Hello and welcome to the 2nd part of my look at 2009. The year I became ambitious and did 2 marathons in one year, approx. 5 months apart. In the last blog I covered Silverstone Half and Edinburgh and how Edinburgh was difficult due to the unexpected heat on the day.
After a few weeks off running after Edinburgh I decided I would run New York and Birmingham Half before it for British Heart Foundation again (BHF). Running for charity seemed to be keep me a bit more motivated and determined to see the races through.
On speaking to BHF I found out they had a small team already going to New York to run for them so I added my name to the list, and it meant that the night before the marathon I would meet them for pre-race meal and see some familiar faces from their fundraising team.
There was no GNR for me in 2009 again. At this point the one in 2006 looked like it would remain the one and only time that I ran the race. That of course had been the plan. Run it once and that was it. As we all know it is now the one race a year I have to run. It’s my favourite and always will be. It’s in my hometown and so iconic.
However, as I mentioned 2 weeks ago near to my adopted home a new half marathon, the Birmingham half was started and in 2009 it was back. A different route this time. No starting near the Alex. No undulating route into Brum. Starting in Birmingham City Centre and finishing on Broad Street. The year we would run past the Cadburys factory, through Canon Hill Park, around Edgbaston Cricket Ground, head into Harborne and go up ‘that’ hill before getting the chance for a big finish on Broad Street with a lot of people cheering us on. A lovely finish area leading into the NIA and collecting our bags and being able to use proper toilets!
From July I focused fully on marathon training. After the PB at Silverstone earlier in the year I was determined to get my time closer to 2 hrs. 30. My long run of 20 miles for New York took place 5 weeks before the marathon and 2 weeks before Birmingham half. It would prove to be excellent planning. At this point I should mention that it should have been 3 weeks before New York as per the plan I was following at the time, but the plan changed once Birmingham Half was added in.
Birmingham half was my 5th half by this stage, and it was the first time I saw someone I knew in the start area. At this time, I still didn’t really know any runners. I wasn’t part of a club; I didn’t run with anyone, and my first Parkrun was still almost 4 years away. I met a friend and work colleague in the start area which was a pleasant surprise. He’s in the picture below with me. Let’s call him Steve! We had a quick chat and like me the year earlier, Steve had decided that the idea of having a half in the city he lived in was kind of cool. I’m pretty sure he asked me for tips, and I laughed! I didn’t feel I had the experience to really give advise. I do remember telling him that it was all about getting to the finish line, whatever it took. That was something I knew was decent advice.
The race itself went really well. I remember making a strong start, taking it easy on the hills, controlling my breathing and having a good strong finish from Five Ways all the way along Broad Street. My time of 2:26:01 was a new PB, over 7 minutes quicker than Silverstone and the sort of confidence booster I needed heading to New York. I didn’t get overconfident, but I remember thinking that maybe getting close to 6 hours at New York wasn’t a pipe dream now. The famous calculation of double your half time, add 20 to 30 minutes and you have your potential marathon time meant that breaking 6 hours shouldn’t be an issue. However, I knew and as you have read, my 3 marathons had not gone to plan thus far so I knew not to get carried away.
I trained hard for the next 2 weeks as I prepared to head to New York. As I mentioned in previous blogs, I entered New York on a whim. Just decided I was going to do it as running a marathon on my birthday in a city I had always wanted to visit seemed pretty cool. My wife decided she didn’t want to go. Well, that’s a lie. I didn’t ask her as bad as that sounds! I did promise her I would taker her there. Something I still have to deliver on, but I might take here there for my 50th! Not hers! I can run the NY marathon on my 50th!
So, I flew out to New York on the Wednesday from Heathrow. As luck would have it the chap next to me on the plane who was Scottish was also going out through the same company I had booked through, 2:09 events. We had a chat about running. Mainly he chatted about running in fairness. He was older than me and had run in many cool places around the world and he had done the 30th NY marathon and wanted to add the 40th one to the list.
We chatted for a short while and then we did that polite thing of immersing ourselves in the entertainment system and chatted again as we descended into JFK airport. I had the window seat and looked out and saw so many familiar sites. Things I had seen on TV and film.
I had a few issues getting through security, something I won’t go into. It was pretty annoying and was the only part of my time in NY that I didn’t enjoy. After being ‘interviewed’ by 3 different immigration staff I finally made my way out and was lucky that a rep from the company had waited for me. Unfortunately, as it was early evening, we had a long journey into New York but I didn’t let that bother me. I was staying in a hotel overlooking Times Square and I loved it.
On the Thursday I just did lots of the stuff tourists do. I did the bus tour of New York and went out to Ellis Island on the ferry but didn’t get off on the Statue of Liberty Island. Ellis Island was an experience. Anyone who has seen The Godfather Part 2 will be familiar with it. It was where immigrants into New York were processed for many years and where a young Vito Corleone was given that name! If you’ve seen the film, you know!
