2024 TCS New York City Marathon

On Sunday November 4th, I had the distinct honor of running the 2024 TCS New York City Marathon, a race I would later find out became the world’s largest marathon in history with 55,646 total finishers. As a relatively new father running on behalf of the Child Rescue Coalition (CRC), a nonprofit organization that enables law enforcement officers around the world to identify, arrest and prosecute child predators, the race had an entirely different meaning for me than previous ones.  The CRC has been a long-time partner of my employer, Magnet Forensics, and this whole experience really helped remind me of the bigger purpose behind my daily work.  I am incredibly grateful to Magnet for providing me this opportunity, and for all the wonderful coworkers, family, and friends who supported me along the way.

I arrived at Penn Station early Saturday afternoon, and from the second I stepped out into the cool Manhattan air my senses were overwhelmed with the buzz of such a prestigious event.  Opting to walk the short mile from the train station to the marathon expo allowed me to really drink it all in, and I was excited to see many other runners already lined up at the Javits Center upon my arrival.  I had an absolute blast at the expo, where I picked up my race bib before checking out the massive collection of New Balance race swag along with exhibits from REI, Core Power, and Sesame Street (my daughter loves Elmo).  While I enjoyed the friendly chats with vendors, by far the best use of my time at the expo was spent watching a virtual demo of the race at the Running Lab exhibit.  After listening to two run coaches talk the crowd through every mile and offer loads of great advice, I felt that I was fully prepared for the challenges that lay ahead in the morning.

From there I set off for Times Square to find my hotel.  The walk over was very pleasant, as I chatted amiably with a couple of fellow trail runners from Utah who live near Bryce Canyon National Park.  Although we all strongly prefer trails to roads, we agreed that the opportunity to run in an event as famous as the New York City Marathon was far too good to pass up.  We parted ways and I checked into my hotel, the Margaritaville Resort, where I was quickly greeted by a mass of humanity in flowery shirts that was clearly in party mode.  Not wanting to get caught up in all the nonsense, I headed straight to my room to unpack and prepare my race gear for the day ahead before heading back out for dinner with the rest of the Child Rescue Coalition marathon team at Cellini, a fine Italian restaurant in Manhattan.  After four long months of training and virtual meetings, it was great to finally meet everyone in person, especially my coworker Caleb and his wife Paige.  I had a light dinner of salmon, veggies, sweet potatoes, and bread before saying goodbye and heading to the hotel to get a good night’s rest. 

On marathon morning I awoke at 4:45am, hurriedly put on my running gear, said a quick prayer in my hotel room, then made the short walk over to the nearest subway station at 42nd St. to catch a ride to the Staten Island ferry where I was scheduled to depart at 6:30am.  Having run over a dozen marathons and ultras at this point in my life I had no concerns about my ability to physically perform on race day, but the logistics of running such a large race definitely stressed me out!  For anyone else considering running the New York City Marathon, this website created by a 43-time NYC marathon finisher will answer every logistical question you can think of.

The subway station was packed with many other marathon runners dutifully carrying their clear starting village bags loaded with snacks, gels, water, and extra clothes.  Not a single person on my section of the subway spoke English, but with 131 countries being represented this year I was not the least bit surprised.  The Staten Island ferry ride was incredibly fun, as I was able to witness the sunrise and view the Statue of Liberty from a unique vantage point.  It was a bit too cold for me outside on the deck of the ferry, so I moved inside where I made friends with a nice guy named Matt from Maine.  After the ferry ride, we all made our way over to a long line of buses that would take us to our ultimate destination, the starting village at Fort Wadsworth.  I arrived there and made my way through security around 8am, which was in plenty of time for my 9:45am start time in wave 2.  While milling about there and trying to stay warm, I noticed a tent near the Father Capodanno Memorial Chapel setting up for what appeared to be a religious service, so I decided to make my way over.  I was so glad that I did!  Of all the things that happened over the course of my marathon weekend, my experience there stands out the most.  The message that was shared about leaving a godly legacy and running with the peace of Christ in my heart, powered by the Holy Spirit, was precisely what I needed to hear to get my mind right before toeing the starting line.  My time there concluded with scripture reading (Proverbs 4:11-12, Hebrews 12:1-2), communion, and an inspiring word from Pastor Ed, who encouraged us to adopt his strategy of reciting the 23rd Psalm while climbing the Fifth Avenue hill on the way to Central Park at mile 23.  Knowing he is a 22-time New York City marathon finisher; it sounded like a great idea!

