I didn't run the marathon this year. After last year, I promised myself that no matter how much FOMO I had, I would not put my body through that abuse again.
Yesterday was the NYC Marathon and I watched on TV. ESPN only showed the competitive/elite athletes but TikTok showed more. Watching some of these runners cross the finishline was just as emotional as when I crossed it myself.
Last year, a few months before the marathon I had a flare up of my back problems. That first visit to the phsycial therapis I told him that I was signed up for the marathon and even if I had to crawl across the finish line, I wasn't going to give up. Fast forward to the marathon and around mile 10 I was in pain. At the half marathon mark, I stopped at my first of many first-aid booths for BioFreeze. By the time I saw my family in Manhattan I was barely walking, let alone running, but I didn't give up.
Last night I saw video of the last few people crossing the finish line, well past the time when the roads re-opened and the crowds left. But at the finish line, there were huge and enthusiastic crowds waiting for every last runner to cross the finish line. Two of the runners where hopping on crutches. That takes amazing stamina. This morning I found an article from NY Times about the Final Finishers. It's amazing to see these runners, many of whom were on the course for over ten hours.
@abcnews Many of the world's top runners finished Sunday's New York City Marathon in just over two hours. Thousands of others needed a little more time. One runner told ABC News' Danny New she just wanted to prove to herself that she could do it — as a 60th birthday present to herself. #marathon #news #abcnews ♬ original sound - ABC News
