Upon registration to the NYC marathon, participants were asked to choose transportation to the start — bus or ferry. We picked the ferry.

A day before the race though, I convinced Manny to just take an Uber. Our ferry was scheduled for 8:30 a.m., but our race wouldn’t start until 11:30 a.m. Since I hate waiting around in the cold, skipping the ferry seemed like a great idea at the time.

Massive mistake.

We missed the start line by a good 45 minutes.

Our Uber dropped us off near the bridge to Staten Island — only to find it was closed. No way through. Tried to talk to about 3 police officers to allow us to walk across the bridge but they were ordered no one goes the opposite way.

So, back to Manhattan we went by train (45 minutes), then finally took the ferry (another 25 minutes). By the time we arrived, we had already missed the shuttles that would take runners to the start.

We called another Uber with two other late runners (what a relief!) — another 15 minutes of waiting, then another 15 to get as close as possible to the start line. Still, we were about two miles away!

When we finally reached the start, the official was literally rolling up the timing mats. We begged him to let us run.

He shook his head. “You’re too late. It’s dangerous — you’ll never make it.”

I looked at him and said, “We’ll make it” so please let us run.

He grudgingly let us go, warning that he wouldn’t be responsible for anything that might happen.

And just like that, Manny and I and the 2 other runners were dead last.

I ran nonstop for the first three miles, determined to catch the 5K pack — and thankfully, I did. There was no turning back after that.

I got swept up in the New York energy I’d always heard about — the cheers, the music, the crowds packed along every street.

By mile 15, cramps and fatigue started to creep in, but the roar of the crowd kept me moving.

I thought Berlin and Chicago had incredible spectators, but New York? A whole different level.

Thank you to the 2M New Yorkers who cheered, the wonderful volunteers, NYPD, NYFD — and thank you race official. I wish I could tell you that we did make it! Not my fastest race at under 5 hours, but after that Amazing Race-style start, I think it’s my most memorable finish yet!

Here are some photos and videos from along the course that kept me going 😊

#runningforwhocant

⭐️ Berlin

⭐️⭐️ Chicago

⭐️⭐️⭐️ New York

---

placeholder://