On Monday, December 2, while vacationing in Mexico (and suffering from a horrendous and evil water/food born stomach ailment during which I couldn’t imagine walking 100 yards, much less running a marathon) I remembered that it was the first day to apply to run the NYC Marathon in 2014. Though I was relying on the claim that I’d be given guaranteed entry due to my application being denied the last three years in a row, I was still skeptical, and even if I was granted that, I still had to apply.

So I logged in to my New York Road Runner account and started the application process. When I hit “apply” a box popped up that said I’d been granted automatic entry in 2014 given my denied application status the past three years in a row. All I had to do was claim my guaranteed entry, and I was good to go. I accepted (duh!) and moved through the process (still had to pay, of course!). A few minutes later…. I’m in! I’m in! I still didn’t really believe it! Later that night, I got a message from Carl saying he is in too. So, that’s that. We’re in! Eleven months from now, we’re running the New York City Marathon!

http://www.tcsnycmarathon.org

As I watched the race on TV this year, I thought about what an event this race is…so much more so than any other marathon I have run or can imagine running. It’s all five boroughs of NYC, including a run down 1st avenue in Manhattan where people line the streets up to 200 back to cheer for the runners, and a finish line in the iconic Central Park. I heard a television announcer say that this is the only marathon where the professionals and the amateurs run together – ha! Well, not together together, but along the same course. A Pro-am event, and a true expression of the shared experience of runners everywhere. It makes sense that it would happen in NYC.

I’m excited (and yes, nervous) to finally have an application in “Accepted” status, and I’m anxious to start training hard for this unique opportunity. Let’s go #RunNYC!