When I heard that the Hot Chocolate race series was coming to New York, I was excited and registered at the first opportunity. The race series is known for some great swag, with the giveaway being a zip up technical sweatshirt, a medal at the finish line that looks like a chocolate bar, and a mug full of hot chocolate and fondue.

My Uncle Tom had headed to the expo for us on Friday, as he works in the area. They expo had super limited hours, only operating from 10-7 on they day before the race, so it made it difficult to get to. But it was lucky for us that his job was in the area and he could pop into the expo to grab our bibs and jackets. Sophie and I had signed up with a promo code, so we got hats as well.

Come Saturday morning my alarm startled me into consciousness, and I had to shift an unconscious cat off of me to get moving. I had packed up my race day bag the night before, so I got dressed and was on the way. Sophie had agreed to drive into Brooklyn, so I only had to make the two mile drive to my parents house. Sophie was about as sleepy as me, and the two of us headed to Kasey’s house to grab her next. She was very bitter about the early hour, and she did not speak until we were a solid 20 minutes into the drive, at which point she could suddenly hear us talking.

The race guide had recommended reserving parking in advance, so we were headed for a parking garage just outside of Prospect park that we had found on spot hero. We got to the garage around 6:15, and while we though it would be quick to drop off the car, there was only one person working so it took longer than expected to drop it off - by the time we were walking to the start line it was 6:45. The race was scheduled to start at 7, and we had a little more than a mile to travel to get to the start line, which we knew was around the middle area of prospect park - it was going to be a bit of an adventure, as none of us really knew where we were going.

We headed in the direction of the start line, taking in some pre-race fuel as we moved, and eventually heard music in the distance. Once we heard the music we were able to follow it until we found the masses of runners heading in the same direction, and got to the start just as the first corral was being released. We pulled over quickly so i could re-tie my shoes, and then hopped into the next corral and were ready to get moving.

I suppose the walk had been a good warm up, because I was able to settle in faster than usual. The course was 2.5 loops of Prospect park, and I was worried that the hills would feel killer like they did when I ran the Jingle All the Way 5k with Mike and Carson, but they somehow felt more manageable this time around. We took on the largest of the hills right before the first mile, and would run up it twice more before the race was through.

Around the second mile marker they had a chocolate chip station, but it wasn’t well marked so i didn’t notice what it was until I was already passed it. There was also a Nuun and water station near there, and I did manage to grab a cup or strawberry-lemonade Nuun as we went by.

As we continued on our loop we soon reached the point where the 5k course split from the 15k course, and we had to take a moment to all jokingly suggest that we could easily turn left and just be done with the whole thing - Okay, for Kasey perhaps it was a little more than a joke, as she had threatened several times that she was going to drop down to the shorter race distance in the weeks leading up to the race, but Sophie and I somehow convinced her to stay signed up for the 15k so we could all run it together.

On the back side of the first loop was another aid station, this time serving marshmallows with the Nuun and water. Soon after my watch buzzed to indicate we were through mile 4, and I looked around for a mile marker, as I couldn’t see one, even in the distance. Eventually I managed to spot the sign - it had flopped over on the side of the road as a result of the wind.

Loop two slipped by quicker than the first, knowing exactly what to expect the second time around. We noticed that more and more of the mile markers were being knocked over by the wind, and the crowds of runners thinned out on the second loop - apparently many of the people running with us had opted for the 5k over the 15k. Towards the end of the second loop Kasey’s shoulder started bothering her, so I took over the responsibility of holding her water bottle… so I am pretty sure that’s worth her signing up for at least one more race, right?

The final loop was shorter than the first two, and after one final pass of the aid stations we followed the signs to the finish line. Kasey fell a little behind Sophie and I towards the end, but I could still spot her right there when I looked over my shoulder. There were some people on the course walking away from the finish line, totally oblivious that they were in the way of runners that were still on the course. We crossed the finish line, collected our medals, and then had a short walk over to the post-race party, where we collected our coveted finisher’s mugs. There was a dog park near the finisher party, so there were a ton of dogs wandering about, and one even had to come over and say hi to Sophie. The mugs were piled high with treats like hot chocolate, fondue, rice krispys and marshmallows. We hung out in the post race area long enough to fill up on goodies, and then retrieved Sophie’s car from the garage, and started our drive home.

