It is obvious to anyone who knows me that I love the New York City Marathon. Despite living in Cheshire UK, the New York City Marathon is my most run race having run the 2017 New York City Marathon, 2018 New York City Marathon and 2019 New York City Marathon as well as the 2020 Virtual New York City Marathon (in Scholar Green). I have a place to run in either 2021, 2022 or 2023 to make it number four.

I thought I would write a post about why I love this race so much but whilst I was pulling together my photos from the three visits to NYC I realised it is not just the race that I love. It is the whole marathon weekend, the whole experience of being in New York and everything that happens around race day. I will split this out into smaller sections and include lots of my favourite photos from the three years. I won’t go into why I love New York City so much, I will still to just the running side of things. I could write a whole other post about the city, but this isn’t a travel blog.

The Expo

Things are big in New York, especially when coming from a small rural village in Cheshire. The NYC Marathon Expo at the Javits Center is huge!

With over 50,000 runners taking part in the marathon plus all of the Abbott 5k Dash to the Finish runners, you would expect the crowds to be huge but I have never experienced any issues with crowding. I have always gone on the Friday evening after arriving in New York that lunchtime, and not had to queue more than 5 minutes to pick up my marathon race bibs and no more than 10 mins to collect my 5k Dash bib.

Once you get through the runner’s packet pick-ups, you head through the New Balance store. The years I have run New York, New Balance have been the title gear sponsor. Whilst I am not the biggest New Balance fan, the New York City Marathon gear is really good. I came back with so much gear in 2017, so much of the “I really need that” gear. A jacket, 3 long-sleeved tops, a short-sleeved top and gloves.

If I am being honest, the designs have not changed much if any in the following years, just a different colour on the jackets and slight change to the look of a tee so in the subsequent years I have not come away with so much gear. Still well over $200 each year but not as crazy as 2017.

They have one of those walls with all of the runner’s names listed when you see the size of this, it really brings home the size of this event.

and yes, that is the Kevin Hart four lines above me. He also ran in the 2017 race.

In 2019 my then 4yr old daughter had lots of fun running around the various exhibits and writing on the Abbott World Marathon Majors walls.

The Abbott 5k Dash

I run the Abbott 5k Dash to the Finish every year, I really enjoy this and use it as my shakeout run prior to the marathon the next day.

It is my pre-race tradition to walk over to the start at the United Nations, taking in Times Square with a big Starbucks coffee in my hand. We all have those quirky pre-race routines right? What better than a quiet Times Square and a coffee.

The 5k Dash starts in front of the United Nations building.

Then runs through Mid Town before entering into Central Park and finishing at the marathon finish line.

What better excuse to run the 5k than running on closed roads through Mid Town and the chance to run the last 400m of the marathon course whilst experiencing that “hill” at the finish.

Even at that early hour, there are good crowds lining the streets and cheering as you run past. This gives just a small taster of what is to come tomorrow.

That is my shakeout run done, a gentle 5k with a few thousand other runners.

Another of my traditions following the 5k is to head to Juniors Bakery on Broadway to grab breakfast. Ready to relax for the rest of Saturday.

The Start Village

Race day!! this is where the fun really starts and where we get down to business.

The journey to the start line is all part of the New York Marathon experience and starts early. The gun for the race goes off around 9:45 am but the gun for the journey to the start villages goes off many hours before that.

I usually wake around 4:30 am – 5:00 am, grab breakfast in my room and head out.

So far, in my first three years, I have always taken the bus to the start rather than take the ferry to Staten Island.

Imagine the logistics of getting 50,000 runners to the start villages on a small island where the one road bridge onto the island is the start point of the race.

There are hundreds and hundreds of buses going from the New York Public Libary on 5th, all leaving before 6:30 am to get over to Staten Island before the road closes.

The queue to get the bus can get really busy. In 2017 I was late getting there and had to queue for an hour and literally got the last bus to arrive at Staten Island, only just making the bag drop with minutes to spare.

