NYC Marathon 2009

Where do I start? NYC is amazing and the whole trip was wicked! Susie, Jenn, Kelly and I headed to the Buffalo airport at the early hour of 4am on Sat Oct 31st. Happy Halloween! Whoa that was early! Grabbed a quick breakfast and hopped on the 8am flight. The flight was quick and before we new it we were speeding along in Edwin's cab towards the Sheridan Times Square. Room was ready and we settled in. Later in the afternoon we headed out for a run. Heading along 7th to Central Park I said hello to Michael Buble coming out for Starbucks. Weird when you see someone that looks familiar so you just say "hello" and then he turns out to be a famous dude. Amazing.
Our run through Central Park was incredible. Such a beautiful space. I'd be there everyday is it were my hometown. We had a great evening..a little bit of rain but we braved it to have a look around. Everyone was sleepy so we headed back to the hotel pretty early and I got to bed! I had to be the bus for 5:20am. That was going to come fast!
Alarm went off and I jumped into my clothes. Jenn and Susie wished me luck (Kelly stayed sleep-smart!) and off I went. I grabbed a cap to the library where I got on the bus to the starting line. I sat beside Lawrence on the bus. It was his first marathon. He was a sprinter and decided he wanted to do a marathon. He had trained hard and I am sure did well! we got off the bus and walked up to the welcome area. I pointed out where the bagels were and off he went. I headed directly to the warming tent to grab a spot. A Phat Dude named Tom gave me his spare track pants to warm up my chilly legs. man it was freezing at 6am! What was I thinking wearing shorts! As the tent filled up I had the chance to meet more and more people and hear their amazing inspiring stories. Runners are such amazing people.

Said my goodbyes and good lucks and was off to the starting area for Orange Wave #1. "What do you mean I am too late? and OMG there's Edward Norton!" Yep, that pretty much summed up why my heart was racing and I deeked into the fenced off area and made it into Wave #1! Woohoo! " Where did Edward go?" I had to tell him that Susie loves him! lol. No seriously we both love him! His acting that is. Yeah right! Anywho...as I strapped on the helmet cam it became very clear that people wondered what was up? Did I need it for safety reasons? lol. There's definitely history that could support that need..but no it was the best way to cover the race experience. Check out www.youtube.com/racedayrush to see the footage! Finishing time of 3:49. Pretty incredible for a chick with a helmet cam I must say! lol. I am constantly in awe of the drive and determination that people have to cross the finish line. I made some new friends along that way and was amazed at all their stories...like the man who was running his 12th marathon since his heart transplant. Wow! and Joel who had weighed 400 pounds 2.5 years before the race and had done it surgery free with finishing the marathon in 2009 was his BIG goal. Incredible! This marathon experience was so memorable and it's all on video. A little bit of a sore neck..but it was so worth it!

A HUGE thanks to Susie, Jenn and Kelly for making it a wicked time and for all your support. You are truely Phat Chicks and great friends. xo

Be Phat!