This morning was the Queens Half, on a brand new course, centered around Flushing Meadows Corona Park. Establishing a new course this year was an excellent idea. At last year’s Queens Half, centered at College Point, it was so difficult to get to the start and home from the finish that many runners had their starts severely delayed and their day’s plans seriously disrupted.
The new course is really excellent. You get to the start/finish area via the 7 train. The runner passes all the interesting sights in the Flushing Meadows vicinity. It is also a pleasantly flat course, ideal for fast times and PRs on a normal day.
But today was no normal day. The race (thankfully) started at 7:00 am. However, the official race temperature was 86 degrees and humidity was 63%.
I ran my worst time ever in a half marathon (and I am not particularly out of condition). Compare that with last year’s Queens Half (run in September) where I ran my personal best. Every other runner I spoke to had similar thoughts – this was really a brutal run.
NYRR and their volunteers did an amazing job in supporting the event. There were water stations (almost all with Gatorade as well) at almost every mile. Problems today were definitely not attributable to the race organizers.
NYC weather is surprisingly nasty this summer. Keep cool, runners!
Archive for the ‘New York’ Category
Queens Half Marathon 2010 – A Brutal Affair
Saturday, July 24th, 2010Registering for the Boston Half
Wednesday, July 14th, 2010Today at 9:00 am was your opportunity to register online for the October Boston Half Marathon, limited to 5,000 registrants. Like so many others, I duly went to the website precisely at 9:00 am, filled in the form with the enormous number of details required, and felt good when it accepted the form and offered me the waiver page. I then hit SUBMIT. The result, a minute or two later, was that my browser advised that the website had an error.
Since I had a long run scheduled today, I did not have the time to fight BAA’s faulty website any more. After my run, no surprise, the registration had closed.
This is typical of BAA, who have no ability (maybe no desire?) to conduct a real community event. Compare with NYRR, who go to such lengthy measures to ensure that all the NYC community have a fair chance to participate in their events.
I look forward to comments from others…
A Long Hot Running Week in New York
Sunday, June 27th, 2010Today Sunday ended a very intense few days of city running activities. Last Sunday was the 5-mile Fathers Day run. Thursday evening was the American Heart Association 3-mile Wall Street run, Saturday was the Pride 5-Mile Run in Central Park, and today was the Achilles Hope and Possibility 5-Mile Run in Central Park. All four of these races were qualifying races for the 2011 New York City Marathon so all were popular for that reason in addition to the fundamental support causes of each event.
Having just moved back to New York for the season, Nola and I were no exceptions to the involvement. We both ran the Wall Street and Pride runs and volunteered to work the Achilles run. All were fun but all suffered from one negative factor – heat and humidity far higher than we runners like.
What impressed me most was the unrelenting strength of most runners in failing to let the heat and humidity dampen their spirits. If you run a little (or a lot) slower on hot humid days than on runner-perfect days, that is just normal. Perform as well as you can under the circumstances, and feel satisfied with your result. Your performance will undoubtedly add to your longer term strength and stamina building.
Brooklyn Half Marathon – Not Easy but Not to Be Missed
Monday, May 24th, 2010This past Saturday I ran my second Brooklyn Half Marathon. This is a popular New York City event with a character of its own. It starts in Prospect Park where runners are subjected to a quite hilly seven-mile double loop of the park, followed by a six-mile flat run along Ocean Parkway to Coney Island where it finishes on the boardwalk.
This year the weather was warm and very humid but not excessively hot. Nevertheless I struggled immensely in the last few miles of the event and was far from satisfied with my final time. I could put that down to my own form not being up to scratch coupled with the stress of waking at 4:00 am with a 3-hour time zone shift (that meant it was 1:00 am to my body) to get the subway to Brooklyn for a 7:00 am start. However, I was surprised to learn at the finish how many other runners were equally dissatisfied with their performances.
Despite those feelings, I was delighted to link up with my old running club (the Reservoir Dogs) and the partying that followed at Coney Island immediately after the race, involving not just my club but apparently most of the 7,000 finishers, made everyone quickly forget their times and feel good. There is something about this event that makes it one not to be missed!
