Let's Hear It for New York
November 08, 2010
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Admittedly my expectations for New York were pretty high, but the Big Apple delivered on so many levels. It's hard to top the energy you feel walking the streets of New York City, unless of course you're running them. So naturally, when thousands of runners take to the streets and are joined by thousands of New Yorkers lining the course to cheer them on, the atmosphere is nothing short of electric.
Although this was my third marathon, I still haven't been jaded by the access that comes with being the Nike RunReporter. I got to be all over the place this weekend and it's still a thrill anytime I get to pick the brains of Nike's Elite athletes. Once I landed in New York, I dropped in at Niketown to hear Dathan Ritzenhein, Abel Kirui, Meb Keflezighi, and Shalane Flanagan talk strategy and answer questions from local runners.
Then I tagged along with American distance stars Chris Solinsky and Lisa Koll as they stopped in at a local high school to talk to some young runners in the New York Harriers running club about what it takes to be successful. With the year they each had on the track, I don't think there are two runners more qualified to talk about the importance of goals. I hope the kids were taking notes!
Friday night's Rebel Run was pandemonium. I joined hoards of college students as they took over the streets of lower Manhattan in a renegade-style 2.62-mile run. We weaved our way through the city blocks, inevitably stopping traffic a few times and creating general mayhem and confusion for a lot of unsuspecting bystanders. The groups converged at the Nike Bowery Stadium for a post run party and musical performance from Phantogram.
I helped Nike Elites Matt Tegenkamp and Evan Jager send off some of the local marathoners on their Saturday morning shakeout and chatted with them afterward about their training and what their next year is going to look like. They're both coming off some injuries over the past year and it's obvious that they are hungry and have a great new perspective on training. I can't wait to see these guys back in action on the track this spring.
Race day was absolutely perfect. Not a cloud in the sky, a nice crisp temperature and I had the perfect perch to see the action. I was posted up in the Museum of Arts & Design on the south end of Central Park to watch the runners enter the final stretch from seven stories up. The race was incredible, but maybe even more impressive to me was the outpouring of support from the city. The entire course was lined with New Yorkers screaming their encouragement along the way. Shalane Flanagan definitely fed off the energy of the Big Apple. She gave a truly inspiring performance, taking second place in her marathon debut. It looks like she has a really bright future at 26.2.
The whole weekend was a blast, but embracing the "city that never sleeps" attitude for four days has left this RunReporter pretty tuckered out. It was well worth it though, to witness running on one of its biggest stages.
-Shamus, Nike RunReporter
Although this was my third marathon, I still haven't been jaded by the access that comes with being the Nike RunReporter. I got to be all over the place this weekend and it's still a thrill anytime I get to pick the brains of Nike's Elite athletes. Once I landed in New York, I dropped in at Niketown to hear Dathan Ritzenhein, Abel Kirui, Meb Keflezighi, and Shalane Flanagan talk strategy and answer questions from local runners.
Then I tagged along with American distance stars Chris Solinsky and Lisa Koll as they stopped in at a local high school to talk to some young runners in the New York Harriers running club about what it takes to be successful. With the year they each had on the track, I don't think there are two runners more qualified to talk about the importance of goals. I hope the kids were taking notes!
Friday night's Rebel Run was pandemonium. I joined hoards of college students as they took over the streets of lower Manhattan in a renegade-style 2.62-mile run. We weaved our way through the city blocks, inevitably stopping traffic a few times and creating general mayhem and confusion for a lot of unsuspecting bystanders. The groups converged at the Nike Bowery Stadium for a post run party and musical performance from Phantogram.
I helped Nike Elites Matt Tegenkamp and Evan Jager send off some of the local marathoners on their Saturday morning shakeout and chatted with them afterward about their training and what their next year is going to look like. They're both coming off some injuries over the past year and it's obvious that they are hungry and have a great new perspective on training. I can't wait to see these guys back in action on the track this spring.
Race day was absolutely perfect. Not a cloud in the sky, a nice crisp temperature and I had the perfect perch to see the action. I was posted up in the Museum of Arts & Design on the south end of Central Park to watch the runners enter the final stretch from seven stories up. The race was incredible, but maybe even more impressive to me was the outpouring of support from the city. The entire course was lined with New Yorkers screaming their encouragement along the way. Shalane Flanagan definitely fed off the energy of the Big Apple. She gave a truly inspiring performance, taking second place in her marathon debut. It looks like she has a really bright future at 26.2.
The whole weekend was a blast, but embracing the "city that never sleeps" attitude for four days has left this RunReporter pretty tuckered out. It was well worth it though, to witness running on one of its biggest stages.
-Shamus, Nike RunReporter
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