Saturday’s Al Gordon 4M race took place under near-perfect conditions. Sunshine! No precipitation! Close to my apartment! That was the antithesis of what I (and more importantly, the runners!) experienced during Sunday’s Central Park Half. It was cold, rainy, and (for me, a spectator standing in wet grass) muddy. But I wouldn’t have wanted to spend that morning doing anything else!
I have to start by giving major props to all the runners I saw out there. This was the first race I’ve cheered in quite sometime under those conditions. To experience all that, and run 13.1 miles, is pretty epic. So yeah – you guys rock!
I kept the same musical theme that I started at the Al Gordon 4M race – house/disco! I cycled through three different mixes, one of which is embedded below:
I decided to go with the same cheer spot I took for the Fred Lebow Manhattan Half – on Harlem Hill, where the spectators are few and the struggle is real. The picture below isn’t totally accurate – I cheered on the other side of the path (i.e. runners’ left) as bikes and cars typically use the outer lanes.
Although it was a great spot with respect to cheering on runners and taking their photos, it was NOT great for my shoes, speakers, and anything else I set down on the ground. It was quite muddy out there! But I guess that’s what I get for wearing sneakers and not taking proper measures to keep the mud off my stuff. 😃
It’s usually hard to see precipitation in these race photos. Why run in the rain if nobody can tell how badass you are?? Luckily it’s easy to infer your badassery when you’re wearing a poncho – and there were a ton of them! This is a collage I posted on my Instagram.
And I too was wearing a poncho I got from Rite-Aid on the way up. I can no longer find it, but this was the brand and I looked something like this:
The United Mexican Runners of New York were very well represented in this race! And one of their runners was wearing a pretty sweet mask.
Once I posted the race photos, NYCRUNS (the organizer of this event) shared them via Facebook and Instagram! Hopefully many of the folks who ran this race have found my photos. If you recognize any of the runners, make sure to let them know!
Want some more cheer in your life?
Next race: NYRR Washington Heights Salsa, Blues, and Shamrocks 5K
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