2021 TCS New York City Marathon
Fifty-three Harriers tackled the 50th anniversary of the TCS New York City Marathon on Sunday, November 7. Sunny skies, temps in the upper 40s, and about half the usual field size made for near-perfect racing conditions.
Thomas Kennedy was the first Harrier across the finish line in a blazing 2:33:09 (and 54th place overall), with Zack Pollock and Justin Perkins coming in as 2nd and 3rd Harrier men.
Amrita Ramamurthy, Cynthia Van, and Stephanie Hodge were the top Harrier women. Our Masters 40+ women placed 6th and Masters 40+ men placed 8th. Additionally, Stephanie Hodge and Diane Kenna placed 3rd and 6th respectively in their age groups. Recent addition to the team, Hanon Jhung, placed 1st out of 28 for Korea, and Donna Duque placed 2nd out of 91 for the Philippines.
Several Harriers reported some shiny new marathon PRs: Donna Duque, Alan Yorke, Hanon Jhung, Amrita Ramamurthy, Barbara Maliardi, Cynthia Van, and Alison Lynch (accompanied by guide and fellow Harrier Zoe Costanzo).
Barbara Maliardi used the pandemic to make a “positive, personal commitment to care for my body and running,” setting a 20-minute marathon PR this year. Sunny Huang also ran a 20-minute PR, and Donna Duque knocked off 37 minutes from her 2017 NYC Marathon.
Hours before setting her own PR (and snagging her first-ever BQ), Cynthia Van met up with fellow teammates: “I was thrilled to find a Harrier crew on 5th Avenue at the bus line. Once we got to Staten Island we parked ourselves and collected additional wandering Harriers, and I had a few to start with in my corral -- loved all of the pre-race team support.”
This was a first marathon for a few Harriers, including Andy Schwehm, Anju Suresh, and Daipan Lee.
Andy notes the “insane” crowds that “really pulled me through those tough stretches in the second half of the race.” He also credits the Harriers’ workouts: “I was able to push through the last few miles and get my goal time, and I know it was because of all of the Wednesday speed workouts.”
Anju feels “immensely grateful for this to be my first marathon. The love and support from those cheering quite literally carried me across the five boroughs.” Like Andy, she met her goal time: “I aimed for sub-4 and crossed the finish line at 3:57 in absolute tears.”
Daipan was still recovering from a stomach bug and, while he had to stop at a medical tent in mile 14, he is “thrilled to walk away uninjured, mentally a lot stronger, and learning more about what my body needs to go the distance.”
As always, the Harriers’ cheer zone at mile 18 was in full force, and many team members were grateful for their presence. Eduardo Brandao owes his sub-3 finish time in part to the team support, saying that seeing the team gave him a “boost for another couple miles, thank you!”
Hanon Jhung also credits the cheer zone for his strong finish, as well as his wife and son “strategically waiting with a piece of chocolate at the bottom of the Fifth Ave uphill mile, [Harriers] Simon & Jess at the top, and then the awesome crowd along Central Park & Central Park South.”
Head Coach Scott Bartucca had already hit his goal marathon time in London a few weeks back, so all he wanted for this race was to “have a good day, whatever that may mean. Turns out, that meant sub-3, a course PR, and the best I've ever felt (physically, emotionally) while running these streets.” He adds, “I probably haven't smiled this much since the first time I ran it in 2006. HUGE thanks to friends cheering all along the route. The Harriers cheering squad at White Castle is the best, most beautiful blur of screaming faces in NYC!”
Harriers VP Mirjam Lablans, fresh off the Boston Marathon, “channeled Molly Seidel's message of just enjoying the day and I truly did. Smiled so hard the entire time and teared up crossing back into Manhattan and Central Park. It was great seeing so many Harriers on the course.”
Many other Harriers reported having great races. Alan Yorke calls it an “AWESOME race,” adding “the weather was perfect, the crowd was just brilliant and full of energy that helped push the runners on.”
Matt Coneybeare, running NYC in the midst of a 6-marathon fall season, gives some love to his teammates: “It was great to see so many Harriers meet/exceed their goals.”
Four weeks after completing the Chicago Marathon, Steve Lunsford says he “can't say enough how amazing the spectators, the course, and the final miles in Central Park all contribute to making this a magical experience.”
Laura Addicott was “thrilled” to break four hours, but the best part came at the end of the race: “My dad met me with a Slurpee at the finish line, so all in all an A+ day.”
One of the best team stories of the day involves Amrita Ramamurthy, Kiran Rosenkilde, and John Lynch. As Amrita describes it, “Kiran, John, and I went in all feeling a little underprepared and nervous and decided we’d stick together and see what happened… and what happened was we got carried away, threw our plans out the window, pushed it, and carried one another through it.” She adds, “there was something about having them on either side for the vast majority of the race that brought me a lot of confidence, comfort, and joy -- and the NYH reception at mile 18 was out of this world. A big PR, lots and lots of happy tears from me, and my heart probably grew a few sizes from swelling with pride for everyone on this team.”
Although not everyone can relate to racing alongside Shalane Flanagan, Zack Pollock sums his NYC Marathon experience in a way that would resonate with many: “Best day in NYC always — whether you’re running it or cheering! From the sub-elite start, to running with Shalane Flanagan through the half, and the always amazing Harrier cheer section at White Castle, this race will probably be my most memorable.”
