More than 50,000 athletes from about 80 countries stood at the start of the 44th New York Marathon early Sunday morning, which almost traditionally began in Staten Island. In an average time of 4 hours and 18 minutes, thousands of colorfully dressed athletes ran through the five boroughs of this world city, Staten Island, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx and Manhattan.
Juan Pigot and Janine Smit
Among all these athletes there were also two Surinamese of whom I can proudly say that I knew personally who they were. Janine Smit with whom I was in the class of the 3rd mulo at the Christus Koning School in Suriname and Juan Pigot who I knew as a super cute boy at Oase.
Hats off and a deep bow for the achievement for both of them who finished the marathon in a time of under 4 hours. Every year I think hmm maybe I should do that sometime, but that's all it has been so far. The fact that these two came all the way from sunny Suriname to participate makes me think it's even more amazing.
The New York Marathon is a true experience. It is certainly the largest in the world but it is also a real party. Sunday seemed like one big block party!
People come from far and wide to cheer on friends and club members. There are also special cheer zones with music, informal bake sales, signs with slogans and above all a lot of fun. There were 130 bands arranged along the entire route. I don't know the number of DJs but at the 8 mile zone it was a big booming party.
Although it was a beautiful day, the sun was shining brightly, it was not a warm day. There was a strong wind at a temperature of 13 degrees. I was a little worried about the Surinamese in that respect and given the comments on Facebook it was not entirely unnecessary. Janine wrote: "that wind almost blew me to the Netherlands." And then she is not even talking about the temperature that feels much colder.
To combat the cold, runners are consciously advised to wear “throw-away clothes”. These are extra layers of clothing to keep the muscles warm because it can be quite cold in the morning before the start and it can take a long time before you really start the race. Once you start running, you will get it right automatically, but then you will also stay warm. I know this not only from my own experience (when I sometimes run around the block), but it is also noticeable from the amount of gloves and sweaters that were thrown away during the race. The clothing that is picked up after the race is donated to a good cause.
All in all it was a very nice day where the marathon runners took over New York. Until the end of the evening there was no train from Manhattan without an athlete with a number. Very inspiring Juan wrote on his facebook page:
“Experience of a lifetime with my running buddy and friend. 3h59 and 3h48. If you put your mind to it your body can work miracles.”
But will I ever run a marathon myself? If I live long enough, probably, and I'm actually already looking forward to it. Besides Juan and Janine, of course, 91-year-old Harriette Thompson of North Carolina is also my inspiration. She not only finished the marathon in a time of over 7 hours, she also broke the record in her age group. So if I live that long and am still able to walk, I hope to have all the time to not only train for a marathon, but especially to break the record. A nice prospect for an old age, right? For now, Chapeau Juan and Janine!
