This morning. Yes, this very morning, it arrived!
It was in my email inbox as I ate breakfast in my running gear. It’s orange, and it looks like this, minus the images which I’ll work on later:
“February 25, 2009
Congratulations MARIAN!
You’re eligible for guaranteed entry to the most spectacular marathon in the world, the ING New York City Marathon 2009, on Sunday, November 1. To claim your guaranteed entry, you must apply.
For complete instructions to guide you through the application process, click here. To claim your guaranteed entry, apply by May 1, 2009. Click here to apply online now.”
It’s official: I’ve earned entry into what is possibly the biggest and best athletic event in New York City. This is THE MARATHON of marathons. Sorry, Boston. Sorry, Chicago. New York is the best. So why on earth did it take me seven years to get around to doing this event? I’m sure the answer has something to do with the distance. No matter how much you love a city, 26.2 miles is enough to give anyone pause, especially a runner who lists decidedly to the lazy side of distance running.
For the next six months, I’ll be blogging my runs in, around, and through the streets of New York. (I’m going to try to avoid under. I run in the subway far too often as it is.) The final and hopefully triumphant end to this project will be me crossing the finish line in Central Park next November. Are you with me?
Good. Because I’m gonna need all the help I can get.
A little note on signing up for the marathon: Generally you can’t just walk in off the street and sign up. Well, you can, but with over 100,000 applicants and slightly under 40,000 total participants, your chances of winning the lottery are pretty low.* For residents of the area, the usual way to get in is the method I chose: sign up for a membership with the New York Road Runners, complete 9 races and volunteer at a 10th, and receive the glorious email I refer to above. That process took me about a year, during which I slacked off substantially. The last way to get in is to join a charity, which usually costs money. I don’t have a lot of money, and I don’t have a lot of time for fundraising (you’d think you’d have one or the other – money or time – but as it turns out, you’d be wrong) (at least in this city, anyway), so that wasn’t an option either.
Now that I have my entry, it’s time to get serious. That means running three days a week, regardless of weather. I’ll outline my strategy in the next post. The good news is that I’m not starting from scratch. The bad news is that I’m going to have to get over my laziness in a hurry, because November is not really that far off.
And frankly, I’m a little frightened of all that distance. But I’m looking forward to some great runs through the city. It’ll be a new way to see my home.
* For the record, I have met exactly one person who got into the marathon through the lottery system; however I, personally, rarely have such luck.
