaker. I took it off for the pictures at Mile 25 and at the finish. THE FINISH: Mary and I finished together in 5:44:06. I came in 28924th place (no trophy!) A volunteer put a medal around my neck and gave me a mylar blanket. There were no long-stemmed roses for the ladies, as in the past. We got water, bagels, and apples. We had to walk a long way to the UPS trucks to pick up our bags. We arrived at my truck first, and, after a final hug, Mary continued walking to find hers. By now, it was getting dark. I walked home through the park, down Fifth Avenue and across on 72nd Street to York Avenue. I met Harriet along the way. I arrived home and took a hot shower. Vaira prepared a nice dinner for me. FINALLY... I ate her MEAT LOAF, and it was DELICIOUS!!! Daniel -- --------------------------------------------------------------- Daniel Wellner __ __ ~O New York City __ __ </< ,__~O dwelln@med.cornell.edu ~\/\ _ \ <_ / (*) ~ (*) * ~O ~ * * \ /_/\ * * \\ \ | \ * \\_/ | \ ~\ /\ o * * \/ * * ~~~~~~~~~~~~~\/~~~~~ * \\_ \_ ---------------------------------------------------------------