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What rocked?
Phenomenal support (particularly Brooklyn, 1st Avenue, and Central Park), amazing mix of nationalities, the mass ranks charging up the Verrazano Bridge, the man with the oranges at mile 14, bumping into Mark and Maria from Austin at mile 10, the lady with the bananas at mile 20, the skyline of Manhattan from the Queensboro Bridge, sharing the experience with my wife Risa and brother David (though I didn't run with them), Dave Barstow doing a phenomenal 4:44 with very little training, the finish in Central Park, the odd tear, and of course the medal!
What sucked?
Going through 5 different lines at the Expo(!), sitting in a cold tent from 5.30a.m to 10.45 a.m. before the start, the lack of Gatorade on the course, the hell of getting over the Queensboro Bridge, the terrible drop in
temperature in the last 4-5 miles and realising I'd dropped my long sleeve shirt at mile 5, taking 10 mins after the race to get to UPS truck 10 and realising my truck was number 55, ending up in the medical tent for 3/4 of an hour afterwards with mild hypothermia, having to walk another 2-3 miles to get back to the hotel.
Other weekend events
We arrived Thursday and met my brother in a bar (where else). Stayed at a friend's apartment on the Upper East Side and did the Expo thing on the Friday. Snagged tix for 'The Graduate' on the Saturday (which was superb)
after a top brunch with friend's of Risa's. Stayed Sat/Sun in the Hampshire Hotel just of Times Square. Great location. Went round the Guggenheim on the Monday (took the elevator to the top and worked our way slowly downward !).
What will I remember most?
1. Risa and my brother Dave running together on his 40th birthday (we got him a bright yellow dri-fit shirt with 'Dave 40 Today' on the back). They had never run together but got on fine and were incredibly disciplined finishing in 5:50ish.
2. Gutting it out over the last part of the race through the park with people hollering my name at me.
3. A tasty Filet Mignon at Langham's over the road from our hotel, and thebottle of champagne to celebrate my brother's birthday in style.
What was my time?
At the end it didn't really matter but I did 4:44 .... I'd been all set for
4:20 until the sun vanished!
Would I do it again?
Yes, masochistically speaking. Not physically knowing the main part of the
course was a drawback.
Adam Coleman
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