So far, and yet no car!

It was now 1995 and my 3rd attempt at the New York marathon. As previously blogged about, my first attempt had ended in disaster.  However, my second attempt was a creditable 7th place in 1993, so yes, maybe, I was getting to grips with 26 miles!

The 1993 New York marathon had been a very warm day so I had been very satisfied to have run  2.13 on what is a challenging course. But I still felt I had unfinished business with New York so returned to give it another go in 1995. Again the training/ races had been going well and I had run 62 min at the GNR 6 weeks previously off high mileage in my legs so I was quietly confident that I could run a strong race. As my coach used to say “don’t worry about other runners, as you can’t control what they do, just worry about yourself.” I had been in New York all week and was well rested and ready for the challenge ahead!

Just to add a bit of spice to the race we were told that one of the sponsors that year were “Mercedes Benz” and the male & female winners would receive a car each. Obviously with all that was going on, this went to the back of my mind, as I was just concentrating on getting  to the start line, getting the early pace right and hopefully setting the scene for a good strong race. I would have taken it there and then if someone said you will run faster that your previous 1993 attempt of 2.13.

We were on the start line on the Verrazano Bridge and it was snowing, so I was jogging around for a few minutes from the start, cold and very uncomfortable.  Little did I realise that these conditions probably gave me a slight advantage over the East African runners who were certainly not used to the cold and snow! The starting gun went and we were off and to my surprise the early pace was fairly slow.  Maybe the weather conditions were a factor after all. With it being a sluggish start I was quite comfortable running in the lead group at the pace they set. I thought to myself that this would not last long and someone was going to take off sooner rather than later. Until that happened though,  I was quite happy to latch on to the back of the group. 5 miles came and went and still no one made a move. The miles clicked past and we were soon approaching halfway with the group intact and I was still at the back waiting for someone to take the race by the scruff of the neck. As of yet, the race had not started which suited me!  The longer I could get carried along in the lead group, the more likely I was to run a solid race and hopefully record a good time.  

We got to Manhattan heading towards The Bronx. We were about 16 miles in and fast approaching a drink station. I had decided to take a drink on board while I still felt comfortable so I ran over to the table, grabbed a drink but fumbled and dropped it. Rather than just keep on running with the group,I decided to go back and get another drink which this time was successful.  The problem was I was now detached from the lead group. “Don’t panic!” I told myself and slowly tried to pull back the defeatist in me and to my surprise I was back in the group within a few minutes! This gave my so much confidence as I had got back to the group without much effort and felt strong. I had gone from being content to be in the lead group to someone who was now planning on how I could win the  New York Marathon!  

We were heading for Central park about 6 miles left  and the group was down to about 8 runners including myself.   As we entered the park, I remember thinking that the pace felt as if it had slowed down.  It suddenly felt like all the runners were playing mind games: everyone one was looking at each other planning their next move.  The group was still too big and with 4 miles left something had to give. My thinking was that out of this big group there would be at least a few of these who would out sprint me. If they were going to beat me, they were  going to have to do it the hard way! With this in mind, I decided it was me who was going to blink first and up the pace and go for broke. 

To my surprise, at first, it seemed that I had broken the group and opened a gap. This gave me more confidence and I ploughed on. Then all of a sudden,  I realised I was not on my own! I could hear the breathing of two other athletes who were now running by my side. However the group was down to 3 and I remember thinking that as long as I didn’t fall apart I should make the podium!  Again I tried to up the pace and all of a sudden 3 were 2. The Kenyan athlete had dropped off the pace, so there was a mile left and only two of us running side by side. I kind of knew that I had to break German Silva before the last 200m. This was my chance. I tried to surge but every time I did, he matched me stride for stride. Eventually he put me out of my misery by running away from me in the last 200m. I crossed the line 5 sec behind German -  I was done. There was nothing left. The tank was dry.

It was a bitter-sweet celebration, I had finished 2nd in one of the greatest classic marathons in the world, but had missed out on the big prize by 5 secs. Having said that, German Silva was a class act that day, and I always felt that whoever ran faster than him would win the race.

Yes the car was going to Mexico and not Lowestoft, but on the bright side, I felt that I had arrived as a marathon runner, and to be honest I love my Vauxhall Astra!!