In the two years since I have made sure I arrive at the NYPL with plenty of time to spare. In 2018 I was there that early I was on the first bus to arrive at the start villages, the total opposite to the year before.

The three start villages are where the atmosphere really starts to amp up, albeit, a 3 hour buildup in a cold parking lot but it is a lot better than it sounds.

There is the initial excitement of being at the starting point of the worlds largest marathon. Seeing the towers of the Verrazzano Bridge and seeing the sunrise on what is going to be another amazing day running the five boroughs of New York City.

Waiting around at the start village always seems to fly by for me. I guess it is because I just love the whole experience of being there in New York and getting ready to toe the line once again. The bagels, coffee and hot water that are all provided help to keep me occupied and fuelled for the 26.2 miles.

Not to mention those famous Dunkin Donuts beanies which are handed out to one and all.

Then, after hours of waiting around and staying warm…. really selling it here! you head into the start corrals, toss your throw away warm clothes into the recycling bins to be reused by various charities around New York. Wait a little longer….

Then get lead out onto the Verrazzano bridge. Two start waves on the top and the third run on the underside of the bridge. This is where the excitement really builds. You can see the start line and the empty road ahead. The 26.2 mile long road that will lead you over the Verrazzano Bridge, into Brooklyn, up 4th Ave and into Queens, over the Queensboro Bridge to 59th St in Manhattan, then long run up 1st Ave into the Bronx, over Madison Ave Bridge (The Last Damn Bridge) and down 5th Ave into Central Park to the finish!

All that is what you have to conquer during the coming hours.

Those 20 minutes waiting at the start line are the calm before the storm. You are surrounded by hundreds of runners, all feeling the same mix of nervous and excitement. Some running their first New York City Marathon, some running their 40th, others running their first-ever marathon. At that moment and for the next 26.2 miles we are all equal. No matter how fast you run, you are taking the same steps, have the same nerves, the same start and finish and every one of the 3 million supporters lined up along the course is going to cheer YOU like you are Kipchoge breaking that 2 hour marathon mark.

Things go up another notch when the national anthem is sung followed by the NYPD helicopter flyover. It is always an emotional time when they sing the US anthem.

Then you hear the starter ask “Do I have clearance on the roadway?”, followed by “On your Marks” and the cannon fires to signal the start of the race. This is when you are treated to one of the iconic New York City Marathon moments. Frank Sinatra singing New York, New York as you cross the start. Goosebumps every time!

This is GO time. The moment you have spent months training for and you are about to experience the best and biggest race day atmosphere in the world! plus a few bridges to spice things up.

The Race

I have run some of the biggest marathon races in the world including four of the other six World Marathon Majors but no race has an atmosphere like New York City.

There are people lining the streets from mile 2 right through to 26.2. There are only two places along the entire course where there are no spectators. Along the Verrazzano bridge from the start to mile 2 and along the Queensboro Bridge between mile 15 – 16.

You don’t notice the silence on the Verrazzano bridge, the excitement of starting the race carries you up and over this bridge before you are hit by a wall of noise.

After 15 miles, mostly through the noise of the Brooklyn crowds, to be hit by the total silence running over the Queensboro bridge gives a new challenge. All you can hear is the sound of the cars going overhead and the heavy breathing of the other runners around you.

My favourite part of the New York City Marathon is those first 13.1 miles where you are running through Brooklyn. There is a long straight section where you run up 4th Ave. Both sides of the road are filled with spectators and they are loud, cheering, ringing cowbells, bands playing, choir singing.

You get such a lift and buzz from their support, it really is like nothing else.

One of my all-time favourite running memories was running 4th Ave in 2018, running past an NYPD SWAT truck where a guy was sat next to it playing the theme tune to SWAT on a keyboard. I love that TV show and it just made me smile as I ran by.

After you spend just over 1 mile crossing over from Queens to Manhattan on the Queensboro bridge, you are hit by a wall of noise.