Shortly after the service I made my way through the giant crowds to orange corral B where I was scheduled to start.  Once inside I headed straight for the port-a-potty lines (when you gotta go, you gotta go!) where I had a great conversation with a fellow runner named Rahm from Israel.  During our time together I learned that he is a father of 4 children who would be running for a charity that supports kids with special needs, and after recently completing Chicago and Berlin, this would be his third marathon in five weeks!  Chatting with him helped me contain my nervous energy, but before too long it was time to use the restroom and say our goodbyes.  Afterwards I discarded my sweater, hat, and gloves in one of the large donation boxes, starting making my way to the Verrazzano–Narrows Bridge, and plugged in one of my favorite podcasts (“Choose Strong” with Sally and Eddie McRae) for a little extra motivation before the national anthem. 

And then we were off!  My first mile was a slow uphill climb on the bridge, but I really picked up the pace during the second mile as we made our way downhill into Brooklyn.  From there I started consistently recording sub-8-minute miles for a long stretch as I settled in to enjoy the day with phenomenal crowd support.  There were so many great bands playing music, hilarious signs, and families out with their kids that I spent much of the time smiling and laughing.  Thinking about the mission of the Child Rescue Coalition (CRC) and my own daughter, I made a point to high-five as many little kids along the course as possible.  I also high-fived quite a few New York City police officers.  I knew Emily and Lauren, the amazing staff members from the CRC would be out cheering for me around mile 8, but with so many people out and about (it was later reported there were over 2 million spectators) it was difficult to find them. I did though, which gave me a nice boost of energy!    At that point we turned from Fourth Avenue onto Lafayette Avenue, and the next 5 miles just flew by for me with lots of cheers, glitter cannons, loud music, and more.  I also noted that in addition to CRC there were so many incredible charities represented at this race, as many of the people around me were wearing shirts and jerseys supporting disease research, children with special needs, or honoring loved ones.  “Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about” is a quote that came to mind.  I teared up quite a bit at one shirt I spotted memorializing a 5-year-old who died from cancer earlier this year, and also at several shirts remembering parents who have passed away (miss you, Mom.)  My final miles in Brooklyn brought me over the Pulaski Bridge into Queens at mile 13.1, where I noted that my half marathon time was a solid 1:45.  Not too bad for a guy who broke his foot 7 months ago! 

The iconic Queensborough Bridge at mile 16 is where I started to run out of gas.  After so many miles of raucous crowds and cheering fans, the only sounds I heard as I began the climb up the bridge were the quiet patter and heavy breathing of my fellow runners.  Knowing this is where many people hit the dreaded wall, I sucked down a Hammer energy gel and started charging ahead as fast as I could (“I eat hills for breakfast!” is one of my favorite mantras) while following a younger runner who was outpacing the crowd around me.  With that challenging section behind me I was excited to enter Manhattan for a quick two mile run up First Avenue, as I knew Sean, the Chief Revenue Officer of Magnet Forensics, would be somewhere in the crowd there.  Unfortunately, I was unable to find him, but the support from the crowd there gave me more than enough energy to power through.  According to Strava I slowed significantly at mile 20, and by the time I got to Central Park I was completely gassed.  As promised, mile 23 was brutal for me and I recited Psalm 23 like my new friend Ed had suggested. I asked God to have his hand upon me and carry me the rest of the way. The last 5K felt like an eternity and I was in a lot of pain (shooting pain in my right big toe plus massive cramps in both legs), but thinking about Christ suffering on the cross versus what I was experiencing over a couple of miles of discomfort really put things in perspective.  And He carried me home! I was very relieved to finish in a time of 3:52:01 and collect my finisher’s medal. The sermon before the race helped tremendously, as I found that I had let go of my need to run a perfect pace and negative split the race.  Sure, I pushed myself hard, but it was so much more fun to not worry about all that and instead just focus on glorifying God by doing my best and loving the people all around me.  Thanks NYC!