A journey of four Marathons: Chicago, New York, Paris, and London.
Last Sunday, I finished my fourth Marathon, London. It was my personal record at 4:21. It was also the most beautiful course of all races I’ve done. And, it was by far, the most beautiful finish place just in front of Buckingham Palace.
A brief history of time (err, me running)
I have never been a sport or exercise person. Until my mid-30s I used to joke that I exercised regularly, once a quarter. I have a great metabolism and a thin body, so I didn’t have the typical body signals that I wasn’t fit. I wasn’t.
I started running in 2011 because I signed up for my first half-marathon as a challenge to myself (which got more serious when my wife didn’t believe I could do it). It was a long and arduous path to finish that half. I had all kinds of problems, pains, and lessons throughout training and during the race. I walked for a good chunk of it. After it was over, I felt I could do better, so I did it again next year, and the next year, and kept running more half-marathons.
My cousin convinced me to register for the Chicago Marathon in 2014. I did sign up, trained, and finished in about 5:10 (my goal was under 5:00). At the end of that Marathon, I had the same feeling when I finished my first half-marathon. I can do better.
By pure luck, I entered the lottery for the New York Marathon in 2015, and I was selected (at the time, there was a 1 in 3 chance of being selected). I trained more than for Chicago in the hopes of doing under 4:30. Different from Chicago, I tried to pace myself to not run out of steam in the last few miles. I finished New York in about 4:52. But not only I felt I could have done better; I felt that I had fuel left in the tank and that I might have paced myself too slow. It made me eager to do it again.
Because I moved from Seattle to London in 2016, life got complicated, and I couldn’t find the time to train for a Marathon that year, but I registered for Paris in 2017.
Paris was in April. It meant I’d have to start training in December of 2016 and training through the cold and wet weather. My goal for Paris was 4:15. I put my plan in place and trained. The weather forecast for the race caught me by surprise: Sunny and 26C. By the time the Marathon started, it was already hot, and the sun was burning. The runners were all trying to run in the shade. I was feeling strong and had a fantastic race until mile 24.
If you don’t know about endurance sport, when you sweat you lose electrolytes (salt) and your body, particularly your muscles, don’t function as well as they should to the point that it can shutdown (cramps). I trained for Paris to drink between 3–4L of water. I only took electrolytes (Nuun) in the first 1L of water and plain water afterward. I end up drinking 5–6L of water, and it threw my muscles into a really bad place.
I stopped to refill my water bottle with 2 miles to go at about 3:50 into the race, which meant I was going to finish under 4:15 like I planned, but when I started running again, my legs were locked. My muscles on both legs had cramped. I ran the last 2-miles in a Frankenstein-style. It took me 30 minutes to do the last two miles.
London 2018
Each Marathon I run I learn a new thing I didn’t know about the body and the mind: biomechanics, metabolism, training, posture, stretching, etc. To begin with, I only got a spot confirmed in the London Marathon in late December, for a race in April (16-weeks left). I found a great charity in London, Chickenshed, who offered me the spot.
I trained the hardest I ever trained for a Marathon. I weigh the lowest I ever weigh since I was 19-years old, at 64Kg (141lbs), with 10.5% body fat. I trained not only for endurance, but for the first time I was taking Core Body training seriously as well (you need strong hips, abs, and lower back muscles).
Three days before the London Marathon we received a warning from the organizers about extremely hot conditions expected to be up to 22C (72F). I shrugged. I did Paris at 26C (79F). I knew what I was getting myself into (you know the story here, don’t you?). For the record, my training was between December and April, at temperatures ranging from -1C to 10C (30F to 50F).
It was hot. This time I packed five electrolytes tablets with me, and I didn’t skip the water stations to throw water into my head to cool down. I knew I was in trouble after the first 5Km because my heart was at a much higher rate (~169bpm) than it should have been, likely due to the heat. By the halfway mark (13-miles), I was just two minutes behind my plan, but feeling more tired than I expected. I was worried it would be the first time I couldn’t finish the race. I decided to slow down. Finishing was more important than trying to beat my record.
