2025 NYC Marathon Race Report: 10 Years Later

Short Version

A Goal: Under 5 hours

B Goal: Finish without bonking

Actual Time: 4:47:24 @ 10:58mm

(Just slightly faster than the average female NYCM time)

So post-partum marathon mission accomplished! 

Long Version

Pre-Race: Training & Strategy

I qualified by getting 9+1 last year, but was nervous about finding the time to fit training in as I needed to go to the office 4 days a week. But getting laid off changed my perspective when I suddenly realized that I could build my base and get in at least a solid start to the training cycle. 

I chose one of the Higdon plans which called for 575 miles total over the 18 week training cycle and with the exception of the week I went on a two day trip, I was able to get all of the runs in my first nine weeks done. Once I was fortunate enough to get a new position, I couldn't quite fit everything in, but at least made sure to get in my long runs. Having a 50% hybrid schedule also made a big difference. But as sure as many of you already know, it's much harder to find time to train with two little ones, so although I put in a decent cycle, it was not at the level it would have been a decade ago when I was training much harder, so I had limited expectations. 

Even those felt like they were in jeopardy when I had sinus issues in the week leading up to the marathon. Between that, and the nerves kicking in, I was genuinely worried that I would make a complete fool out of myself and not be able to handle the distance. While I knew that I wouldn't be able to reach my personal best, I still wanted the day to go well. 

Race Day!

The "Race" to Staten Island

I set my alarm for 5am and although I was woken up in the middle of the night, the moment it went off I was wide awake. Thankfully my sinus issues were gone. All my stuff had been laid out the night before (no flat outfit picture this time sorry!) with the exception of me making my bagel with cream cheese and packing Gatorade and a banana for the waiting period. I made the last minute decision to pack toilet paper which ended up being a good thing as not all of the porta-potties had paper. 

When I checked train times the night before I realized that the Q train was being re-routed through Lower Manhattan and therefore stopping right at South Ferry. YAY! I was able to meet up with Rachel, my running friend of almost 15 years (!!!) and we took the 7:15am ferry along with one of her amazing triathlon friends. Despite the fact that I have seen it several times, I still took more footage of the Statue of Liberty as I passed. NYRR logistics were on point and we had no issues catching a bus to the Fort, and the security line was minimal. 

The three of us hung out in the blue start village and I enjoyed my food, plus two little cups of Dunkin Donuts coffee. I thought I lost the free hat they gave out, and my new friend gave me her second one, but it was in my sweater pocket all along. At some point I thought I lost my OMNI card but of course it was exactly in the pocket where I left it. This is marathon day brain for you 😄

The time passed quickly and before I knew it, they were off to their corral for wave 3, but not before Rachel gave me the Amazon portable charger she was going to toss. Between the hats, the arm warmers I was wearing, and this, it would be interesting to see what actually made it to the finish line intact! I did get to see her wave start which was pretty cool. 

I found my way to the pink start village and used the restroom one more time before making my way into corral F for wave 4 (and then went at least two more times, which you would think would be enough to not have to go on the course, but spoiler alert, NOPE). Before I knew it, I took off the last of my overlayers and we all walked to the start. My arm-warmers were already off, and tucked into my shorts with my hats, and the portable charger fit into my pockets along with the extra wipes I got, but just barely! 

A loud boom signified the cannon, and we were off! (I don't remember hearing Frank Sinatra's "New York, New York" but its possible you could hear it better on the upper deck)

The Actual Race!

Although the nerves had gotten to me, once I started running, they faded away as I vowed to myself to just enjoy the moment. It was very crowded (as it would be through most of the race) so I made sure just to take it easy over the first mile, which ended up being one of the slowest of the race. The view from the bottom of the bridge wasn't quite as nice as the top but still breathtaking nonetheless. Gravity then assisted me on the downhill during the second mile to give me what was the only under-10mm of the race, and then I found myself in Brooklyn. 

I was a little confused when we didn't find ourselves right on fourth avenue, but then realized that the pink course is slightly off to the side for the next mile or so. I wasn't sure exactly what street we were on but it felt kind of like a highway. The only people cheering were from overlooks and bridges but overall it wasn't too bad, and before I knew it, we were merging with the blue start on 4th avenue and the first 5k was done!

As I did my second 10k of the race I remember thinking that even though this was a huge event, it still felt like my own personal parade. If I had been trying to PR I would have been really annoyed with how crowded the pink/blue side was but I used it as an opportunity to stay steady. It helped that people were able to move over to the orange side in a few places. Saw plenty of "6-7" signs on this part of the course - still don't understand the meme but appreciate the good cheer! 

After I got to mile 6 I started to recognize the route I ran for the blue line run I did two weeks previously, and was fully in the groove by then. The rest of Brooklyn went very well, although it was sometimes hard to run through the crowds infringing on the race course, especially when passing the Achilles athletes.  I unfortunately missed the one person I knew in Brooklyn but this was before all three starts combined and it was tougher to find me then. 

