ATHLETES HAVE BIGGER HEARTS
11/07/2021. TCS New York City Marathon I write this to remember
The week prior: I got an overwhelming number of good luck messages. My family came to NYC. Uber ride: I texted my friends good luck. Ferry ride: Is this even real? Marathon Village: Fuuuun, it is happening.
This is it. I chug coffee, eat bagels, get fueled. As if needed. We’re all f---n pumped. THIS IS IT. We’ve all been waiting this moment for a long time. Nico for years, like many other runners. For me, three months. How did I end up here? When did I jump on this marathon bus?
I had the toughest year, mentally, so far. 2021 did not start well for me, and in August when I heard vaguely of an opportunity to run the NYC marathon I took it. Hesitant, I asked Bunji to give me and Nico a spot. I kind of did it more for him than for me, I didn't really want it. It turned into a FOMO dare, us running together. But hey, I got it, and then I couldn’t say no. Thank god I didn't say no.
Ok, back to the Marathon Village. Laura, Luis and Nico, gran parche. We all get our cozy funny hats to go with our cozy funny giveaway outfits. We’re just friends, chilling, freezing, 7 am getting coffee in Staten Island. We all want to start in wave 1 but Luis and I are on wave 2. “We have a friend at the filter, he might let us all in” says Luis. He did, indeed, let us in, and all 4 of us got to start at wave 1. “More time afterward with our family”, says Nico. I agree, it’s all about sharing this with them.
We go to our wave and corral, get rid of the extra clothing and blankets, place them on the donation piles and get ready to go. Hair up, watches set. We’ve prepared our marathon outfits for weeks (nothing new on race day), Nico and me are twining with leopard prints. I took this panther/feline mood in 2021 as a “go get it” mentality. The Marathon fits right into it, so we dress accordingly with animal print. Wrar.
9:15. BANG, we start running. The Verrazzano Bridge is so beautiful and peaceful. Runners run, people smile, the only noise comes from the choppers above us. 2 miles later we hit the ground, Brooklyn Baby!! People shout, there are drums, there are cooking pots, there are kids and old people and families all cheering hyped-up runners. We go up through Bay Ridge and Sunset Park. I feel the city, policemen all over say hi and clap, garbage trucks are parked next to the route and the drivers can't stop honking, firemen cheer while getting their morning coffee. The city workers feel very present. 4th Avenue, Park Slope, Gowanus. I get a few "Juliana que mala eres" from mai fellow salseros. It is warm, people are warm. I see Vane, the first friend cheering on the course, and so it starts.
Turn on Flatbush to get on Lafayette and, HOW is this real!? Brooklyn is the best place in the world. DJ Pottassium (What!?), kids high five’ing, breakdance, signs, can I please pause life? I want to stay here forever. Fort Green, you are fun. We dance, we scream. We are playing around with physics: we are so hyped that we run faster, but also slower to soak up all this energy.
We turn on Bedford, already a third of the race. Where is the distance going? I feel I’m just starting, warming up. A few quiet blocks over Bedford Av, a right turn, and there is a Police car with Puerto Rican flags blasting Jerry Rivera, this is the world I want to live in.. one more block and there it is, the Williamsburg Bridge. I’m getting home, I’m entering my territory, and my family is there waiting for me. This is insane, how on earth have I run up until here, to see my family standing right where I stand every year on the first Sunday in November to watch the race? I’m so happy! And there it is, the Colombian Flag. Haha!! WHAT!?
My brain is flying, we go thru McCarren Park, North Brooklyn Runners are there cheering at the water station, turn left to hit Manhattan Ave and BOOOOM Waka Waka is playing. We do a weird dance run, we slow down to go doooown. Nico and I see each other and we can’t believe this is happening. We are having the time of our lives!
And so it goes, Greenpoint, Pulaski Bridge, Long Island City and I start feeling my body getting tired. It’s km 22ish already, it makes sense. But I have half more to go. Queensboro Bridge, I’ve done this a million times, and even though most people say this is “The Wall”, it won’t be for me, because I KNOW this bridge. It’s actually nice, I start seeing most people struggle, they haven’t trained with this bridge, and it is steep. But I have, and hey, for a change: it’s quiet.
I get a feeling of camaraderie, we are doing this marathon together. The 20something thousand runners are together doing it in unison. It is that feeling of group effort that makes me love sports. This is why I run, bike, swim, walk, play. This is the type of people I connect with the most, the athletes, the people that push themselves for any reason to give more of themselves. I am part of this and I love it.