To go from the silence of the bridge and turn onto 1st Ave and the huge crowds 10 deep, coming out of the bars and restaurants to cheer the runners. It is loud and in your face and awesome. The road is mostly flat at this stage, one long drag from mile 16 through to mile 20. With the noise and support coming from both sides it is hard not to get carried away.

I have heard many people say they ran their quickest splits on 1st Ave, pushed on by the crowd support. I have also heard as many people saying they then hit the wall having gone too fast too early on.

I have made that mistake. In 2017 I clocked some of my fastest miles along 1st ave and was then walking by mile 20.

I love the angle of this photo, looking up from low down with the big skyscrapers in the background. If only I was looking forward and not looking around to find my wife and daughter. They were on the opposite side of the road to where I am looking…. d’oh!

But it is difficult to locate loved ones in a crowd sometimes hitting up to 3 million people.

As you run back down 5th Ave then crowds grow again, the noise levels pickup and you really do get such a lift.

It is needed here, just before mile 24 there is a hill and it can feel like a BIG hill if you haven’t paced your race right. Go out too hard too soon and you can pay the price in mile 23. Again another mistake I made in 2017, I ended up walking up this hill.

When running through Central Park and onto Central Park South, the support is insane! so loud and so encouraging. Complete strangers shouting your name and telling you “You can do this” or “It’s only a Parkrun to go” or that chant that never makes you great “You look awesome!!” no, I actually think I am going to die here lol!

It is about now, as you are running up a gentle incline along Central Park South, that you realise. I am going to do this! I am going to finish the New York City Marathon.

You turn right at Columbus Circle and enter the park for the final 600m.

This is where you see people start to pick up the pace and push towards the finish.

In 2019 I had struggled from mile 15 through to 24 being sick multiple times. Something I had eaten either the night before or that morning did not go down well. Once I entered the Park at mile 24 I forgot all about that sickness and got back into some running stride and form.

Entering the final 600m I was sprinting as hard as I could. Not in an attempt to dip under 3 hours or sneak a PR but just pushing my hardest to give my best effort on that day despite all of the problems in the hour before.

You run up a small hill to the finish line but you just do not notice it at all. The grandstands either side of the road are full of people cheering and you can see the finish line in front of you. Your arms and legs are driving you forward and you have finished the biggest and best marathon in the world!

The Finish

Crossing that finish line is such a joyous occasion.

As with the rest of the race, the support us runners get from the amazing volunteers continues all the way through the finish zone. So many congrats and high-fives.

Then when you get that medal around your neck, the smile just grows even bigger. Even on the one wet race when I struggled from mile 20 and ended up with nipple chafing and blood running down my top.

and yes! 2017 and 2018, same super bright running top, same shorts and same running belt. Better weather in 2018 and a much better result. In fact, the 2018 NYC Marathon is still my second fastest marathon as we head into 2021.

The walk from the finish to bag collection adds another mile to the legs but it is a nice slow recovery walk. I quite enjoy this part of the marathon. You see such a range of emotions in people’s faces as they walk out of the park. The joy of beating their PR or course best. The emotions of what they just experienced and the pain of 26.2 hard-fought miles in their legs.

I took this following photo at 9 pm, almost 12 hours after the start of the race. Still, people pushing their limits and completing the 26.2-mile course. This is what I love about running, it is so inclusive. Anyone can run and anyone can achieve their goals of finishing the New York City marathon. There is no time limit or cutoff to worry about.

It may not be the full 26.2 miles on the road but everyone has the opportunity to run across that finish line. Those finishing in the evening even have all of the course volunteers lining the last few hundred meters cheering you on just as loud, if not louder than the race winner.

Yet another of my New York City Marathon traditions. A Times Square medal selfie of course!!

The Friends

The crowds are amazing, the city is amazing, the sights are amazing, the race is amazing, the volunteers are amazing, the medal is amazing but the memories and the friends made in New York last forever.