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On 5th November 2023, I had the privilege of taking part in the New York City Marathon. It has been a very busy year, but when I received my six star medal in Tokyo Marathon, and I had an entry for Boston Marathon, I knew this was a limited opportunity for me to go for the world marathon majors slam. This was a very expensive decision to make, but as I am in the position that I could afford it, I had this as a challenge alongside completing 26 marathons in 52 weeks for Cancer Research. The New York Marathon was my 144th marathon (plus) and my 29th marathon of 2023. It was my 107th time as a pacer, 45 times for the marathon distance.

This was the 3rd time I have been a pacer for the New York City Marathon. I travelled solo as it is a long way for my kids, and they can’t really miss school. I therefore decided to make a short trip, only needing to take a day’s leave. An early flight on Friday and a late flight on Sunday was more than enough time to check out the expo and relax ahead of the race.

There is so much to see and do in New York, but on a short trip, it is easy to take things more relaxed and cut costs. When you arrive in JFK, it is nice and easy to travel to Manhatten. The airtrain operates from the airport and costs $8:25 and now accepts contactless, so you don’t need a metrocard. Once you get on the metro, it is very easy to get around. My day consisted of a large New York style pizza and chilling out in my hotel.

I was up early for the expo on Saturday, as I was working an expo shift at the pacing zone. It was a great morning chatting with runners and talking about race strategies. I also talked through the course and the areas it gets a little tough. I spoke so much that I started to lose my voice, but it was worth it to help reassure runners at the expo. At one point, some people came over with a crying child who had lost his family. He also only spoke French. So I got some help and tried to reassure him. Fortunately, he knew his parents’ phone number, so he was able to dial on the mobile. It was so good to help see him reunited with his family.

I had a little walk around after I finished in the expo. Then, I had another early night. I spent time getting my kit together, and just watched a film. Logistics are a little more difficult at the New York City Marathon, as you either need to get a ferry or coach to the start on Staten Island. In addition you are unable to check bags on the day, so it is a balance between taking enough to keep you warm for a few hour wait, but also not taking anything you aren’t happy to throw away.

New York City Marathon

On race morning, it was a very early start. Our pacer coaches departed at 5:45 a.m., from Times Square, so I set off at 5 am. to make sure I was there in plenty of time. It’s such a fantastic location to start the day, Times Square at night is just amazing.

It is then an hour coach ride to get to the start, and all runners arrive ahead of the start, and waves are around 30 mins apart, so for some it’s a long day before the start. My start time was 10:20 and we were allowed into the start area at 09:45.

As a pacer, I am in a privileged position to be able to have a tent with private toilets and somewhere with some food and drink, which does make a big difference. Although there are plenty of toilets and places to sit and it was a warm morning. You can also get free coffee from Dunkin Doughnuts, as well as their annual beanie that they give you for free. The challenge is getting it to the finish because you can’t check bags.

The first cannon always takes me by surprise, and the atmosphere is fantastic. Slowly, each wave departed, and before long, it was my turn. I was in Orange Corral C. In New York, there are three starts: blue, orange, and pink. Blue and orange go over the top of the bridge, either side, and pink goes under the bridge. There are announcements to not pee off the bridge, and I’ve heard rumours that you can get peed on if you run underneath, but I’ve never seen or experienced this.

When I got to my start, a big group formed around me pretty quickly, and it was great chatting to runners about my pacing strategy. It was slightly different to normal with a few bridges to think about. We made our way to the start, had lots of fun, and I was able to calm some nerves and offer reassurance.

It was a fantastic start, our cannon followed by New York, New York playing. I always tell people to take the first mile slow. It’s the hardest incline of the whole race, but it doesn’t feel like it on fresh legs. But with the second mile going doing, it’s important to even it out.

We got to the end of the 2nd mile at perfect pace and had formed a large group. I shared lots of motivation from start to finish, and it was great to see lots stay with me. We kept it nice and steady and got to halfway in 1:59:45, which is perfect for the desired 3:59:30 finish.

There are a couple of inclines in the first half and half way on an incline, but the second half is the challenging part. Arguably, the biggest challenge is mile 15/16 as you run over Queensborough Bridge. But this is expected and I prepared runners for it. We were ahead of schedule, and I intentionally run the bridge by effort, so I lost at least a minute going over and made it back up, going down the other side.

The crowd support was just amazing throughout, and the aid stations were well organised as always. The only issue was the heat, not as hard as last year, but it got warm. It also got congested in areas, especially towards the end.

The out and back to the Bronx, over Willis Bridge and down 5th Avenue in manhatten is tough. On tired legs, the long gradual inclines can take a toll, and I started to lose a lot of runners around mile 20. A lot of the sub 4 pacers were near each other, so we had a lot of runners between us. At 35km, I was around 20 seconds ahead of schedule. I had lost about 10 seconds in these sections, but it was going pretty well, and I had some brilliant runners still with me.

I remained on time until about 23 miles, where it got very busy and congested, and I lost the 20 seconds I had ahead of schedule, so I needed to pick up the pace as we entered Central Park. It is both fantastic with the busy crowds, but also so hard to run in this section. Mile 24 was really difficult with limited room and lots of runners stopping, which made it hard to make time back. It was going to be tighter than I would usually like and certainly not 30 seconds under like I planned, but I was just about on time.

Then, as we left Central Park at 25, I called those around me to pick up the pace. We had a bit of space, and I was using this opportunity to join people for the last push. As we were about to head back in, a medic ran out of nowhere straight into me and knocked me back. They had seen 2 runners helping another runner just behind me, but didn’t think to look for other people, and they knocked me to a stop. I wasn’t injured, but I jarred myself trying not to fall over. Afterwards, I struggled to get going again. It was the hardest part of the course, and I needed to hold pace perfectly to achieve my goal. This was an unexpected curve ball, and I just couldn’t get going again. Once I stopped, I knew I had missed my time, and I ran my last half a mile in great disappointment. The other 4 hour pacers overtook me at this point, so my pace team was in good hands, so I’m confident I did my job to get runners to the end on time. But, for the first time, I didn’t make my time. I wanted to keep going with the other pacers as they overtook me, but I just couldn’t get going again.

I’m trying not to dwell on what I can not change. I did my best on a warm day. I’ve not felt well since mid-September, so running has been a struggle since then, and this has been my 5th Marathon in 7 weeks. The heat has not helped, so I have found it more difficult at the end than I should. But I was on time until 25.5 miles and I was going strong to finish, probably, around 3:59:45. I wasn’t going to be a lot under, but I was going to be under. You don’t expect to be run into during a marathon, and certainly not by a medic, effectively ending a race whilst ironically going to help someone else. But these things can happen.

I plan on resting a little and focusing on quality training over the winter. The number of marathons over 2023 has taken a toll on my body, and although I’m used to multiple marathons, my recovery is just very poor, and I need to sort this out. Not the best end for me, but the New York City Marathon was still incredible, and I loved every minute (except the last mile, which took longer than they should have).