NYCM2005 - Harriet Kang Race Report

Race Report

New York City Marathon

Sunday, November 6, 2005

Guides for my Achilles friend Shoshana, whose Guides never contacted
her. There is always some last minute matchmaking as some athletes
change their plans and some Guides either don't materialize or don't
match up well with their athletes. I found a pair of Guides whose
amputee athlete changed from walking to using a handcrank wheelchair
(which needs a bicycle Guide), and paired them up with Shoshana.
Although I did not need Guides, there were extras who would not be able
to go on the course without an assigned athlete, so I took on a couple
of Guides whose athletes failed to appear. Both of these guys had come
from out of town to participate, Bob from Buffalo and Lloyd from
Phoenix, and they were very happy to be able to join me. I promptly
dubbed them "Harriet's Hunks".

I actually already knew Lloyd, who is a friend of Daniel's, and had run
once with them in Central Park. Lloyd had been assigned the Achilles
athlete from H--l, an amputee who was a drug addict and former resident
of Riker's Island. He had listed a projected finish time of 5 hours,
which is why a 4.5 hour marathoner was assigned to him. When they
finally connected, it turned out that his long run was only 5 miles (he
claimed), and he didn't even have athletic shoes. This con man
persuaded Lloyd (who is clearly good-hearted and not a cynical New
Yorker) to buy him a pair of shoes and running shorts to bring to the
starting area. Fortunately Lloyd kept the receipt, since the guy never
showed up. My other Guide, Bob, had lost in the NYCM lottery, but came
to NYC anyway to be with his friends. One friend was already
Boston-qualified and the other was going to try for his 3:10 qualifier.
Bob himself had run a 4 hour marathon at Chicago. To show what kind
of conditions we had for the race, Bob's friends finished in 3:37 and
3:40 on Sunday.

My race started out well, partly because the temperature at 8 AM was
still in the upper 50's and it was partly cloudy until the afternoon. I

couldn't have asked for better running companions than Lloyd and Bob,
who chatted with each other to entertain me (but let me be the quiet
listener). J'net kept popping up from the subway system to cheer us on
with her bullhorn, starting at mile 3 and then at mile 8, just missing
us at mile 14 (after which she timed her cheering to match Shelton's
walking schedule). I passed the 8.5M point where I fell apart in 2003,
and the 11M area where Julia had rescued me with an ice cold water
bottle. The lead women passed us somewhere in Queens, Bob taking a
picture of me that makes it look like I'm running with them. We passed
the halfway point at around 2:51, probably having gone out a bit faster
than I should have, but I knew that I would be slowing down - according
to a bank marquee, it was already 70 degrees at 11 AM. My legs were
feeling much more tired that at the same point at Columbus three weeks
earlier. After mostly walking the Pulaski Bridge at 13M and the
Queensboro at 15-16, I gave up any hope of a PR and just tried to enjoy
the crowds and the excitement of the NYCM. The lead men passed us while

the Kenyans doesn't show them as well as the photo of me. We saw a
Kenyan drop out well after the lead pack went by, walking dejectedly
towards the aid station at the mid-point of the bridge. I took a
picture of him walking alone, showing that even Kenyans can have bad
days.

Of course the crowds on First Avenue were incredible, shouting and
cheering us on and calling "Go Arizona!" because of my Arizona Road
Runners singlet (my favorite race shirt). Last year, I had gotten tired

after hearing my name called out so many times, especially after I was
walking, but I like hearing the "Arizona!". Of course they are cheering

everyone, but somehow when you are running up First Avenue, it seems as
though they are there for YOU. The Hunks, both doing the NYCM for the
first time, were amazed at the thunderous crowd support, including the
spectators who come out on their own with bananas, oranges and candy for

the runners. Lloyd grabbed a banana, peeled it and broke it into
bite-sized pieces for me, while Bob ran off to the aid stations for
water and Gatorade for me. A box of pretzels materialized out of
Lloyd's fanny pack. Running with the regular-start 4 hour finishers in
the Bronx, I was amazed to see that, even there, the course was lined
with spectators, a mix of cheering family members and local residents.
At the 22M marker (122nd St in Harlem), members of the Mercury Masters,
my running club, had their own pretzel station where I stopped for a
little bit. Bob took a picture of me there, and I look like doo-doo.
The run from 122nd St to entering Central Park at 90th St, about a mile
and a half, seemed to take forever, and I wondered if they had somehow
moved 90th St a few miles further south. Many of the regular-start
runners who had crashed were walking at this point, so I wasn't that
distinguishable from the others. Back in the park, though, was my home
territory, and I mustered up my best mile of the second half before
exiting onto Central Park South. I know that I pleased one woman who
had been calling out "Go Arizona, you can do it!" because I heard her
say to her friend, "Oh good, now she's running again!" The last mile
was walk-a-little, run-a-little, walk-a-little. I don't think that I
was even looking up when I crossed the finish line because I don't
remember seeing the lights - but then this was my first daylight NYCM
finish since 1999, and maybe they didn't have the floodlights on. I
know that I hugged both of my Hunks. We collected our medals and space
blankets before Bob parted to join his speedy friends, and then Lloyd
and I went retrieve our bag from the Achilles area and have a snack
there before saying good-bye.

After a bit of difficulty getting J'net into the Achilles reunion area,
we sat around until Shoshana finished (in 7:12), then together went to
our favorite kosher BBQ place for rare ribeye steaks. The timing was
perfect for us to enjoy our dinner, get my car from the parking garage
and then pick Shelton and Bo up after their finish.

It might not have been the perfect marathon day, but the NYCM is always
a great experience.