It’s time for the BIG race announcement! I’m thrilled to share that I will be running the NYC Marathon this fall with the Running for Rare Disease Team!!!
For those of you not quite as obsessed with running marathons as me, let me give you some insight into why I’m so excited about this race.
The NYC Marathon is not as historic as the prestigious Boston Marathon, however, it is the most popular marathon in the world. The first NYC Marathon was in 1970 with just 127 entrants racing 4 laps around Central Park. Today, the marathon hosts an estimated 50,000 runners, making it the biggest marathon in the world The course now runs through the city’s five borough’s, starting on Staten Island at the Verrazano-Narrows bridge and finishing in Central Park. The race attracts elite runners, wheel-chair racers, celebrities, charity runners, and those lucky enough to gain entry through their annual lottery. Millions of fans line the streets and watch the global television broadcast of the race. BIG is an understatement for this marathon!
I’ve had this race on my bucket list for several years, and have continued to religiously (and unsuccessfully) put my name in the hat for their annual lottery. Again, this year, I did not gain entry through the lottery, BUT there was another opportunity that came about. This year, for the first time ever, the Running for Rare Disease Team acquired a small number of race bibs for the NYC Marathon. I thought – this is it, this is kismet, or so I hoped…
I’ve always wanted to run the NYC Marathon, and I’ve really missed the connections from the RFRD Team over the past year while I’ve been immersed in wedding planning. Upon learning of the opportunity, I crossed my fingers, and submitted an application.
Full disclosure, there were multiple strong applicants, and only 5 race bibs, initially I didn’t get a spot on the team.
The team founder, Phil, called me to discuss why I wasn’t chosen over other applicants.
He also mentioned the possibility of running another fall marathon (Hartford) with the RFRD Team. I told him, I just wanted to participate with the RFRD Team, and I’d be happy to run Hartford & cross another state off my 50 state goal (more on that in another blog post), but also that running the NYC Marathon has been a dream of mine for a long time.
A few weeks went by, and I didn’t hear anything about the Hartford Marathon. I was anxious to add a marathon to my calendar – to have another big goal. So, I emailed Phil, and to my surprise, he said that he might have a bib for me in NYC. This was a shock, but awesome news! I held my breath for a few more weeks. There was a second email from Phil giving me hope. After another week, finally, an official confirmation that he had secured a race bib for me to run the NYC Marathon with the RFRD Team this fall.
I don’t know how he did it, but once again, my man Phil has worked his magic. It’s because of him that I’ve had the opportunity to run the Boston Marathon, and now the NYC Marathon.
I’ve been letting this sink in for a week, but it’s time to get down to work. At the very least, I owe it to Phil, who has believed in me since our initial connection in 2012.
I’m so grateful to have this opportunity, not only to have the experience of running the NYC Marathon, but also to have a huge platform to raise awareness for HCU and other rare diseases.
We have our first team phone conference on Monday – so stay tuned. There will be more information coming!
But, in the meantime, be ready to start spreading the news. This rare runner is preparing to tackle marathon #12 in NYC!!!
