On Labor Day Sunday I tried something different – a 14.2-mile training run from roughly the top tip of Manhattan to the bottom tip of that island. Conducted by a little-known organization, Finest Sports Events, it has most of the trappings of a race, including registration, fees, and a shirt, but it is not timed and not a race.
I entered this event with some trepidation since the information distributed in advance was very sketchy and nobody I regularly run with was participating.
When I arrived at the start at 220th Street and Broadway, I was cheered to find a couple of familiar faces from various running clubs in the region. The participation turned out to be very light, however – I estimate no more than 300 runners total.
The course proceeds down Broadway, up a hill along 184th Street, down Audubon Avenue, right into 165th Street, left into Riverside Drive, entering Riverside Park at 95th Street and subsequently moving down to the Hudson River bike trail which it follows to the finish at the northern edge of Battery Park. (For maps and details of the Hudson trails see Fun on Foot in New York.)
My final assessment of this outing is that I really enjoyed it (and every other participant I spoke to felt likewise). The course is extremely pleasant, beating the socks off multiple loops of Central Park, which is my usual training place. And since it is not a race, one can feel good without the pressure to perform at one’s very best.
The organization of the event appeared a little haphazard, especially compared with the impeccable organization of New York Road Runners events to which we are highly accustomed. There was not even a course map or description distributed in advance. However, the event rolled through in a surprisingly well-oiled fashion. At the start there were no porto-toilets (panic?) – but there is a large hospital adjacent and nobody appeared the slightest concerned about all the runners using the hospital’s toilets (which beat the quality of portos by a huge margin). The streets were not formally closed but there were more than sufficient NYPD units around to ensure the runners received street priority when needed. There were six water stops, some with Gatorade, which performed flawlessly. There were adequate city park restrooms along the route if needed. And there was a surprisingly large number of volunteer/marshals along the way to help keep runners on the right track.
I have just one significant reservation about this event – the registration fee of $40-to-$55, depending on when you register. If that cost does not concern you, or if the organizers could reduce that in the future (they could dispense with the medal and coffee mug, for example), I would have no hesitation in recommending this event as a not-to-be missed fall marathon training event for city-dwellers.
(c) Warwick Ford, 2009