(c) Warwick Ford, 2010
Hudson Riverside Park Trail Complete
Sunday, May 23rd, 2010Yesterday the final link in the trail along the Hudson River edge in Riverside Park, New York, was opened. This last link fills in the section between W 83rd and W 92nd Streets, where, until now, it was necessary to divert inland onto a trail in Riverside Park east of the Henry Hudson Parkway. (more…)
Rail Trail Developments in Poughkeepsie and Ulster Co, NY State
Wednesday, March 24th, 2010On October 3, 2009, the defunct Poughkeepsie-Highland Rail Bridge was opened to the public for bicycle and pedestrian use as the Walkway Over the Hudson State Historic Park (www.walkway.org). This completed the loop route foreshadowed in Fun on Foot in New York, using the sidewalk of the Mid-Hudson Road Bridge and the new Walkway connecting through downtown Poughkeepsie and Highland in Ulster County. (more…)
Book Review: 4 Months to a 4 Hour Marathon by Dave Kuehls
Tuesday, November 17th, 2009I have had this book for quite a while but held off on writing a review until putting it to the test. I ran my first marathon this month – the New York City Marathon, at age 61. My personal target was 4:30 and I succeeded in just beating that. I used many sources of inspiration and information, some printed and the others verbal or web-based. This book, which intrigued me, was one such source.
It is a short book (about 100 pages). It is a little out of date. Nevertheless, I found it very relevant, easy to use, and often of help. If someone wanted to run their first marathon and was limited to reading no more than one 100-page book, this book is undoubtedly the answer. (more…)
NYC Marathon – The Day After
Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009I ran the NYC Marathon Sunday – my first marathon. What an amazing experience! It was much more than just a 26.2 mile run. The route, touching on all five boroughs, is uniquely exciting. There were over 43,000 runners. The massive, enthusiastic crowds along the route were loud and supportive of all runners. The whole event was orchestrated extremely well by New York Road Runners and the many other organizations that play a role in making the day a success.
Personally I was very happy with my 4:27 finish, beating my goal for the day and establishing a respectable PR. I am already planning to do this marathon again next year.
One of the most important things in getting me to a successful marathon finish was my local running club, the Reservoir Dogs. What a fantastically supportive group of young people – superb athletes, with social activities always prominent! My best advice for any budding marathon runner is to find a club, such as the Dogs, to train with and support you.
Having now survived not only the marathon but also the Reservoir Dogs marathon night celebration, I am now working on total recovery. Legs are aching but life is good!
Running in the Rain – Always Something to Learn
Thursday, October 1st, 2009On Sunday I ran the ING NYC Marathon Tune-up, an 18-mile NYRR race in Central Park. It poured rain the entire time getting to the 7:00 am start, running the race, and getting home afterwards. It was, without question, a very miserable experience.
With a temperature in the 50’s or above, I don’t mind running through the rain, making no attempt to keep dry. I see runners running in plastic jackets and garbage bags but cannot subscribe to that since I feel they will suffer from lack of airflow and will get wet anyway.
However, you really want to stay dry until the race start and also have dry clothes at the finish for the trip home. I duly traveled there with waterproof protection (umbrella included) and a change of clothes in my day-pack. But I missed one detail – I had to put my partly wet outer jacket and very wet umbrella in the pack to check it before the race start. Result: At the end of the race everything in my pack was soaked. Lesson learnt: On a rainy day always include some plastic bags and ties, allowing you to group and separate items of different dryness in your checked bag. (And as I interpret the rules for the NYC Marathon, they must be clear plastic bags.)
Book Review: Marathon Woman by Kathrine Switzer
Friday, September 25th, 2009Kathrine is famous as the first woman to officially run the Boston Marathon (under circumstances of some controversy, back in 1967). After that historic event, she continued a powerful running career, which included winning the 1974 New York City Marathon. Kathrine is furthermore credited as one of the main influencers of the development of competitive distance running for women internationally, including the establishment of the women’s marathon as an Olympic event.
This book is Kathrine’s story. While that story is a fascinating one for anyone involved in running, it is more than that – it is a source of inspiration for anyone fighting against the odds in similar situations.
However, it is not just the story that makes this book special. It is written in such a casual, enjoyable style that I, for one, could not put it down. Marathon Woman is a must read for anyone who calls himself or herself a runner.
Warwick Ford, Author of Fun on Foot in New York