It's All Engineered, Baby

I’ve mentioned before that through the years’ of experience and continuous improvement attitude of the NYRR, the entire NYCM experience you go through as a participant is engineered. Things don't happen by chance, especially key areas relating to runner welfare and experience. It's just too risky for a race like this to hedge its success on luck.

Take for example my experience. The race was last November – 2nd to be specific – but over the last 2 months, I’ve been receiving materials over the post. It started with the Brightroom pamphlet, then the congratulatory letter and certificate in January, and now the official results book. Twice the thickness of your typical Runners World magazine, with better paper quality and chockful of photos and reports and congratulatory messages by the sponsors, plus all the participants’ results, the timing in which this was sent out makes me wonder if this is yet another engineered experience item. Don’t believe me? Why wait till February to send us this book? ¾ of the results were already published in the New York Times’ special edition (granted, not all would have got a copy, nor everyone listed) on the Monday after the marathon, so it’s not for lack of timely data. All FA and reports would’ve been written and photos collated and DTP activities done. So why February? They could’ve sent this out in January itself. Here’s why: Applications are OPEN NOW.

The feeding over the past few months were to ensure that you’re reminded of the race and memories – sorta like keeping the interest and excitement alive. Then wham, February comes, with all the subtle messages you’ve been fed, you'll hopefully make that mouseclick to the official website and submit your lottery entry. If there's any year that may make the chances of your lottery more successful than usually does, this is the year. With the financial crises, less will be making that expensive trip to NYC. Like what the Millennium Group fellas say, "The Time Is Now". If you've the budget for it, go for it!

Here are some of the scanned pages of the book. Click to view the enlarged versions.

Look What The Postman Delivered!

Even the envelope is nice


Congratulatory letter from Mary Wittenberg, President & CEO of the NYRR, Race Director of the NYCM (click to read)


Cert signed by Wittenberg and NYC Mayor Bloomberg

I'm Back!

It's been a month since THE unforgettable race and all the travel and stuff I gathered for the trip is still scattered about the house. If you want to read the race report and my NYC experience, you can go here or click on this image.

Before the wife comment on the mess, I should really tidy up. I've done very little running since then - only some "maintenance miles" just so that I don't lose too much fitness. I still have a "race" before the year is out and that's coming up on the 13th 8pm. That will be the Putrajaya 12-Hour Walk, my 3rd outing in that series where I'll be trying for a 60K total having progressed through 40 plus and 50K the last 2 years. It didn't cross my mind to skip this year's edition since it's happening near where I live.

I've been carrying an irritating dorsal (top) foot pain since last Saturday. The discomfort is actually a dull pain and it strikes when I flex my foot in any direction. The pain is at the centre of the foot and between the big and the second toes. It's not so bad that I can't run though. The doctor said that it's tendonitis and not a stress fracture, which was a relieve. I checked around that I think my condition is called extensor tendinitis. The doc prescribed diclofenac (a form of NSAIDs, non-steroidal anti-inflammatories) but since I'm not in a marathon training, there’s no logging of crazy mileage, I think I can still continue to run. The next race after the 12-Hour Walk, is still more than 1.5 months away, so if I can keep up with these maintenance runs, I should be OK.

Road To New York City

I guess by now many of you would've known that I'll be heading to New York City to run my 10th marathon this November. For the uninitiated, I've actually set up a NYC Marathon blog sometime ago to document the facts and personal experiences of the race. To follow my adventure, I'll meet you at my other blog, Road To NYC.

Prince Liam The Brave

I admire my friend Marci Glotzer’s running of all her NYCM with Fred’s Team (named after the late NYCM founder Fred Lebow, who passed away of cancer) in support of The Aubrey (about Aubrey Barr) Fund for Pediatric Cancer Research at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC). It’ll be Marci’s 3rd NYCM this November and this time around she’s running it in support of a little boy. His name is Liam Witt and he was diagnosed with a type of cancer called Neuroblastoma. He has been bravely fighting this deadly cancer with the help of friends all over the world since February of 2007. Liam has gone through nearly a year of aggressive treatment that included chemotherapy, surgery to remove the tumor in his abdomen, radiation, and is currently receiving 3f8 antibody therapy at MSKCC in New York City.




Liam’s parents, Larry and Gretchen, maintain a blog to provide the latest status on Liam's health and progress. will be posting good news and any concerns related to Liam's battle with this disease. It’s difficult not to be moved by the bravery of the Witts in facing this very difficult challenge to a boy who is not even 5. It gave me an insight to how busy parents cope while maintaining a brave and positive front for their children (Liam has a younger sister Ella, who adores him). I can’t pretend to understand fully the complications, heartache that this disease brings but when it happens to kids, it digs even deeper into me. Liam may be 4 but in my books he towers in bravery. Here’s an excerpt of one of the postings by his Mom.



