Pictured left to right: Peter Maves, Thomas Woo, Renee Saxman, Shirley Woo, Andy Becker, Yvonne Jessup, Jodi Nelson-Ryan

Let me start by saying that the number 13 and the color orange now trigger good memories…you might ask, what does that have to do with the NYC Marathon?, well let me explain.

I am not a superstitious person, but the number 13 has never meant much to me and I never really liked the color orange. Upon my arrival in the Big Apple I was met (in the middle of the night, after a wild shuttle ride from JFK) by my new roommate Jodi Nelson-Ryan, from St. Cloud, MN at our room on the 13^th FLOOR of the Riverside Tower Hotel…I always thought that hotels skipped this floor, but there we were.  This hotel is a converted former dormitory of Columbia University and the amenities were the same as for students: small, primitive, but clean and affordable. I shared expenses and laughs on this trip with some members from 3 Minnesota based running clubs, the St. Cloud River Runners, the Rochester Track Club and Team R.E.D. (Run, Eat, Drink “Two out of Three ain’t  Bad”).  My other roommate Renee Dyshaw Saxman joined us later and we were like 3 peas in a pod. Jodi and I were assigned to the ORANGE athlete village, bridge placement and starting route. Our race numbers were similar, both being in the 12,000- 13,000 range.

Race Day:

Logistics for this race are interesting.  Take a subway to the Staten Island Ferry and then still have a bus ride to the Village, all before 7:00 am.  Jodi and my corner of the village was shared with teams from Italy, Germany, Israel, China, Australia and France. Now the number 13 comes into play once more…I tell myself “relax, the race doesn’t start for a long time.”  Hint: Read your race instructions before the race.  “Drop sweat bag, one more time to the port-a-potty” and…run like heck to get into your corral BEFORE IT CLOSES!  Our corral number 12 closed just as we arrived but we were fortunate enough to have the sympathy of the gate keepers to Corral #13, which became our new home. While standing in our new corral just before the singing of the National Anthem and New York New York, team Italia was kissing both cheeks around their circle of athletes, Ciao Baby! At the sound of the cannon we were off and running the 2011 ING New York City Marathon.  What a rush running over the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge in a sea of electrified humanity.  From Staten Island, over the bridge, to Brooklyn, the miles are flying by as the mind is easily distracted.  Crowd support and great music filled the course and the next thing we know Brooklyn is in the rearview mirror and Queens is ahead as we crossed the Pulaski Bridge.  Two miles of Queens and we were crossing the Queensboro Bridge across the East River and Roosevelt Island.  On this bridge is where the wheels were beginning to feel like they were coming off.  The Queensboro Bridge is covered, but open on the sides providing a perfect wind tunnel for a sideswiping wind. I slowed my pace and hoped I wouldn’t get trampled. The magnitude of this race offers few areas of easy maneuverability.  The weaving in and out of foot traffic and surviving the sharp turns with converging runners makes this course quite challenging and downright scary at times!  As I traveled north on First Avenue in the Upper East Side of Manhattan, I struggled for 4 miles but seemed to feel better as we crossed the Willis Avenue Bridge into the Bronx. The course runs about 1 ¼ mile in this boro nicknamed “the loneliest place” as the crowds were sparse, but the few spectators there were enthusiastic. We then crossed the Madison Avenue Bridge at mile 21 and proceeded south on 5^th Avenue straight through Harlem, then entered into the eastside of Central Park at 86^th Street. Just 2.2 miles in the park to the finish at 68^th Street on the west side and the medal is mine.  Thousands of runners, millions of spectators, what a race! My time, 3:29:31 and I was happy to obtain it.  So, 13 is not unlucky and Orange is bright and cheerful, new friends are a treasure…Life is Good!