I was excited to run this half last year because Staten Island is where I was born and raised. I felt like I was running in my old neighborhood and familiar turf. My brother didn't run it last year because he felt it was too hilly. It has some grades, but nothing dramatic.
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| Staten Island Half Marathon 2013 |
The St. George area is a parking nightmare so if you get there an hour before the race, your screwed. We got there about an hour and half before the race, and were screwed. Tom and I nearly killed each other in the car (it was not a pretty scene).
After circling around endlessly we stumbled upon the St. George Courthouse parking garage. It's a covered, flat rate fee parking garage on Central Avenue. We were fortunate to find a spot there and made our pilgrimage to the start line.
One thing you'll notice (if you drive there) are people running with their bibs on far away from the start line. At first I didn't know what the hell was going on. Someone explained to me later that many of the NYC Marathoners use the Staten Island Half as their last long run. So they do a 7-8 mile pre-run, then get to the start line and run the race.
When we arrived at the start area, I got on line for the potty. I had 35 minutes before gun time. Surely 35 minutes is enough time, right? WRONG! The national anthem played while I stood on line. I was ready to give up, but I was next so I held on.
After the potty episode I ran to the start corrals. I couldn't find any openings to get in. A group of nice people let me climb over the railing so that I could get into the corral with them. Luckily the start was delayed by a few minutes.
The horn went off and we took off with it. I remember somewhere between mile 3 and 4 there was a grade going up. I didn't slow my pace enough and I ended up with the worst case of side stitches ever. I slowed down, got my breathing under control and the side stitches subsided a bit.
Mile 6 had a downhill and it turned out to be my fastest mile. I got something to drink and wondered where the hell the turn around point was.
After reaching the turn around point, I mentally felt better. There was a nasty hill around mile 9, its the one that leads you up to the Verrazano Bridge. I ran/walked/ran/walked that hill. Once I got over it I kept telling myself it's just Bay Street and the finish line.
Bay Street wasn't bad except that it has a zillion potholes. At one point a woman stumbled and almost fell in front of me, causing me to almost fall over her. Luckily we both held it together. No domino effect today! A few residents and store owners lined the road and cheered us on, which was really nice.
The last graded hill was somewhere around mile 12. I remember it being towards the end of the course. I kept thinking "one last push and your home". It felt good to be heading home.
The end of the race goes down a ramp towards the ferry terminal. There are a lot of spectators lined up and it's so cool hearing them cheer. You may want to turn the music off and enjoy the moment. The finish line is located near the 9/11 memorial.
They had a kids race at the stadium which I thought was stupid. They did the kids race at the exact moment when most people were coming across the finish line. It was 2 hours after the start of the half marathon. So if you run a 2 hour half marathon and you want to see your kid race, your screwed. Not sure if they changed it this year but I complained to the race director.
Lastly, getting out of the parking garage sucked!!! Roads were closed because of the race, people were sitting in traffic, everyone just inched along (at best). Fight number two broke out between Tom and I as waited in traffic. Lets get ready to rumble!
In summary the Staten Island Half is a fun race, but its no Brooklyn Half. Sorry, but the Brooklyn Half rocks! You have to get there early and have lots of patience for this one, especially if you drove. The smart people take the ferry but since I'm from NJ that option doesn't logistically work for me.
5 more days until the race. Hopefully Tom and I won't kill each other this year. At least my brother will be there to referee this time. I'll share my race review (the 2014 edition) on Monday as I recover. See you in Staten Island!
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