This past Sunday was marathon day in NYC. Marathon day in New York feels more festive than any holiday because there’s simply joy surrounding it (and hard work for the people running). It doesn’t come with any of the baggage that all the other holidays usually do. I don’t think I will ever run a marathon in my life. It interests me not even slightly. Not even a teensy-tiny bit. But the spectator-ship of a good marathon? The soaking up of all those good vibes? That’s where my talents lie. It’s a day in New York City when everybody, for a few fleeting hours, unequivocally loves New York.
It was an uncharacteristically hot day for early November, and past a certain hour, restaurants and bars filled with people celebrating spilt out onto the streets—the triumph in the air was palpable. Friends carried signs and water bottles for the runners who looked bruised and battered (in a good way). I was on the subway on Sunday evening, and there they were: marathon runners dotted all over the platform and the cars covered by their blue ponchos that look like capes. They should look like capes since you have to be superhuman even to contemplate running a marathon. I sat down next to a woman wearing one. She immediately turned to me and said:
“I'm sorry, I smell so bad.”
I shook my head and lied, “Congratulations! I can’t smell a thing.”
A friend of the smelly runner sat opposite us and followed up with:
“Oh, I didn't run, I just followed her around the city all day.” And held up her sign with a big smile on her face.
Then another woman, also in a blue cape, started crying. And the very friendly friend patted her on the shoulder and offered:
“Oh honey, cry it out. It's emotional. It's okay. I haven't even done it yet. You just did something BIG!”
The crying runner didn’t say anything, just nodded as her tears fell. I wondered whether the patting on the shoulder was a bit of an invasion of personal space and made her cry more. I guess interacting with strangers is what the marathon is all about. I had to get off at my stop right then, so I didn’t get to witness any more of the exchange, but I did contemplate missing it for a fleeting second – my nosiness knows no bounds.
I think people get so excited on marathon day because people try and achieve something, and we can all see it. They do something hard. And then they show that to their community. And the community rallies around them: strangers show up in the streets to cheer them on, their friends follow them around the city all day, and on the other side of it, the city is filled with people in blue capes who tried, just like them. They’ll have aches and pains to show for it, and they’ll often have done it in service to something greater than themselves.
The next day I happened to be near the south side of Central Park on my way to an appointment. The excitement and emotion were still going strong: runners walked around in their branded NYC Marathon shirts and wore their medals around their necks. Partners, parents and friends took photos of them in front of the entrance to Central Park and the Plaza Hotel, presumably to keep a record of it all. You could tell who was the runner and who was the friend because the runner limped along and winced each time they moved their body – the friend decidedly more spritely.
The truth of it is that we all walk around our cities and towns all the time doing extraordinarily difficult, sometimes impossible feeling things. And we don't get that pat on the shoulder or that hug from a stranger telling us how well we did. How big the thing we just did was, spurring us on. And it's a testament to why we need community. We need people to tell us we’re doing well. I think most of the excitement comes from just getting to acknowledge each other: to look each other in the eye and smile, to tell someone congratulations. Sure, it’s a congratulation for running 26 miles straight (which to me seems like wild insanity, but that is just my personal opinion). But it’s also a congratulation for being alive. You’re still here. You’re doing it. You’re showing up. No small feat.
With love,
Nora x