When I saw the Tower Bridge, packed with spectators cheering, I had that moment that happens to me every once in a while: the feeling of being lucky in life! Running the freakin’ London Marathon. A Marathon. In London. If you haven’t been high on endorphins, it’s hard to imagine what those feelings are like.
At one point, around mile 19, I did the calculations wrong in my head and thought I was going to finish in 4:45 or more. That was incredibly demotivating. Then I crossed the 20-mile marker at around 3:05-ish and realized that I had it all wrong, I was still inside the range of possibility to finish under 4:15, and I got my mojo back.
If someone tells you there is a point in a Marathon that it gets easier, it’s a lie! It only gets harder, from mile to mile. I was able to stabilize my heart rate at 164 bpm (from unusually high variation between 154–175), but my pace started suffering from all the walking and constant stopping for water.
I didn’t notice the mile marker 25, and when I raised my head, I saw the sign that said 1,000m to go. Bam! Let’s run faster now. Wham! Cramps at 800m to go! It was only one leg and the back-side of the thigh. I was worried about it locking in place. I paused for 15 seconds, did a quick stretch, and continued. I was able to finish running. Passed the 400m mark. Then the 200m mark. Then I saw Buckingham Palace, and I thought it was cool.
I turned left to the final hundred meters, and I saw the finish live. My entire body was taken by an indescribable emotion, like a slow-moving wave of energy that starts at every fiber of your body and hits your chest. An out-of-body feeling and sense of achievement. At this point, I couldn’t care less about my timing. I just turned around to view the beautiful UK flags waving, the crowd cheering, and the Palace in the background. I failed to capture a picture.
And then…
I want to do that again! I know I can do better than 4:21. I know I have it in me to do under 4:00. But, mostly, I want to keep the endorphin-high top-of-the-world feeling keep going through my veins.
As a side benefit, marathon training is also a great way for me to be healthy and in shape, while working the crazy hours and lifestyle of the tech world.
Chicago vs. New York vs. Paris vs. London
Here is my comparison of which one is best in each category.
Time of the year
I much prefer Marathons that are in the Fall than Spring. Training is
what takes the most time, and it’s much easier to train during the
Summer.
Winner: Chicago & New York
Start Time
In the US races start super early. I’ve been to races that start at 7:00
AM for god’s sake. Chicago and New York were that kind of race. New York
was worse because I had to take a bus to Staten Island. London started
at 10:00, and Paris around 9:30.
Winner: Paris & London
Start Line
New York has the lamest start. You are in the middle of nowhere, and you
don’t feel the energy. Chicago you start from the middle of the city.
Paris you start at the Champs Elysee with the Arc de Triumph behind you!
And, London starts from Greenwich, the birthplace of GMT! London is
really cool and it gets to a close second, but Paris was just
amazing — and it’s a downhill start!
Winner: Paris (close second: London)
Course Difficulty
All the big Marathons have a pretty flat course. Chicago is mostly flat
except for the last two miles with a little bit of uphill. New York has
ups-and-downs, but it’s not bad. Paris is about the same as New York.
London, it’s the flattest. There was only one onramp about 50m long with
a high-inclination, and the start in Greenwich means you start from the
top and then go down.
Winner: London
Course Scenery
Let me pause for a minute and realize I’m comparing epic and iconic
cities here. Cities where tens of millions of people travel every year
just to see the same things I see while running. Chicago is a beautiful
city with beautiful rivers and lake, but it doesn’t have the landmarks
these other cities have. New York, you run through all 5 Boroughs, and
you finish at Central Park, but the race doesn’t go through some of the
most well-known parts of the city. Paris is Paris. You start and finish
at the Arc de Triumph. You run next to the Louvre, and you for one or
two miles you are next to the Seine with a view of the Eiffel Tower.
