A lil inspirational

It's officially November. And the first weekend of November marks the annual New York City Marathon!

Literally thousands of runners took over the city streets yesterday. I won't lie, I really love the marathon. New Yorkers also take to the streets to watch, cheer and support all the runners. It's kinda cool.

So upon waking up to text(s) from Caroline about brunch at 11am, noticing my clock said 11:05am and feeling completely confused - the whole fall back time thing really threw me off - we met Julia and Seaver for an Upper West Side roommate brunch at Isabella's. Afterwards, Caroline and I walked over to the Park for some marathon watching.

We picked a spot by the trees near the start of the 26th mile, about 200 yards from the finish line. And we watched the runners. I know this may not sound incredibly exciting or even interesting. But it's really one of my favorite New York things to see.

My friend Michelle, who moved away this past summer after graduating from Columbia, returned to the city to run her second NYC Marathon this weekend. Yes, a 2x marathoner. I'm so proud of her! And after watching her run last year, I knew I enjoyed being towards the end of race, definitely most exciting at the end.

We found ourselves behind a few women who weren't cheering for anyone in particular, but were quite dedicated to cheering. Yelling out names or countries, clapping and encouraging as the runners passed. They were hilarious. And their cheeriness was quite infectious.

Caro: "Wow, they sure have a lot of friends running!"
LJ (with a side glance): "I don't think they're cheering for people they know, I think they're just cheering to the one's with names on their shirts..."
Caro (bursts out laughing): "Ohhhhh, right..."

And then there was a woman holding a balloon so that her husband would see it as he was running past and know she was there. He stopped, grabbed her and kissed her as he ran by. They both had tears in their eyes. So did I!

When you watch their faces, these runners that have been going strong for so many hours, they've come so far and are so very close to the finish line. Some are smiling, some are focused, some are on the verge of exhaustion, some are dressed in costume, some are visibly struggling with each step, some pick up speed as the cheers get louder, some scan the sides looking for their people, and some throw their fists in the air in celebration.

I can't imagine what this must feel like for them. Finishing up a 6 hour run. Incredible! I found myself wondering about their stories - Who were they? Is this their first marathon? What are they feeling? How long did they prepare for this moment? Are they excited? What do they do once it's over and they've reached their goal? Would they run the 26 miles over again?

It's all a lil bit inspiring. Don't you think?