This was my third year running the united airlines half, and the third year for a new course.
The race started in prospect park in Brooklyn this year, so i carpooled to the start from Long Island with some friends.
We had to go through medal detectors to get into the start area.
It was a cold morning, so they handed out hear sheets pre- race, which was really nice.
There were plenty of porter potties in the pre race area, so there was no last minute rush to the start line.
Since it was a cold morning, my feet were a little numb as i lined up in the starting corral.
Once the race got moving, the scenery was amazing as ever. I love that you get to run from Brooklyn into manhattan for this race, the views from the bridge are amazing. Plus, once you are in manhattan, you get to run through times square and finish in central park.
At the end of the race they have UPS trucks waiting with your checked bags.

Another week, another race recap, this time a local one: The Mardi Gras Run to the Great south bay brewery. This race is put on by the greater long island running club, and is marketed as a fast, flat race with an awesome after party. Was the after party fun? Yes. Would I call the course flat? Not so much. Mike, Sophie, Carson and I all decided to sign up for this race, and Emily agreed to come along to cheer us on, and drink my share of beer at the after party - a big perk of this race is that it includes a post race party that has plenty of beer to go around, all of which is brewed locally. Personally, I don’t like beer, but I do enjoy a good after party, and was happy to DD this one so that my friends could enjoy the party. Emily, Sophie and I decided to pick up the race bibs the night before the race, so that we could sleep in a little later on race morning, and make sure we got our shirts in the sizes we wanted. We headed to the brewery in the afternoon to grab our bibs, and they were handing out a free drink ticket when you got your race supplies, so we stopped and had a drink as well. They had cider on tap that night in addition to all of their beers, so I was happy to get at least one drink out of this race! The bib pickup was located in a back room, which would serve as the VIP race area the following day, and the room was pretty empty when we got there. They allowed us to pick up Mike and Carson’s race supplies as well, which I always appreciate being allowed. As a bonus, there were GLIRC (Greater Long Island Running Club) calenders available, which list all of our local races, so I grabbed one of those to hang in my cube at work. The brewery had a nice open room for its patrons, complete with ping pong, live music, and colorful artwork on the walls. We managed to find seating in what appeared to be old airline chairs, and enjoyed our drinks and chatted for awhile before heading home to prepare for the following day’s race. It turned out to be a good decision on our part to pick up the bibs early, as they ran out of shirts (and medals too!). Come race morning I made the rounds to pick up my friends, other than Carson, who was meeting us at the Brewery, since she was coming in from Brooklyn. It was a quick ride over, and the race had people out directing traffic, so it was easy to find parking. We got there about 45 minutes before start time, and had no issue with parking. We got all of our race gear together, and headed into the brewery to wait until start time. It was a cold morning, so it was very nice to not have to wait outside. We walked out just before they sang the national anthem, and all crossed the start line together. The first mile of the race was crowded, so the four of us wound up weaving a little. We all run pretty close paces, and no one was looking to intensely race, so we figured we would stick together as much as possible. I was having a hard time getting into a groove, so I was glad to have company. The course was well manned, with volunteers stationed frequently to send runners in the right direction. Unfortunately there was some road kill in the middle of the course that we had to run by not once but twice, and I’m not really sure why an effort wasn’t made to remove it prior to race start. Around mile three we were all feeling the miles in our shins and quads, and while there weren’t any major climbs during the race, there were slight, consistent uphills that wore on our legs. I made a mental note to check the elevation profile on my garmin later that day. There were two official water stops, and a third unofficial one, where someone was hanging out water bottles to runners as they went by. There was also a porter potty at about the half way point, but other than that there were no restrooms on the course. We had consistently been running between 10-10:30 miles, but when we hit mile 6 and only one mile remained ahead of us, Carson decided to pick up the pace, and being the competitive individual I am, I of course obliged. We raced back and forth over the last mile, but as we approached the finish line we were loosing Mike and Sophie, and I really wanted to finish with them, and we called it a truce so we could try to get a nice finishers photo.... a truce that did not last, when Carson saw the finish line and started sprinting. I had taken the whole race easy, so for me it wasn’t worth sprinting at the end, as I valued finishing with my friends above a quick 0.1 mile sprint. We crossed the finish line and were handed our medals- a luxury that not all finishers got that day, as the race actually ran out before everyone had completed the run. They assured runners that they would be mailing out medals to anyone that did not receive one, and cited high “day of” race registration as being the cause of the shortage. We headed over to the car to change out of our sweaty clothes and into our race shirts, and then went into the brewery to enjoy the after party. They had a huge space set up, with several types of beer and lots of food to go around. They had subs, muffins, bagels, packaged waffles, and popcorn, as well as water and sodas. It was a bit crowded to get to the food, but once we had our spoils we all enjoyed our meal, and my friends enjoyed their drinks. We stayed until the party ended, dancing to the live band and relaxing post race. All in all, it was a fun event, and I would recommend checking it out if you’re local to Long Island, or if you’re really into after parties that have all you can drink beer.