“Liam just finished throwing up for the third time in an hour. Chemo throw up for Liam is a total body experience…it sounds like his toes are throwing up and every vertebrae in his back. It comes out his nose. He makes an awful wretching sound. He spits frantically to clear the throw up from his mouth while whimpering “there’s more – don’t move the bucket!” And over and over he says, “I don’t like throwing up. I don’t like it at all.” But tonight, after his third throw up session and before I had even wiped away the combo of spit, he raised his head from the throw up bucket and said in a cautiously excited voice, “Mommy – One plus one is two! And two plus two is four!” And as soon as I had him cleaned up, he curled into me and started picking out the letters he recognized on the front page of the newspaper. “Mommy – There’s my letter – and L. And that letter is for dog it’s a, a, a, D! And that’s my other letter…a W. Over there is a snake letter. What’s it’s name again?” The effects of the anti-nausea pill are finally setting in and he’s asleep covered in a Batman blanket that arrived yesterday and surrounded by little puppy, big puppy, monkey puppy, duck puppy, super soft yellow blankie and pilly the pillow which has the ever-present magic rock attached to it and a new addition, a lucky stone passed along from Aunt Franny’s son Ben.”



Liam may be a world away but there are no boundaries for cancer. The disease can strike anywhere and anyone. Cancer is the global war. The doctors and researchers are doing a heroic job in the fight, but they also need our help. If you’re moved, you can contribute to Marci’s cause via MSKCC’s secure website here. You can donate any amount via credit card.

216895

After waiting for a full day (KL is 15 hours ahead of NYC), I finally managed to submit my entry for the 2008 race online. The non-refundable processing fee is USD11 and if my application is successful - I'll know in June when the lottery results are announced - a further USD210 will be charged to my credit card. Ahhhh... that's not the end of it. There's also a USD35 deposit on the timing chip. Total charge will add up to USD256 or RM820 at the present conversion rate. Not cheap but it's going to be a once in a lifetime experience. Heck, I may even keep the yellow timing chip as a souvenir!



You might be interested in what RM820 gets you. According to the official website:



Included in Your Entry Fee



• Entry to the ING New York City Marathon 2008 including hydration and fuel stations, medical support, entertainment, baggage handling, security, the most enthusiastic spectators of any race anywhere, and more


• ING New York City Marathon Health and Fitness Expo


• Barilla Marathon Eve Dinner


• Fireworks Presented by Poland Spring


• Post-Race Party Presented by Clear Channel Radio


• Official Handbook


• Goody bag, including Official Program, souvenir shirt, race poster, snacks, and special offers


• Transportation to the Start


• Start festival: warm-ups, breakfast, entertainment, religious services


• Finisher materials: medal, food and beverages, and Continental Airlines/Foot Locker Heat Sheet™


• Finisher area where marathoners exit after the race


• Official finisher certificate


• Official Results Magazine published by New York Runner




To view a fantastic photo montage, check this out. For more tidbits on my quest, visit my other blog.

A Very Important Date!

Mark February 25th on your PDA/phone/call/desk/Outlook/what-have-you-calendar! Coz that's when the NYC Marathon lottery registration opens! I'm gonna give it a shot! For more info, hit this link: http://www.ingnycmarathon.org/entrantinfo/applyfor2008.php

NG For NY

That would be "No-Go for New York". Many of you would have received an email from me about the feature in Star Metro (article) today. Well, the trip is not on. Since harbouring dreams of running in NYC for the longest time, I've been talking about it more openly and sometime July/August this year, I was offered a chance to do the race with a sponsorship! Despite a clash of date with an event that we're organizing, my partner, Wan, graciously told me to go ahead as that was indeed a chance in a lifetime. The arrangement was an expense-paid trip to participate in the race and meet the sponsor's elite team which will be participating in the Olympic Trials the day before.



I kept the offer quiet but excited is hardly the word to use to describe my feelings. I immediately started to gather tons and tons of information about the place, the race, the people - everything. I put all these in my Road To New York City blog. In a way, I was already there. It was September before I next heard from the sponsor and that the trip is a go. There are lots of things to do - the visa, finding from friends whether I can loan their stuff from camera to jackets - and many offered, which I'm very grateful for. I also started to participate in NYCM forums in RunnerWorld Online and Phedippidations Board to learn more from experienced runners. I sought and received advice on cold weather running from many, including Waterman and in the process made many new friends from abroard (without leaving the computer!).



Then in early October, I knew I needed to tie things up. Lodging is very very expensive in NYC and through my forum friend Scott who was ever so helpful with juicy tidbits from his NYC experiences, managed to secure me a bunk at the International Hostel. The IH is to me the best place to stay in NYC - cheap at USD37 with an excellent customer service which never fails to respond quickly to my emails and calls. To know what's in store for me, I started pressing the sponsor for more details such as what's my itinerary, when will I be sent my race bibs, who to meet, where to meet, what's their plans for me (as I needed to report on my experiences) and so on. I also thought that since running NYCM is a big deal (only 30 odd percent chance of a successful lottery bid ie only 38,000 accepted out of 100,000+ entries received), and that I've committed to the sponsor that they will get their feature in a local daily, I arranged for Star to have an interview. I brought along Francis Cheng a fellow PACM member who will also be running NYCM. It's too bad that I can't pull more Malaysian participants into the interview - it would've been great. The interview took place at the Bkt Jalil park but since I've yet to hear from the sponsor about the finalization, I informed the daily to hold the article.



