They say the neon lights are bright on Broadway
October 7, 2009
The New York Road Runners have been keeping a secret. Yesterday they broke the silence. They released bib numbers and wave start information. In a normal race this is no big deal. In NYC your very movements are governed by the colour of you bib – the main colour, the flood colour, and the letter. It is a complicated class system. Husband and I are both in the Wave Start 1, which means less waiting around but longer port-a-loo lines. I’m endlessly concerned about port-a-loos. I’ve had traumatic experiences. Experiences that wake me at night. So we are in the same wave start, but Husband has been assigned to the blue start (“professional men” — egads, I mean yes he has a profession but no, that profession is not running) and I’m in the green start (“local competitive men and women” – yikes, of the four words all that applies is the woman bit). Oh my. My road weary Marine Corps legs might get trampled by the local competitive men and women.
Different colours (I suppose the New Yorkers would say colors) means we cross different start lines, after walking a long and lonely road from our different Athlete Villages. Husband is assigned the Alberto Salazar Village and I’m in the Tegla Loroupe Village, so our hanging out area for the hours of lounging pre-race are worlds villages apart. I’m told we may cross borders freely, but I’m preparing for isolation. My green start also means I’m running on the lower bridge, better known as The Watch Out Or You Will Get Peed On Bridge. With Blue and Orange running above me, my bigger worry is reminiscent of the classic What’s the Capacity of This Elevator? Beyond bridge collapse or a golden shower, with a different starting line colour/color my main disappointment is that Husband and I will be unable to run the race together. And he just bought me a cute little camera for my half-birthday, which I’ve already named Flash, so we can take photos of ourselves on the run. I’m not sure strangers will appreciate me calling them Husband and asking them to pose in front of the high school marching band playing Rocky’s theme. Perhaps it is for the best. I suspect we would be the only “professional men” and “local competitive men and women” fiercely smiling with our eyes at the lens while running the same section twice to make sure we got the shot.
Title Reference: The Drifters – On Broadway. 1963.
Entry Filed under: My Amazing Races. Tags: exercise, fitness, health, marathon, Marine Corps Marathon, New York City Marathon, running.
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1.
ilikemargarine | October 7, 2009 at 6:06 pm
you should be able to find each other ok. the pack thins out a lot after mile 27. ok, not a LOT, but you can just look for the runner wearing the silver “space blanket.” (i swear i’ve watched every space jaunt since the moon landing and i’ve never seen an astronaut wearing a space blanket. i guess “crappy handout advertising vehicle” doesn’t have the same romantic flair.) good luck to you and the pro runner! (and start working on the new york accent if you’re going to race as a local, eh?)
2.
runshorts | October 8, 2009 at 1:32 am
I think they give the pro runners like Husband Gatorade emblazened towels, the shivering masses (i.e. local competitive men or women like me) get the not-so-spacy blankets. So he should be even easier to spot in the thin crowds at mile 27. As a bonus, I’m used to running to much higher numbers — so I’ll still have lots of energy to look for him.
3.
Karla VK | October 7, 2009 at 11:03 pm
Oooh the lower bridge. Pee splatters are OK if it’s your own. Maybe bring a small umbrella??
4.
runshorts | October 7, 2009 at 11:48 pm
…. and a moist towelette. Ewwww.
5.
PH | October 8, 2009 at 10:05 am
Just roll with the punches – think of it as another source of hydration, with an optimal mix of electrolytes. Its the same colour as lemon-lime gatorade too.
6.
runshorts | October 8, 2009 at 11:02 pm
With magical jellyfish sting curing properties this lemon-lime coloured, er colored, fuel could be my secret weapon.
7.
Husband | October 7, 2009 at 11:33 pm
I am surprised that you didn’t give “couleur” mention for your Francophone readers… after all, le français est une de nos langues officielles, n’est ce pas? Badabing!
8.
runshorts | October 8, 2009 at 1:35 am
Once I master dropping the u I’ll dust off my high school français.
9.
Jenn S | October 8, 2009 at 4:02 pm
I’m so happy to see that I’m not the only one who celebrates my half birthday! I found that other runners were happy to snap pics of me along the race course, but then again, I don’t run in the competitive section! My race mates are usually people dressed in costumes! Maybe you should practice self-portraits-on-the-run. It’s not that easy come the 40th km.
10.
runshorts | October 8, 2009 at 5:09 pm
Love the half-birthday. Why should kids have all the fun?
Practicing self-portraits on the run is a wise idea – I tend to self-portrait any combination of the sky, my forehead, or random strangers when I’m NOT moving. I ban all photos after 40K, but I’m all for mugging to the camera before the race and in the peppy early kilometres.
p.s. I could never run in costume – how do they do it?
11.
Run Eat Read | October 14, 2009 at 3:07 pm
I just took a look at the bibs and I must say – green looks the prettiest.
12.
runshorts | October 14, 2009 at 4:15 pm
And when mixed with yellow pee will turn a vibrant blue!