However, in London, the course hits the spot. You start at Greenwich;
you run next to the Thames, you run under the Tower Bridge; you see The
Shard, The Gherkin, and The Walkie-Talkie (Fenchurch). And then, as if
it was no big deal, in the last two miles you see The London Eye,
Westminster, Big Ben, and you finish in front of the Buckingham Palace.
The only thing missing is the Harry Potter Tour to do your standard
must-see attractions list in London.
Winner: London (second place: Paris)
Crowd
The crowd can make a Marathon that much more enjoyable. It’s great to see the kids, the signs, the family and friends waiting to see a loved one go by. People who live in the route of the race sit in their window or porch, have a drink watch us running, and enjoy our self-torture. In Paris, they put your first name next to your number (in big letters). When I could barely run on mile 25, I hear a scream from the crowd cheering from a French man: “Allez Marcelo!” That gave me an extra shot of energy to keep going. The Chicago crowd was great, but in many areas, it was very sparse. That happened in New York and Paris as well. In London, it was packed the whole course.
More than the other cities, in London there was a lot of people
providing slices of orange, bananas, and energy tablets to the runners.
It was cute and heartwarming to see the kids holding bowls of fruits for
the runners. But, of all the crowds, in all these cities, the best one
was in New York, more specifically, the people in Brooklyn. The signs
and attitude were fun and funny. If there is a birthplace of satire,
sarcasm, and pun, it must be Brooklyn.
Winner: New York (second: London & Paris)
The Runners
I’m not a fast runner, and I’m also not a walker. But every time, I’m surprised by some of the runners, and not in a positive way. First, runner etiquette is lacking in all races. You might get spat on, hit by a flying water bottle, step on a banana peel, or be sprayed with water by mistake. You might run into someone who just decided to change “lane” without even looking if someone was coming from behind. But the worst is the people who decide to take a walk smack in the middle of the road without going to the sides first. Compound that with several people walking, and you can’t pass through them. It’s the minority that acts like that, but it does make for some stressful moments.
I don’t have any real stats, but it also felt that London had the least
number of experienced runners. It seemed to be the first marathon for a
lot of people, and there were a lot more people walking than in other
cities. Also, in London and Paris, I saw a lot of people passing out. It
could be because of the heat on both races, but in Paris, I saw many
runners vomiting and in London a lot of people laying on the ground
waiting for emergency help.
Winner: New York
Finish Line
The finish line is the apex of the experience. From the day you register
through all the training, it’s what you want to see. It’s beautiful to
see the large digital clock and that finish line. The emotion starts to
come to you before you cross it. The crowd is cheering, the
photographers are shooting non-stop, there are finishers to your right
and to your left, some of them limping, some crying, but all are
celebrating. I can’t say there was a bad finish line. Chicago, New York,
Paris, and London were all amazing. London was utterly stunning. The
Buckingham Palace in the back, the red-ish pavement color of The Mall,
the UK flags waving. Wow! I had high expectations for Paris, but they
finished too far from the Arc de Triumph to get that wow feeling.
Winner: London (second: New York)
What’s next?
I don’t feel I’m done running Marathons yet. Even at the moment I’m writing this, still with sore legs four days after the race, I want to run several more. There is a group of six marathons that are called the World Marathon Majors, and that includes Chicago, New York, Boston, London, Berlin, and Tokyo. I’ve done three of those and would love to do Berlin and Tokyo soon. Boston requires me to qualify, and that’s going to be hard. Those who finish all six are called the “Six Stars Finishers.”
Participating in the popular Marathons is becoming harder each day. London had about 380,000 people in the lottery for about 40,000 spots (the other spots are reserved for fast runners, charity runners, professionals, etc.). Each year, more people run, and more people want to run Marathons. I couldn’t get a spot in Berlin this year (Sept/2018), but I’ll try again for next year. I’ll also try a spot in London, and maybe I do Seattle a few years from now (Seattle Marathon is known as a tough one, both because it has lots of hills, but also because it’s in late November, which tends to be cold and wet).
Keep running!