The one down side: The race did run out of shirts and medals, as a result of the high number of sign ups that happened on race week. But they did mail out the swag to anyone who missed out on race day.

Another week, another race recap, this time a local one: The Mardi Gras Run to the Great south bay brewery. This race is put on by the greater long island running club, and is marketed as a fast, flat race with an awesome after party. Was the after party fun? Yes. Would I call the course flat? Not so much. Mike, Sophie, Carson and I all decided to sign up for this race, and Emily agreed to come along to cheer us on, and drink my share of beer at the after party - a big perk of this race is that it includes a post race party that has plenty of beer to go around, all of which is brewed locally. Personally, I don’t like beer, but I do enjoy a good after party, and was happy to DD this one so that my friends could enjoy the party. Emily, Sophie and I decided to pick up the race bibs the night before the race, so that we could sleep in a little later on race morning, and make sure we got our shirts in the sizes we wanted. We headed to the brewery in the afternoon to grab our bibs, and they were handing out a free drink ticket when you got your race supplies, so we stopped and had a drink as well. They had cider on tap that night in addition to all of their beers, so I was happy to get at least one drink out of this race! The bib pickup was located in a back room, which would serve as the VIP race area the following day, and the room was pretty empty when we got there. They allowed us to pick up Mike and Carson’s race supplies as well, which I always appreciate being allowed. As a bonus, there were GLIRC (Greater Long Island Running Club) calenders available, which list all of our local races, so I grabbed one of those to hang in my cube at work. The brewery had a nice open room for its patrons, complete with ping pong, live music, and colorful artwork on the walls. We managed to find seating in what appeared to be old airline chairs, and enjoyed our drinks and chatted for awhile before heading home to prepare for the following day’s race. It turned out to be a good decision on our part to pick up the bibs early, as they ran out of shirts (and medals too!). Come race morning I made the rounds to pick up my friends, other than Carson, who was meeting us at the Brewery, since she was coming in from Brooklyn. It was a quick ride over, and the race had people out directing traffic, so it was easy to find parking. We got there about 45 minutes before start time, and had no issue with parking. We got all of our race gear together, and headed into the brewery to wait until start time. It was a cold morning, so it was very nice to not have to wait outside. We walked out just before they sang the national anthem, and all crossed the start line together. The first mile of the race was crowded, so the four of us wound up weaving a little. We all run pretty close paces, and no one was looking to intensely race, so we figured we would stick together as much as possible. I was having a hard time getting into a groove, so I was glad to have company. The course was well manned, with volunteers stationed frequently to send runners in the right direction. Unfortunately there was some road kill in the middle of the course that we had to run by not once but twice, and I’m not really sure why an effort wasn’t made to remove it prior to race start. Around mile three we were all feeling the miles in our shins and quads, and while there weren’t any major climbs during the race, there were slight, consistent uphills that wore on our legs. I made a mental note to check the elevation profile on my garmin later that day. There were two official water stops, and a third unofficial one, where someone was hanging out water bottles to runners as they went by. There was also a porter potty at about the half way point, but other than that there were no restrooms on the course. We had consistently been running between 10-10:30 miles, but when we hit mile 6 and only one mile remained ahead of us, Carson decided to pick up the pace, and being the competitive individual I am, I of course obliged. We raced back and forth over the last mile, but as we approached the finish line we were loosing Mike and Sophie, and I really wanted to finish with them, and we called it a truce so we could try to get a nice finishers photo.... a truce that did not last, when Carson saw the finish line and started sprinting. I had taken the whole race easy, so for me it wasn’t worth sprinting at the end, as I valued finishing with my friends above a quick 0.1 mile sprint. We crossed the finish line and were handed our medals- a luxury that not all finishers got that day, as the race actually ran out before everyone had completed the run. They assured runners that they would be mailing out medals to anyone that did not receive one, and cited high “day of” race registration as being the cause of the shortage. We headed over to the car to change out of our sweaty clothes and into our race shirts, and then went into the brewery to enjoy the after party. They had a huge space set up, with several types of beer and lots of food to go around. They had subs, muffins, bagels, packaged waffles, and popcorn, as well as water and sodas. It was a bit crowded to get to the food, but once we had our spoils we all enjoyed our meal, and my friends enjoyed their drinks. We stayed until the party ended, dancing to the live band and relaxing post race. All in all, it was a fun event, and I would recommend checking it out if you’re local to Long Island, or if you’re really into after parties that have all you can drink beer.

