Queens Half Marathon

Leslie L.

There are races we run for time goals and PRs. This was not one of those races.

On an extremely hot and humid morning in Flushing this past Saturday, I and a group of my Flyer teammates found ourselves at the start of the Queens Half Marathon wondering not about how fast to start or what pace to run, but about how and in what shape we'll finish. Even at the bright and early hour of 6:45AM as we shuffled into our starting corrals, it was already 85°F with a relative humidity of 65.8%!!! (Apparently there was a secret town meeting overnight where the borough was renamed "The Surface of the Sun" just for this race. No one running was made aware of this development until way too late.)

Unlike previous years, where the Queens Half started in McNeil Park, which was small and at least 15 minutes away from the nearest subway exit, this new course starting and ending in Flushing Meadows Corona Park is relatively flat, close to the 7 train and passes by many recreational and cultural landmarks. Since I doubt many Flyers have come as far out to Queens to run here before, I had been looking forward to this opportunity to showoff my park to many of my teammates. But as I stood and waited in the intense humidity, listening to the countless heat advisory warnings from Mary Wittenberg and the NYRR staff, I wondered if convincing fellow Flyers to avoid this race might have been the better move.

At about 7:03 AM, after several anxious minutes waiting for the roads to clear, the starting horn sounded and we were off. The first half of the course took us out of the park and onto an out and back loop on College Point Boulevard. Although this section was probably the hilliest of the course, it was fun seeing friends and teammates both in front and further back in the pack. For me, it was especially fun because I got to run by the building where I live. Seeing the few neighbors out and about with astonished looks on their faces as the runners took to the streets was priceless. Despite water and Gatorade at virtually every mile, it was apparent that many runners were already struggling and some dropping out by mile 5.

Once back inside the park, we ran a semicircular loop around the park, running by the Aquatic Center and the back of the USTA Tennis Center with a small out and back detour on Shea Road. On talking with many Flyer afterwards, this was where many seemed to hit the proverbial wall. The sun was shining directly on us at that point, there was no shade, and at mile 7, we collectively had gone far enough to be tired and dehydrated, but not quite far enough where we visualized the finish. Many slowed their pace dramatically. Others walked. Some decided enough was enough and took a DNF instead. It was getting warmer still and every mile seemed longer than the mile before. Luckily Flyers Laura G., Dan L., and their dog Grady were out cheering at Mile 8 to provided a much needed mental boost.

Runners enjoyed the sights of Queens despite extreme heat.

Turning off Perimeter Road at mile 8.5, we made a 2.5 mile loop around the largest freshwater body of water in NYC, Meadow Lake, before running back into the park, passing by the Queens Zoo and the Hall of Science in the last 5K leading to the finish. By this time, most everybody lost all semblance of pace and struggled in whatever way they can to get to the end. Relief came only at the finishing mat where the accomplishment, for the most part, wasn't really determined by what time you got or what pace you ran, but by the fact we survived the distance despite the heat and didn't end up in the medical tent!

After the race, I met up and talked with many Flyers. As a group, we all agreed that this was the most brutal conditions for a half marathon by far this year (and according to Flyer, Brett S., even worse than it was at the New Jersey Marathon!). The fact that all the Flyers came back triumphant and unscathed speaks volumes to how much our bodies have acclimated to running in heat and humidity due to the extreme summer we're in.

Anick J. at the sphere in Flushing Meadows - Corona Park

Congratulations to everyone who came out to Queens to run this race! Special mention goes to the Flyer Women who rocked out a third place team finish and Christine M. who came in first in her age group. Simply Amazing! It was a strong showing for the Flyers all around. - Leslie L.

Ed. Note: You can read more of what Leslie has to say about the Queens Half and other running topics at his personal blog, The Running Laminator.