After pressing for some news, I finally got in touch with the company's Director in the US and from email exchanges, I began suspecting that the race entry deal isn't part of the package. My fears was confirmed by the local office who said that the allocation had been reduced and that the news wasn't cascaded down to the countries. I was asked whether I still wanted to go if I hadn't a race entry to which I said there's really no point in going - a runner has to run! But I held on to hopes that some last minute arrangements can still be made. Flight tickets have also been booked by the local office and in late September I'd even bought a pass to the Empire State Building. At that point, I'd yet to apply for the visa since it's very expensive and I wanted a concrete proof before proceeding. I even emailed the NYRRC to check on my entry but they replied in negative. After the expiration of the deadline to revert to me, I made the decision to pull the plug on operations - contacted The Star to pull out the article and cancelled my lodging.



Then another forum friend stepped up to try to help as recent as just last night by checking with the NYRRC but it was already a little too late. I'm looking forward to next year's lottery opening. Meanwhile I've got to inform the other Malaysians who will be in NYC that I won't be making the trip. We had made plans to meet up to party there!

Where Will You Be This Nov 4?

• I'M GOING TO BE IN NYC!
• I'M GOING TO BE WATCHING THE U.S. MEN'S OLYMPIC MARATHON TRIAL!
• I'M GOING TO BE RUNNING THE INTERNATIONAL FRIENDSHIP RUN!
• I'M GOING TO BE RUNNING THE NYC MARATHON!
• ...WITH LANCE ARMSTRONG, PAULA RADCLIFFE (ok, they'll be waaaay in front and lost in the crowd)!
• I'M SO FRIGGIN' EXCITED!

Running the NYCM has been my dreams for the longest time (since the '80s!) and I've started to think more about the race early this year. It's quite impossible to visualize the NYCM without the images of Salazar and Waitz blazing through the 5 boroughs. Who can forget the dramatic finishing of Rod Dixon who victoriously fell to his knees and the many neck-to-neck battles that have taken place? On the experiential part, I often wondered how it feels like to be cheered by 2 million spectators, running in a multi-national crowd of 38,000, peeing (!) off the Verrazano Bridge. As corny as it may sound, all these captured my imagination. I felt very strongly that I will run it one day, not knowing that the day will be sooner rather than later. The 1st NYCM is as young as I am - 37 years young. Even with the entry fee of $1, only 127 participated then. Legendary race director Fred Lebow turned it into an inclusive event in 1976 covering NYC's 5-boroughs. Get this, Oct 24 1976 - my birthdate.

 

When you dream of something, you visualize, you research, you talk about it. That's what I did. I bought travel guides, read through reviews and race reports, researching budget lodgings, posted questions on RW forums - basically doing everything as if I was already going. I received a call early this morning confirming my participation and joining 5 other Malaysians (who all applied via the lottery) making the 21-hour flight to the city.

 

This year's event will be extra special as the US Olympic Marathon Trials will be held the day before the marathon. And trust it to the Americans to hype it all up as The Marathon Weekend. With only 1 month's regular running (last week's mileage 46K, this week, I will hit 56K), I don't have any time expectations. Even with proper training, running a PR in NYC is very tough given the huge crowd. It has the toughest route of the 5 Majors, with 5 bridges (though I think they all pale in comparison to our favourite Hartamas-Double Hill combo). I'm going to be running-walking with a camera and just soak in the atmosphere and pain.

 

Thanks for Brooks USA for making my dreams possible! I'm so very fortunate especially when only 40,000 out of 93,000 entry submissions are accepted. As some of you know, Brooks is a major sponsor of the Hansons-Brooks Distance Running Project and they have more than a handful elites vying for the US Olympic Marathon team on Nov 3rd. So they're inviting a selected group of runners from the world over to join them in NYC. I've so many of my favorite athletes in the Trials - Ritzenhein, Abdi, Meb, Culpepper, Browne. This Trials are going to have the deepest field ever assembled. But I'm going to be rooting for Brian Sell and other working class elites.

NYC Marathon Course Video

NYC Marathon Bib Collection

I've been trawling the web for anything and everything to do with the NYC Marathon. Chanced upon this shaky video following a Japanese entrant's bib collection at the Jacob Javits Center. From the visuals, these are the sequence of events:
1. Get an entry coupon

2. Proceed to the international runners table just by the entrance

3. Race number confirmation counter

4. Proceed to collect bib

5. Be sure to do a chip check to ensure correct ID

6. Proceed to goodie bag collection

7. Optional: Change into their souvenier tshirt on the spot

8. Don your Spongebob cap

9. Proceed to the Health & Fitness Expo and collect tons of freebies (postcard stacks, autographs, product sampling), check out new products, and make new friends. I'd suggest bringing along a stack of name cards to exchange!

What I noticed are the presence of very very polite volunteers at every stage. They take pride in their City and main event. The Jacob Javits Convention Center is super huge - larger than the Suntec City Convention Center (although the roofing looks similar)

It's a good idea to have a videocam handy! On to the video!

NYC Marathon - Wanna Run?