Dr Jo Sacks took advantage of a family trip to America to enter a new race from the respected New York Road Runners and was reminded how hot and hilly Central Park can be.
Fun Factor
SO FUN!! As I mentioned, the theme was NYC taxi cab, and the race lead vehicle was an old cab. This was parked near the start for photo ops.
I ran with a group of friends who I met through the NYC marathon, so it was great to chat and catch up while tackling the course. Despite Sunday 8am start, the crowds were plentiful and vocal. Lots of cowbells! The course is entirely within Central Park, so for a tourist, that’s a big appeal. Sightseeing whilst racing!
How was it for loo?
As always at a New York Road Runners' (NYRR) event, the loos were abundant. So many loos, everywhere. On the walk from the subway to the race village, loos. In the race village, loos. At the start, loos. At four points on the course, loos. Yes, at four points on a 7-mile course.
Not just one loo at a time, either. Someone I was running with told me they have a very strict ratio they are bound to by law. I’m sure she said one loo for every 15 runners. I couldn't find proof of that claim and that seems a lot, but there may well have been 300 loos there that day.
Bling: Fiddy Cent or tuppence ha'penny?
I want you all to prepare yourselves for a big shock: this race had NO MEDAL. I repeat NO MEDAL!!!
I collected by event pack from the NYRR run centre a couple of days before the race and contained in that was the race “swag” which was a short sleeved New Balance tech t-shirt. There were men's and women’s sizes; and it was race themed: bright yellow with black detailing, like the New York City (NYC) taxi cab we were pictured in front of pre-race.
But, honestly, I didn't know I wouldn’t be getting a medal until a mile into the race when I casually wondered aloud what the medal would be like. The group of friends I was running were swift and brutal in their reply: "Oh, there’s no medal. They only do medals for the big races.”
So 4,500 folk running seven miles on an August Sunday morning isn’t classed as big apparently. America, eh? Cute shirt though.
Good grub or cruel gruel?
Post race food was an apple (YAY!!!!!) and a bagel. Not a banana in sight, hallelujah. The bagel was a bit hefty though, considering it was 79 degrees and almost 70% humidity at the start time; I think I’d have preferred an ice pole!
Plenty of water though, it was being offered every few yards after the finish. And no bag, which is an eco bonus.
Flat Stanley or Humpty Dumpty?
Central Park is Not Flat. Harlem Hill, the Three Sisters - they may not be massive hills, but they are hills. And noticeably so when it is hot and humid.
Image via New York Road Runners
You can see from the map that the course is a full loop of Central Park followed by a one mile additional section on the lower loop, finishing on the 72nd street traverse.
The hills are mainly at the top of the park, though having Cat Hill early on comes as a nice little surprise. I've run down it before during the NYC marathon, but running up it at mile two presented a different challenge to running down it at mile 25!
Dr Jo's race story: Cheerful chatter and a challenging last mile
So, how did I end up running a random seven- mile race in Central Park on a hot August morning? It's a long story, which starts way back in 2015, when I ran my first marathon, in NYC.
In short, I joined a facebook group and met a lot of really marvellous people who, luckily, I’m still in touch with. When we planned a family trip to the U.S. this summer, so my husband could race Ironman Lake Placid, we planned some time in NYC catching up with these great friends.
By happy coincidence there was a seven-mile race taking place the day after we arrived! And since there is nothing that runner friends (one of whom is pictured with me in the black vest above) like to do more than run together, I entered and persuaded them to do the same.
The race day started bright and early because August in NYC can be a fairly brutal month weather wise. We set off at 8am with temperatures already rapidly approaching 80 degrees; because of the weather, none of us were going for a target time.
We started right at the back, intending to run together. As it turned out, I ran the whole way with one friend, chatting as she pointed out the various sights along the way, including the bits of Central Park I was familiar with from the marathon; they all looked very different in the bright sunshine while running in the opposite direction.
There were almost 4,500 runners, but NYRR are used to organising much larger events than this, so it all went very smoothly. With five water stations and several hosepipe spray points, we were very well looked after on the course in the heat.
It is an interesting course, especially for a tourist. The plentiful support was a nice surprise, too: that early on a Sunday morning I’d thought there would be no-one except us crazy runners.
I was having a lovely race for the first six miles, trotting along chatting. The last mile, I confess, was a challenge. It suddenly seemed a lot more humid and much harder work. Looking at my splits for the race, it became clear why. It was my fastest mile by quite a way. Oops. Pacing again ...
When we crossed the line, my brief disappointment about the lack of medal was replaced by joy at the ice towels being handed out. Straight on the head!
After grabbing water, a bagel that I really didn’t want; and my apple (JOY!), I hung around hunting for the rest of my crowd as we had a post-race brunch planned. Cocktails are a recovery drink aren’t they?
If you ever happen to be in NYC and there is a NYRR race while you're there, I would encourage you to enter - it's a great experience.
If you are thinking of entering future editions of this or any other race, we can help with regular training planning and guidance. Happy running!
The inaugural NYRR Manhattan 7 mile took place on August 5, 2018. Details of future events can be found here.