The one down side: The race did run out of shirts and medals, as a result of the high number of sign ups that happened on race week. But they did mail out the swag to anyone who missed out on race day.

Three months into the year, I found myself preparing for my fourth half marathon, the third in a four week period. Looking back to when I was registering for all of these races, I’m not entirely sure that I realized just how close together they were!

I earned a guaranteed entry to the 2018 United Airlines NYC half by running 4 of the races in the New York road runners “five borough series” in 2017. When the registration for this year’s race rolled around, I signed up and Kasey and Rachel both entered the lotto, so we would have a chance to all run the race together. Lotto day came, and Rachel got into the race! But, as often happens to the well made plans of mice and men, life got in the way, and Rachel was offered a job in San Francisco... with a start date of March 12th. So, she cancelled her entry, and since Kasey wasn’t quite as lucky with the lottery, I was headed into race day solo.

A few other members of the Merrick bicycles Tri Team were also running the NYC Half, and in the weeks leading up to the race everyone began planning when they were going to pick up their bibs, and how they were going to get to Brooklyn on race morning. Some of my teammates work in NYC, and one of them, Laura, offered to do a proxy bib pickup for anyone who didn’t want to make the trek into the city. I was so thankful that she offered, because it meant I could take it easy the day before the race, rather than fighting the masses that head into Manhattan for St. Patrick’s Day.

The LIRR has been a mess the last few months, and race morning was to be no exception – there was interrupted service on trains heading to Atlantic Terminal, where we needed to head so we could catch a subway to the start. So, another member of the tri team, Tom, proposed a plan – we schedule and Uber to pick us up at the Hicksville train station, and just get a ride to the start line. None of us had ever scheduled an Uber pick-up before, so we were all a little nervous the night before the race, but everything went smoothly and there was a mini-van waiting for us at the train station at 5 a.m. on race morning.

As usual, the night before the race I got everything together that I would need. Since MBTT is now an official NYRR team, I decided to wear my team shirt for the race, over a long sleeve underarmor shirt. I also opted for underarmor leggings, since the forecast was projecting cold temps in the mid-20s. I packed up my SPI belt, and all of the Gu that I would need for the race – some salted watermelon and blackberry gels, and some roctane powder mixed into a waterbottle to drink pre-race. Plus, my headphones, inhaler, and an outfit to change into post-race. Since I still had the heat sheet I had gotten at last week’s rock ‘n roll half, I packed that up too.

Dennis agreed to drop me off at the train station on race morning, and I easily spotted Tom when we got there, as he was the only other runner waiting around a train station at that hour. I grabbed a bagel at dunkin doughnuts, and by the time I had my food our Uber was there. We waited a few more minutes for our teammates to arrive, and then we were on our way to the start line. One of the guys we were with, Kenny, had just completed a double iron man the weekend before, along with our tri team coach Jackie – how amazing is that! I am constantly in awe of the feats that the members of MBTT complete, and I was even more impressed that Kenny was already taking on a half marathon just a week later – I’m pretty sure I would have still have been camped out on my couch. Laura gave me the bib and t-shirt that she had picked up for me, and I pinned my bib to my shirt as we headed towards Brooklyn. I tried to eat the bagel that I had picked up, but it was not fresh, so after a few bites I gave up.