I finished the first half in 2:20:23 and still felt strong! I had to use the restroom at this point but didn't want to wait a long time so I hoped that it would either pass or a no-line situation would show up.  Other than seeing my fellow Hebrew school mom Jessica in LIC, Queens was uneventful but fun! The Queensboro bridge came and went, and I was looking forward to seeing the bulk of my cheering squad on 1st avenue. 

But first, hooray for porta-potties with no lines! Mile 17 ended up being my slowest at 11:48 but it was completely worth it. Oh look there are my parents! Apparently I told the people next to them that I loved them too as I thought they were with my parents. Oops! The arm warmers and hats were handed off and I made my way over to the other side of first avenue. 

Not sure who had the more tiring day -
the marathoner or the husband doing 
solo duty with two kids. My MVP 💙

 The 18th mile was incredible   as I got a huge show of     support from the YCS school   community, especially the second grade parents and kids. I was   overwhelmed and grateful to see so many people come out and   cheer! The best part, of course, was seeing Paul and my girls out   there with the signs, and after huge hugs and kisses, continued on   the course with a pep in my step (miles 18 and 19 were the   amongst the fastest in the second half).

  Although I never really hit the wall, I definitely started slowing   down around as I ran into the Bronx, but after I hit mile 20, I   realized that if I ran the next 10K in under an hour and 20   minutes, I would finish under 5 hours. miles 20-23 were around   the 11:15mm pace, but as each one came and went, I knew that   my goal of sub-5 was within reach and kept pushing forward.   Even the hill up 5th avenue didn't seem to phase me that much,   but the cumulative effort was taking a toll as I continued to slow   down. 

I was beyond ecstatic to see my parents and my brother's family at the mile 24 mark and gave them all hugs before continuing. Although I continued to slow down a little, I definitely felt like I was giving it my all and was slightly in disbelief as I realized that I would be finishing my third marathon. 

My time ended up being 4:47:24 and there were a couple of interesting parallels of note: 

• Like my first marathon, I also had a 6 minute positive split
• My mother ran her first marathon at the same age I am now and our times were within one minute of each other. Talk about symmetry! 

After I crossed the finish line I had a moment of being verklempt and grateful before the piercing plain in my calves brought me down to earth. My thoughts after that were "my legs want a divorce" and "never again!" were very much in the forefront, but by the time I got out of the park, I had gotten my medal, a poncho which was wrapped around me, and a goodie bag, the pretzels and apple of course earmarked for the kids. The mile 24 family crowd met me at a designated place on the street, and then the marathon of getting home began - between the walk to 86th street and then from 3rd avenue home I was ready to stop moving...

...but first it was time to celebrate! We had some friends over, and celebrated with some nosh and good company. Very grateful to have all of this support! And I still have that portable charger to boot! 

Sadly, I didn't make the NYTimes. The cut-off was 4:39:03 and while I would have loved for their section to include more finishers, and I am experiencing FOMO over it, it doesn't diminish what I have accomplished. 

Timing Stats

For my number and data analysis fans here are some splits. It's pretty clear that my legs had had it in the last 5K but I'm glad that most of the race was relatively consistent especially in the back half. 

Post-Mortem

Overall, I think the race went as well as could be expected under the circumstances. My fueling strategy worked well, and overall I had a great time!

When I created a chart estimating my time of arrival, I figured I would be doing between 10:30-11mm mile, which ended up being right on the nose. I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop and for me to hit the wall, but I was able to hold it together. 

The only things I didn't love were a) how the waves were assigned and b) the late start times. As many people know there is kind of a double standard where NYRR members are placed on race results, while people from out of town who never run a NYRR race can put whatever estimate they want, no matter if they've never even run a half before. It's also tough to start a marathon at 11am - while having the world's biggest marathon is impressive at almost 60K runners, it makes for a super long day for the later waves. It also got warmer as time went on which disproportionately affected the later waves. 

The other tough thing is living east of first avenue between 59th and 125th - while the marathon is announced in advance and people should plan around it, there should be some way for people to be able to access a subway should they need it. The crowd control thing they did this year was a bust. Just build a few temporary pedestrian bridges and be done - getting called selfish for not wanting someone to crash into me during my race gets old.

The other thing that was a little jarring was people using the marathon as an opportunity to make their opinions known about certain political conflicts. It was incredibly inappropriate and should have been kept out of what was supposed to be a day of unity and celebration. 

What's next? 

I am registered for the NYC half in March so once I am recovered I'll start training for that. I am also
signed up for the Fred Lebow half in January which involves 3x Harlem Hills but even that doesn't feel so daunting after the marathon! 

When I first was walking after the marathon, I told myself "never again" but already a part of me is saying "let's do it!!!". So we'll see. Maybe I'll check out a marathon that doesn't require me waking up several hours before the start. Things will be easier once my kids are old enough to supervise themselves in the morning, that's for sure. 

Thank you all for your support! Special thanks goes to Paul, Abby and Becca for being the best spouse and kids I could have asked for!