Manhattan, we land at the roaring city, sounds literally like a roaring lion. It is LOUD. Around 59th street and up 1st ave. Cheering is over the top. Very different from Brooklyn where everyone stepped into the street and ran alongside you, Manhattan is more “civilized”. People are behind street fences so the avenues are for yourself. I feel like the internet dog that thought the Pope’s parade in Mexico was for him. (Google "Dog thinks parade is for him" if you haven’t seen this lovely pooch) We see Laura and Andres cheering on our way up, I feel slow, tired, but there are still about 15km to go. Nico is running a few meters in front of me, pumping spectators to cheer for me as he goes. He points at me and screams “Juliana” for what feels like a lot of kilometers. This is where I know that without him, I would have come just this far.
My face starts melting, Nico insists I have to smile. We cross the Willis Ave Bridge and I smile. I read somewhere that if you smile when you are suffering, the brain tricks itself from pain and starts thinking it is fine, so I smile. I go through the Bronx fake-smiling. The body starts to hurt a lot. I turn to my left and I recognize the guy running next to me. We did one of the long runs to Rockaway Beach together a few months ago with NBR. He’s destroyed, but I know he’s done this many times before, so I try to support him and cheer him up. “You look fresh as a cucumber” I say. He laughs. We are in this together, again this feeling of camaraderie invades me. My body wants to succumb and I want to cry, but I’m also happy. How is this possible? I’m about to stop and cry like a baby but I’m still being the support a fellow runner needs. All this time, Nico is having the best time of his life, he’s laughing, talking to me (I can’t answer back at this point), and cheering me up. I love him.
Ok, back to Manhattan, 5th avenue and I know what’s coming. I’ve run this route before, I know the last 6 miles are hell but it’s one more hour. One more hour and I’m done. I need to concentrate so I focus on my breathing, my pace, and I start looking at the floor. The cheering helped up until here, now this is a race against myself. So I zone out, I sometimes hear a “Go Juliana”, put my thumb up to say thanks, and continue looking down. I just need to go thru.
This is true until we enter Central Park. Dani is there! With JJ’s huge face. Ale is also there. I love my friends. Throughout the whole course, I had received many, many cheers on my watch from friends both here in NYC and from around the world. First and foremost Mona. She sent packages of 10+ messages at the start and every few km. She was my main texter that day. I knew she was enjoying it too. Juana from Bogota, María from Galicia, Caro from Paris, Nati from Mexico City, Camis from Monterrey, Momo from the Finish Line. So many texts came by to my watch on the last 10km.
I exit Central Park, 2km to go. Can I ugly cry now? So. Much. Pain. Wait, Joni is there! Heeey, get ready, start smiling THIS IS IT. I shake pain off, or just numb my body from the neck down. I see people cheering other people, suddenly I see Caro. Weird, many years living in the same city and this is how we encounter! Ok, Central Park again, less than 1 km to go. Finish strong. I suddenly feel Fresh As A Cucumber. Nico has been pulling me since km 30, now I match his pace, try to run as fast as I can, and BOOOM: Colombian flag again, Momo’s there and I hear Patu “Cogelaaa!” With such a strong “G”, it brings me back to life. I take it, give one side to Nico and there we are, the Finish Line a few meters away. I see my parents jumping, no one else is there but us. I feel so much joy, I don't need anyone else. I am complete.
This is exactly what I needed. I cross the finish line, my heart is bigger now.
I feel so much love for my forever hero Nico, for my family for getting to NY in the cold season to see me cross that line, for everyone that texted me before, during, and after the race, called me, cheered on and off the course. For the 100+ texts I had on my phone when I finished and the many IG messages, tags, photos, and mentions I got. I feel energized for having re-connected with people I hadn’t spoken to in years and the overall positivity around a Marathon.
I had a blast. I feel like I’m writing for my yearbook, but as I think about it, this is my biggest achievement in life so far. At least the one I care about the most. Because of the moment it is happening at, the people I was surrounded by, and the location.
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MY HEART IS BIGGER NOW. I hope I inspired someone to say YES to something new, to push themselves harder, to fake-smile to go thru. Please reach out if I did. This is the type of “romance” I believe in: the love in believing in yourself and pushing people around you to be their best.
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Not mentioned above but equally important: Tyty; Mitch & Helen; Stef; JJ; Andrea; Dani; Cat; Alejo; rides de PPPP, 5 AM.
Much love.
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<3