We got to the start area without a hitch, and made our way over to the bag check trucks. Realizing that to enter the start area we would need to part with our bags, we decided to wait outside the start area for a bit as we weren’t quite ready to part with the layers of clothing we were wearing, but planned to check. Eventually Tailia, another member of the tri team, met up with us as well and as 6:50 approached, when the bag check was closing, we reluctantly handed over our checked bags and made our way towards the security line. To get into the start area for this race everyone has to go through a metal detector, and no bags were allowed through security. Tailia and I walked towards the corrals together, but parted ways when we reached corral H, which was my stop, and she continued up to corral C. With about a half-hour to kill before race start, I picked at the Kind Bar that I had brought with me as a pre-race meal, and then jumped into the porter potty line.

It was cold waiting for the race to start, and just like had happened as I waited in 2017, my toes went entirely numb. I shuffled in place trying to keep warm, and it was a relief when the race finally started, and they began releasing the corrals. The shuffle slowly turned into a run as we crossed the start line, and so the race began.

As soon as I passed through the start line, the crowd opened up as everyone relaxed into their race pace. Since the race started in Brooklyn this year, it was a different view than last year’s start in central park. The new course started on Flatbush Avenue, and we soon passed by grand army plaza. At this point I was just waiting for my feet to warm up – at least my hands were warm enough, so I shifted my hand warmers from by palms to the pockets on the back of my gloves. The first two miles slipped by, and without pushing my pace too much I was holding around an 8:50, and thought to myself, it would be neat if I managed to stay below a 9 min/mi this whole race!

Of course, with mile 3 came the crossing of the East River, via the incline of the Manhattan Bridge. It was the kind of incline that snuck up on me, and I didn’t even realize I had slowed my pace until my watch buzzed out that I had finished mile 3. As it rang in at 9:06, out the window went the thought of an all sub-9 race. I was still feeling good though, and pushed the pace a little to make up for lost time. After the bridge we ran along the East River, the sun shining and reflecting off the water. I could see the Queens Borough Bridge in the distance.

During mile 4 I took my second Gu of the day, eating it as I approached an aid station. For the first few aid stations of the race the volunteers all looked like they were freezing, and no one was passing water to runners. This made it a little difficult to grab a cup of water off of the tables of the aid station without having to slow down, but I somehow managed to grab one without knocking over other cups or spilling water on myself.

At this point, we were in Manhattan, and I was feeling great with my pace. I was still averaging around 8:50, despite the supposed hilliness of the course – honestly, after the hills of the Atlanta Hot Chocolate 15k I really hesitate to classify this course as “hilly” at all, but there was certainly some up and down.

As I made my way into the crossroads of the world, there were spectators sprinkled around the streets, but more people seemed to just be going about their usual Sunday business as we ran through. My Garmin got a little confused as we hit the area of Times Square, likely having trouble locking onto its GPS – suddenly it was convinced I was running a 7:30 pace, which we all know is a lie, especially as it buzzed off its mile alert well before I got to the mile marker for mile 9. I tried to take in the moments of running through the buildings of the city, as this unique part of the course is one of the reasons this race is a favorite of mine. There is just so much to look at as the city is in constant motion.

My stomach started to bother me a little around mile 8, which usually happens to me if I am not fueling enough, so I decided to take another Gu at the next water stop even though it was a little earlier than I normally would. I also started making more of an effort to drink water at the aid stations, as it had been hit or miss with volunteers passing water to runners, so I had been hydrating less than usual. Also, almost every cup of water that I did take was at least partially frozen, so all in all it was a little more complicated than usual to take in the necessary fluids.

