We have a surprise blog installment today detailing our day trip to NYC.  Ben was running the New York City Marathon today – his  first – and we took the train down to see him, and try our hand at the new-to-us sport of marathon spectating.  

Ben’s job was physically demanding but the navigation was simple: just follow the runner in front of you.  Ours required far less physical conditioning (just take the subway!) but was a challenge of logistical planning.  In the end, we saw and cheered for Ben at four discrete points along the course: Mile 4, Mile 11.5, Mile 18, and the finish.  

Turns out the subway travels faster than runners, but not by much; after factoring in the time spent waiting for trains, one must travel a fair distance to be certain to catch the runner again.  Just as marathon running takes training in advance, marathon spectating (great sport that it is!) takes planning in advance.  Susannah spent several happy hours the night before (with help from Nick) creating a detailed spreadsheet of mile markers, estimated time splits, and subway routes.  And it all paid off: we were able to predict Ben’s appearance accurately within a five-minute window each time.  We also gained much more experience with navigating the NYC subway system, including the 1, 4, G, L, N, Q, and R lines.

The weather could not have been nicer for running or spectating – cool but not cold, sunny and clear – and the crowds were out enjoying the day and the festivities. 

Ben ran a marvelous race, finishing in 3:48, well under his target time of 4 hours and feeling strong!