The TCS New York City Marathon was exciting because of the elite field and the marathon virgins set to debut, but largely in part to seeing two of our athletes who have busted their asses over the summer and fall, picked up coaches when they wanted to evolve, asked themselves the hard questions about self, about possibility, about goals, about work/life balance, and showed up to the starting line healthy. It’s often that a teammate will choose a goal race and have to train for that goal mostly alone. Oftentimes this is true for a post-collegiate, full time working, run-competitor. As a teammate, we might be able to step into a workout, provide pacing, company, whathaveyou, but really, most of the work is done alone. Though it’s the individual’s goal, “Team” provides perspective, power, possibility, inspiration. Through them, we were able cultivate ourselves, live vicariously, live synonymously. These are the intangible things a team provides one another. The two teammates who have inspired us to be better are Aly Howisey and Nikki VanderWiele.

More than 50,000 runners from over 120 countries participated in the 40th annual TCS New York City Marathon on Sunday. Mary Keitany won her third consecutive NYC Marathon in a time of 2:24:26, and four minutes ahead of 2nd place. Eritrea’s Ghirmay Ghebresiassie was 1st in the men’s field in a time of 2:07:51. What was most kickass was watching Molly Huddle debut in a time of 2:28:13, taking 3rd overall female, and first American!

The prize purse totaled $803,000, with the men’s and women’s champions each receiving $100,000.

Howisey and VanderWiele had a vrbo in NYC, where they were able to cook meals. They did a Central Park shakeout with Shalane Flanagan, spotted the talents here and there, and travelled to the race start amidst an incredible sunrise.

The TCS New York City Marathon app was incredible – tracking was pretty on point, and you could follow your athlete on the map, which made it feel so real, where we sat, 3,000 miles away. Each of them endured their own battles, bathroom breaks, mental demons, and crossed the line with immense gratitude at the gift of their bodies.
Howisey fought hard for a near-10 minute PR, after taking a hiatus from the marathon for two years, and though VanderWiele did not run her A-goal time, she laid it all out on the streets of NYC, running with the kind of heart only a woman in phoenix can.

For full results see: http://www.tcsnycmarathon.org/about-the-race/results