I quickly came onto the entrance to central park, which was probably the most densely packed part of the course. Dad texted me, as he had decided to come into the city to meet me at the finish, that he was stationed just before mile 10, right after Cat hill. I was a very over hills as I climbed cat hill, but took solace in the fact that I would not have to climb Harlem hill three times, like I did in January during the Fred Lebow half. I got to the top of the hill, keeping to the left side as I tried to spot Dad, and caught sight of him before he saw me, running by in an excited state, shouting my pace out to him – I was 10 miles in and still averaging a sub-9 pace – Which meant I was on track to PR.

I considered taking a third Gu as I approached the end of the race, but really didn’t feel that I needed another one, so I decided against it.

The final leg of the race was through central park, a route that is more than familiar to me, as almost all of the weekly NYRR races take place there. The finish line was in an unusual spot though, near west 75th street. Knowing the roads of central park helped me push myself through the last few miles, as I knew exactly what kind of course I had ahead of me. As I came into the last mile, I knew that as long as I could keep my current pace, I would PR. Of course, I did some quick math, questioning if I could also manage to come in with a finish time of less than 1:55. It would be super close, and I would have to speed up, but I decided to at least push for the last mile and see how it went. As the finish line grew closer, there were signs up indicating the distance to the finish. When I saw the “800m to go!” sign I thought to myself, well, I know that I can keep a 7 min pace for an 800m repeat when I do track workouts, so why not now? I pushed a little harder, the finish line approaching, and came upon the “400m to go!” sign, still feeling strong. Then the finish line was in sight! I glanced down at my watch, and saw that a 1:55 finish was just out of reach, but I was going to PR. I pumped my arms a little harder, willing myself to keep pushing for the finish line, crossing with a time of 1:55:28 – a three minute PR, and an average mile pace of 8:49.

I didn’t go into this race with a plan to PR, but boy was it an exciting feeling. I set my old PR running this race last year, so it was cool to do it for a second time.

All in all, I liked the new course. Last year we had started the race in central park and finished downtown near one world trade. This year we started in Brooklyn in Prospect Park and finished in central park. Comparing the two experiences, there is one thing about each course that I preferred over the other. For this year’s course I really liked that we got to run over the Manhattan Bridge, something that the old course did not do, as we stayed within Manhattan for the whole race. For the old course, I liked that we finished outside of central park. I like central park, but almost all of the weekly NYRR races finish there, so finishing in a different area of the city was a unique experience. For me, it felt a little anti-climactic to run through Manhattan only to finish in the same area that so many other races finish.

As I made my way through the long finishers chute, I collected my medal, finisher’s recovery bag, and heat sheet, which a volunteer was nice enough to tape on for me. I felt good, proud of my time, and just a little sore from the race. My biggest pain was my right foot, which was not pleased with me for whatever reason. When I escaped the 18-block-long finishers chute I found Dad sitting on a bench in central park. We took a few photos, I swapped to a different pair of shoes and added some layers to my outfit, and then began heading towards the NYRR run center.

My main motive in going to the run center was to see if they had any race beanies left for sale – I had seen them on social media and on other runners during the race, but they weren’t available on the New Balance website. But when we got to the run center, they were doing free medal engraving for NYRR members, which I had never gotten done before. Since the line was short, I hopped in and dropped my medal off to be engraved with my name and finish time. Then we looked around at the merch, only to discover that the hats had sold out the day before. Oh well.

I needed to grab a bit to eat, so Dad and I headed back into the city to find food while we waited for my medal to be ready for pickup. We found a place that served breakfast and lunch around the block, and I secured some French Toast while Dad got some pizza. Just as we finished our meal I got a text that my medal was ready, so we headed back to the run center. They did a great job with the engraving, and it was a super quick process, so I am sure I will take advantage of this perk again in the future.

At last, we hopped on the subway and headed home. For us that journey meant a subway to Penn Station, and then a LIRR train back to Long Island. It was an easy trip home, and I was glad that Dad decided to meet me in the city so we could make the journey together.

Also worth mentioning – this year’s race shirt! We were given purple New Balance long sleeve tech tees, which I am a big fan of.

While getting to the start line was a little bit tricky, I think I will try to run this race again. So far in my running life this is the only half that I have completed two years in a row, so it would be cool if I managed to make an annual tradition out of it!