NYCM2002 - Mary DeMattia

Race Report

New York City Marathon

Sunday, November 3, 2002

Good morning all. Just thought I would fill you in. Harriet is getting dressed and we will drive to her hospital and then I will explore the subway system of NY. If you never hear from me again - you will know that I am lost and riding the trains forever and ever!!! I drove through a snowstorm all the way through Penn. yesterday. Even though the driving was a bit slow, it was beautiful. The colors were at their peak, and with the snow cover it was like a picture from a magazine. Gotta go now and get ready to go meet Karen and Kathry. Then to the expo. Oh yes, I also forgot my card and everything at home, so have no idea what my number is. I have a blue start. My cell number, if anyone wants to call, is 248-842-8290. I will have it before and after, but probably not during the marathon. But you can leave a voice message. And maybe I will carry it. Mary D

Actually its Friday morning but I did not get home til VERY late and went right to bed!
I am up now and everyone else is still sleeping. So I will fill you in.
Oh yes, I am bib # 36002 (blue) in the race. Gee, cant get numbers much higher than that!
Got into town uneventfully yesterday. Got a subway pass and got to Times Square. Called Karen and set out to meet them. Thank goodness for cell phones. As I am walking down the street, Kathryn was trying to guide me to them. Then she yells - I see you! So we hung up and met.
We got Carlene at the hotel and went to the Empire State Bldg. You are searched as you go in. OOPS, I had a small pen knife/scissors in my pocket. But the nice guide let me through telling me to use it in case King Kong was up there! Oh yes, I was able to get a senior citizens reduced rate. Im sure Carlene loved it!
The view was stupendous. Weather was clear as a bell. When looking at Staten Island and the bridge I thought - why on earth would anyone want to run that far????
Then Karen and I went to meet Harriet at the expo. We walked all the way. We were hungry so got McDonalds on the way. The expo was ok - I only bought a water bottle so I could fill it with the free gator ade!!!
Then dinner at a brew pub and off to the parade. Cher and I were the first to go under the barricade and sit on the curb. The costumes?? They were something else. All sorts of super heros/heroines. And many others unmentionable. Lets just say you did not see any of those costumes coming to your door!
Then Harriet and I took the subway north and drove to her house. Her brother Sheldon had arrived earlier. He is great. I went to bed - about 11:30, waaaay past my usual.
So of course I still woke at 6 and am the only one up. I will be going into town today and staying until Monday. J'net is arriving here today.
Oh yeah - heard from Kelly from Toronto yesterday. She called. She will be in today. And I had NO trouble getting my number yesterday, even if I had forgotten everything back in MI.
Have a good day all.
Mary D

Hi all, Just checking in with a quickie from NY. We are all laying around waiting to go to the dinner in a few minutes. Just wanted to say that today has been a blast. Saw the friendship run this am, then the boat trip (and it snowed!!!) then back to the hotel with a snack on the way. Now we will be off in a few to dinner with assembled penguins. I will fill you in on details later. Weather report for tomorrow - 45, wind of 10 and sun. Great! Mary D

MJ,
I am so glad you saw us!!! It was so exciting being there. BUT, I do have some advice to anyone else who is thinking of going to the Today show. DO NOT, repeat, DO NOT drink 2 cups of coffee before going to stand 3 1/2 hours on the sidewalk , crushed in the crowd! It got so painful, I got a cop to let me out of the area. Went to a bagel place. Came back and actually wormed my way through the crowd to get back to the group. I kept saying "I had to leave and my family/children are ahead"! But it got me back there!
LOL
Mary D

I don't have a lot of time this morning as I am off to work in a few minutes. But I did want you all to know that I did go to NY and I did run the marathon. I LOVE the city and I WILL go back there next year if any of you are going to run and I will cheer you on. I met so many friends, and saw so many old friends. I hate to name names as I am sure I will forget some and do not want them to feel slighted. Oh well, you can charge it to a 'senior moment'. I did write about the first few days already. I will write about the dinners and the race later. I do want to thank Daniel for running with me. He is fantastic! And what a guide. What a tour of the city. But next time I will take a car, or cab, or something other than my feet! Mary D

My day started somewhere about 5:30 when my alarm went off, and then Kathryn rang to make sure I was up. Later Kathryn was so kind as to bring me some body glide of Karen's, as I had forgotten mine!! I ate my banana and paacked my bag. We met and walked to the Library to catch the bus. Dang, no ghostbusters in sight, nor slime oozing. The bus ride was fun but long - gads, we had to run all the way back!! When we got to the fort we found Ron and camped out. The funniest sight was the fellow laying down outside the tent reading and smoking a cigarette! ( He probably beat me too!) I did manage to get in a short nap. I much prefer races to start EARLY. Ellen did convince me to put some tape on my shirt with my name on it. Then Julia, Cher and I started out to the start. I think Julia told you about the two characters we met at the start. We got near the start, heard Frank sing and the cannon boom and were across the start in a couple of minutes. Running across the bridge is most disconcerting as it is bouncing up and down. I almost fell a couple of times. At the end of the bridge, I made use of the baricades that Ellen had told us about. NY is huge. I much prefer smaller, quieter races. I run well alone. This was neither. Within a couple of miles I tore off my name tag. Did NOT want to hear GO MARY. LOL I was with Cher and we both had the sme shirt with the flag on the front, so now people started shouting USA< USA. I was not enjoying myself. It was amazing. I had had such a good time at towpath, and we were holding ourselves back and doing 10:20 miles. Here we were working to do 11 min. miles. About half way, we met Daniel. Shortly after Cher left and went ahead. I am SO happy she made her less than 5 marathon. Daniel ran the rest of the way with me. He is SO great, and has offered to teach me to snowboard! He did a running commentary of the city, so I had a good guided tour. Loved seeing Kathryn, Carlene, Warren, Jess and Dom and Deb and Melanie along the way. They were a breath of warm air. Oh yes, the temp got colder as the race got longer! Finally we got to Central park and the finish. After finishing, Daniel and I hugged and we went to get our warm clothes. I agree, the finish as NY is HORRID. So mixed up. I had to walk forever to get my sweatshirt. I kept my number so i could use it to ride the subway. I went to exit the park, and next to the truck was the green exit. (My number was blue) the lady said I should go on and use the blue exit. I glared, and walked past her, saying ok, stop me! (I was deeply in the BMZ) But then I drank an entire bottle of Gu2O and immediately started feeling better. By the time I got back to the hotel I felt good. Then dinner and I had Shepherd's Pie and wine. It tasted so good. Anyway, I ran the marathon. I had not liked it the first time I did it, but decided to try it again to see if maybe I would like it better. I guess I did not. But I do love the city. And I will go back again next year to cheer for everyone. And unless I lose my mind completely I will just visit and not run. But the city is the greatest. I loved every minute I spent there. Oh, yes, I did leave 2 toenails in the city. Or at least I lost them there. Now I am feeling better, and will be in Iowa in a couple of weeks. See ya, Marce and Anne! Will write more about the city later. Going to bed soon. Can't seem to catch up on my sleep! Mary D