On the Friday it was off to the centre towards an area called Hells Kitchen if I remember correctly, to pick up my race number. It wasn’t as big as the London expo but there were more big brands there and it was great to be there. It had a real international feel to it. The hotel I was staying in had a few Brits in it, but mainly there were Germans and Italians with a smattering of French runners. And they all looked like runners. Me, not so much! They probably thought I was there to get business to open a call centre in India somewhere!
Anyhow, race number collected, and a frame ordered to show my finishing time and a 2nd medal, as seen below, and off I went to find a place to eat. Hells Kitchen has some amazing restaurants and what did I do? I ignored restaurants from countries I had never eaten food from like Brazil, Vietnam, Caribbean and settled for? An Indian restaurant! To be fair the food was great. I had an amazing Paneer dish, and it was a mix of carbs and proteins.
That evening I went up the Empire State Building and then later that evening I met a friend from the UK who was out there with a friend who had turned 40. Or 50. I can’t remember. That friend? Steve!! As mentioned earlier. We went to an Italian restaurant they had booked, and it was good to have a meal with a few other people as opposed to Barry no mates for all other meals.
As I recall there was an option to do a 5K run on the Saturday in Central Park for all marathon participants. I decided not to. I hadn’t been to Central Park yet and I wanted my first experience of it to be when ran in as I finished the marathon. So, I had a lie in and did some more touristy stuff on the Saturday before heading to the Italian restaurant that BHF had a booked a private room in. It was good to see the fundraising team as well as Keith Anderson who I spoke about 2 weeks ago. An amazing man who turned his life round when he found running. So much so that at the age of 41 he ran the marathon for England at the 1998 Commonwealth Games. I remember leaving the restaurant for my short walk back my hotel and being stopped twice by strangers who wanted to take my photo! The first guy was a bit strange and barely spoke. I always wonder where that photo ended up. The second time was by a group of three students who had just been to India and loved seeing a Sikh walking in New York. I told them I was just an Englishman in New York. They didn’t get the reference! They were a lot more chatty and handed my twenty dollars each for my fundraising. This wouldn’t be the first-time random strangers handed me cash for my fundraising. But God bless them. It shows there are plenty of good people out there.
I got a decent night’s sleep. One issue with breakfast on marathon morning here was that there was no beans on toast available. I went for porridge and a quite a few pastries but avoided tea. I had read before my second London marathon that drinking tea and coffee was not beneficial. They acted as diuretics. For someone who starts every day with a cup of tea, not great. I watched all the European runners guzzling coffee and wondered how true the article I read was. How much of it was based on research? On reflection, probably very little as I now always have my regular cuppa on race day.
Coaches had been arranged to the start line. Again, I could have googled a few things about the race I have forgotten, but I want this to be from memory, social media posts, photos and videos. So. We got to the start area and the weather was identical to Britain in November. Oh, remember this was all on my birthday! My 34th. And it was the 40th New York marathon so it felt great to be there. I was in the last wave that was going to start so I went and stood in a massive field taking it all in. The start is on a bridge. The bridge has two levels and I had decided I was going to start on the lower level to protect myself from the wind.
Again, I watched in amazement at how much coffee was being drank. And bagels and pretzels were being eaten like they were going to out of fashion soon. I resisted. I had a supply of 6 sports gels. I also had 2 bananas I had pilfered from the hotel at morning breakfast.
So, let’s talk about a very vivid memory I have before the start. I’m wearing a BHF top with Barry written on it. I wouldn’t be christened Usingh Bolt for another 2 years. Another runner comes up to me. Starts talking to me as he was also from England. London, to be precise. We chatted about marathons, and he asked me about London. It turned out he was one of the team behind organizing London marathon. Not Hugh Brasher before you ask. I’ll be honest his name has long slipped out of my mind. But one part of his role was to run marathons around the world and see what they could take from them to improve London. It was a good chat and when I realized it was our start time, I felt relaxed. More relaxed than I had felt for any of the previous races, halfs or fulls.
I remember it being pretty windy but about 3 miles in the wind dropped and the sun started to sneak out. Not hot, not really warm but as the clouds disappeared the sun slowly started to emerge. I remember parts of the route. Massive long stretches where you could see for almost a mile ahead. I remember a runner taking a very bad fall. He was wearing glasses and hit the ground hard, almost headfirst. He was bleeding a fair bit so a couple of us stopped to steady him and then a couple of paramedics arrived to take care of him.
