Sorry for the delay… we’ve been busy, well you’ll see…

Two years ago, Porter, myself and an amazing bunch of family and friends, did our first marathon clapping & cheering when Eldest ran the Buffalo Marathon.

Just a fantastic day! The route made it easy to hop around to see him in a variety of mile markers. The weather cooperated and…

… And what a day! It got us loving the marathon! Yes, especially clapping & cheering!

This year, after a crazy quarter of injury & recovery, when we heard Eldest was running NY we had to be there! It just happened to be the weekend before my b-day… the perfect way to celebrate!

Wasn’t sure what to expect… so we forged forward… because that’s just what you do!

I could do posts to fill a month on different aspects of this run (have a few planned). It was amazing!

Of course, New York is always an international experience. This weekend… it was crazy the number of runners from all corners of the globe. Impressive. Described it in one txt as an International Skinny Convention. The city overtaken by skinny runners :)!

Like anything, the prep was half the fun!

First was planning what to wear… to be seen, of course! Run swag is awesome. We pulled out the brightest things we could find and decided on fluorescent yellow hats and for me a yellow pullover- thank you Ronald McDonald & Reindeer Runs. Don’t forget my signature pink gloves!

Then it was the signs… They were forecasting crazy wind so we decided two would do it… just enough to fan the motivational flame. While the construction in Dickson City, Pa had us unbelievably lost – Garmy Garmin wasn’t up on the gig – somehow we made it to Wegmans and our sign supplies.

Next sustenance… not for us but just in case Eldest needed a little something in the tank. A little gu & gatorade. I forget that after running since middle school, his particular body is tuned for the long run. He didn’t and the support for the runners by NYRR is fantastic. In hindsight, I carried it around for nothing. Well, Mom feel good… Some runs you need it, in NY, not.

Last was driving Eldest crazy with various texts of exactly where to look for us, what we would be wearing, etc the night before. His job was running, but after reading up on Runners World, we were prepped to be seen.

Sunday morning we headed out to claim our spot in Brooklyn. We earmarked a couple locations and gave Eldest a window because we weren’t sure what we’d find. After making some friends with more clappers & cheerers on the subway, we arrived on 4th around the Barclays Center and got our first taste of the support NYRR provides to their runners. A block long, two lane water stop. Nice job!

We found our favorite spot and it wasn’t long before the elite wheelchair spinners rolled by. We each take something different from running. Today, for me, it’s the combination of what’s possible, pushing the limits, and helping me to see the next stretch goal mixed with sheer parental pride, love and joy.

In the wind, running seemed much easier to the upper body strength required to traverse the inclines of the route in a chair. Of course running wasn’t easy, but you know what I mean.

The crowd. I’ve never experienced such support for a run. We met local folks from the neighborhood, from states across the US and what seemed like an endless voice of French… I loved the older woman who showed up to cheer on her way home from grocery shopping with her bags of groceries. Just too cute!

Well, my fears were set aside when we got a peek of Eldest’s unique gait (the pink arm sleeves and single pink calf sleeve helped)! Whoo hoot… now… will he see us? Porter unrolled the sign and I started waving those signature pink mitts.

Success! Connection, cheering, he looked great. Whoo hoot!

On to 86th & 1st! Mile 17.5.

This was more challenging. So many people… We made some new running friends and they shared their spot.

Again, success!

Time for a sustenance stop and then off to Central Park for the final push around mile 24.

Whoo… Much warmer in Central Park. We’re from WNY, we know cold and dressed for it. By now, a bit after noon, it was warm, sunny and those wonderful trees sheltered the runners from the wind.

Again more new running friends, lots of cheering and yes, a connection to our favorite runner.

Next off to try to make the finish.

This was our only fail. Next time we’ll do it differently, but we know. We headed through the park and over to Central Park West. Big mistake. With 50K runners, as you would expect the infrastructure is amazing and they do an awesome job. We couldn’t get in, so headed to the trail of blue robes.

My first thought was the College of Cardinals… only blue…

Fantastic to see the foresight of the NYRR to provide these wonderful warm, blue soft hoods for these amazing finishers. Support was everywhere, and for those who needed it, help to the Medical Tent.

Amazing… and we didn’t even run!