I remember seeing a fellow turbaned Sikh in the uniform of NYPD. We acknowledged each other and I felt good. It was a glorious run, not as well supported as London for big stretches but so much space to run in a race with over 45,000 runners. I remember we ran along another bridge. The Queensborough bridge maybe. Anyway, it led onto 5th Avenue. And it was an incredible sensation. There were thousands of people at this point on either side, but 5th Avenue is wide! It would have been easy to run in the middle of the road and not take in any of the atmosphere. I decided to run on the left and take in the cheers and encouragement. I had one moment when I almost panicked. A guy walked onto the route, pointed at me, with a beer in his hand and I always think he looked aggressive, but I probably have that wrong. He then gave me a big smile and said, “Mr. Singh, show me some love. You look awesome buddy.” Before I could say anything, I was trapped in a hug. I’m not a particular touchy-feely person. Or I wasn’t at that time. Nowadays sweaty hugs are in. He eventually let go and cheered me on and it was a moment that has always stayed with me.
I’d gotten to halfway in about 2 hrs. 40, so knowing that I would run the 2nd half much slower I felt optimistic that sub 6 was on. But then again, this time was not too dissimilar to the halfway mark of my first London marathon, so I kept calm. Running along 5th Avenue was amazing but it is a LONG stretch of road. It was never ending. It was along here that I started to flag a bit. Of course, the one good thing about a long stretch of road in a city like NY is that it is very flat.
I got to the 30K mark in about 4 hours, and I remember thinking that this was it. 12K to go, a sub 6 was now there for the taking. I got to the 40k mark in 5 hrs. 38 and I was really flagging now. It wasn’t my legs or feet that were the issue. They felt like they had more than enough to keep me going. It was a cool evening as the sun was setting but I was sweating buckets. I hadn’t sweated this much in the heat of Edinburgh. Linked to this was a real requirement to drink as much as possible. I remember grabbing a bottle of Gatorade, no Lucozade Sport out here, and downing it. I then grabbed a bottle of water and necked that. I didn’t know why I felt so thirsty. But I really felt like I was overheating. From about 38Km I ran with 2 girls that were over from Ireland.
We encouraged each other to keep going. We were all struggling for different reasons, but we kept pushing. Sub 6 was still on. Entering Central Park felt so magical. The sun was setting, the lights were on in the park and so many people were out cheering us on, even though we were in the last 2 or 3 thousand to finish. I remember the 3 of us holding hands as we crossed and then I lost track of where they went. I needed to hydrate so badly again!
And yes, 6 hours had been broken. Another PB in the space of 3 weeks. I felt so happy. I’d ran well and I had flagged but it wasn’t lack of training that got me this time, or the heat. Something had happened to me that meant I just wasn’t feeling so good the further I ran. On my return to England, I found out I had a chest infection which was what caused me to sweat so much. Instead of resting I had pushed my body to it’s limits, again. This time it was a happy ending. I was asked if I would be back to run again, and I remember saying that I had cracked 6 hours and that was it for me and marathons! I know that 5 hrs. 30 had been the dream in 2007 but cracking 6 hours had been so hard that it felt like a good place to call it quits with marathon running.
On the way back to the hotel I remember buying a slushy and another drink as I still felt so thirsty. I had a brilliant night’s sleep. More to do with the infection I reckon than the satisfaction of a race well ran. I’d marked my birthday by running a marathon and it would be the 4th and final one of the 1 I had planned to run. The next day I remember popping into Macy’s to buy the wife something and then going into Borders bookshop and buying about 20 novels! Well at half the price, why not. There were other things I had wanted to do. I wanted to visit Madison Square Gardens, but I felt shattered and went back to the hotel and rested. On the Tuesday I flew back and slept all the way back. I don’t sleep on planes. But I just couldn’t stay awake. I remember driving back from Heathrow with 2 service stops and then getting home and collapsing into bed.
The next day knowing I was not in good shape I managed to get a doctor’s appointment and was told I had a chest infection and had probably had it before I ran the marathon! I didn’t care. Mission achieved. I’d cracked 6 hours; I wasn’t fussed about 5 hrs. 30. It felt like a bridge too far. So, I decided no more marathons for me. And in 2010 I didn’t do any. In fact, I stopped running after New York altogether. My only plan was to run Birmingham half in 2010. And I could train for that in 13 weeks and then that would be the end of it. As it turned out I did run 1 other race in 2010, another half. And a chance conversation after those races would then lead back to London again.
But that is for next week. At this moment in time, 4th November 2009, I had quit marathon running and was going to be an occasional half runner. Running wasn’t for me I’d decided. It would be nice to do a half a year I thought but why do more than that. I’d done 4 fulls, I’d done 5 halfs and I’d got decent times. But of course, life always has other ideas and in fact running was meant for me. I’d just need another 3 to 4 years to realise it.
I hope you’ll continue on this journey with me as delve into the past and work to present day.
Thank you for reading.
Usingh Bolt - Endurance Runner 