The Long-Awaited NYC Marathon Gumby Recap

Brian H.

Happy Holidays!

Many of us take the marathon very seriously, and of course we should - it's a grueling physical challenge. But another thing we forget about the distance is that we can have FUN with it. That's the magical word that sometimes is lost within our challenges in life and running.

For first time marathoners, this joy and fulfillment is experienced to the fullest. They don't know what to expect, and are relishing every sight and sound of the race. And after your first marathon, you now have the experience and the time that you want to beat.  You now have an expectation to reach and with that expectation we gain pressure - pressure to accomplish a personal record, adding the emotion of the event.

But after many marathons, how can a person continue to have FUN when running 26.2 miles? Well, have you ever seen these random surveys that ask you silly questions about a specific topic? I can clearly remember one  marathon survey asking, "Have you ever ran a marathon in a costume?"

This became my new challenge! So at this year's NYC marathon I completed what I like to call "the impossible." To me the race was far different and challenging than any other marathon that I have done thus far, but in a fun manner.  I have learned through the many marathons that you learn and gain a different perspective through each and every race.  You grow as a runner or what they call "mature".

I was going to represent Team for Kids, an organization that I coach through the marathon season, so a fun costume would be appropriate. The first question was - what to wear?

I decided to put a survey out for Facebook friends to decide on which costume I should purchase and narrowed my choices to three costumes:

1) A bunch of grapes. Initially, I was thinking "the Big Apple" but the apple costume was not as great as I had expected. So I considered a "Fruit Of The Loom" style grapes instead.

2) A caterpillar. Multiple arms and legs would have made a great costume to dress up with multiple sneakers.

3) Gumby, a widely known TV character.

And the winner, from my online poll was: Gumby! This was fortunate, because the multiple sneakers needed for the caterpillar would have been costly, and I found the Gumby costume on sale.

Gumby, representing Team for Kids!

However, the costume presented some questions in which I was not prepared for.  It completely covered me from head to toe, which presented many different problems that I had to solve beforehand, including - visibility, ventilation and sanitation challenges. My roommates told me to run around the block with my costume on at 3 a.m. in the morning to give it a "test" run.  But envision this, you are coming home from a late night at the bar, somewhat intoxicated, and you see Gumby running around... wouldn't you run after Gumby?!

So I decided to just "go with it," making different modifications such as a pee flap, ventilation holes on the top, a drinking hole for a water bottle, hemming the legs of the costume so the feet won't drag and adding a bandanna over Gumby's head to give him a little personalize of who I was.  The ethic of not trying out anything "new" before you run a marathon was definitely out the door for this one!

The race: Arriving in Staten Island in a private bus was definitely helpful and roaming around athlete's village was a scene.  One of my Alzheimer's teammates told me later that, "finding our coach was a little easier in the mob of 50,000 people because all you had to do is just spot Gumby out of the crowd". Very funny!

The starting chutes of the corrals seemed challenging where there were throngs of throw away clothing on the ground.  I decided to keep my face open until the start and BOOM, the race began.

At first, the race was very different looking through some screened eyes as ventilation was not the number one priority.  Visibility through the costume's eyes presented the most difficulty in seeing runners next to you, in front of you and when shifting lanes.  The race was totally in tunnel vision.

The crowd and runner support throughout the entire race was fantastic.  Many cheered, "Go Gumby!". I was a little disappointed that many small children were somewhat frightened by the costume, but once I envisioned a six-foot Gumby running straight at a child, it kind of made sense!

The Highs:
There were four points of the race in which I absolutely loved.

1) In Brooklyn, a women came over to ask if I could take a picture with her, as I said this was fine...she takes the picture, then she hurries to get more of her kids in the mix to take another...and another!  I was stuck for about 5-10 minutes with this family along the side of the road!  Only later to find a runner screaming out to the family, "even gumby has to finish the race!"

2) Another high was stopping along the elevated barriers on the side of the Queensborough Bridge (the quietest section of the marathon, where no spectators can go) to cheer the runners on for encouragement, where the uphill battle of emotions between exhaustion and excitement mix.  It was nice to cheer fellow runners and make them smile during that very isolated part of the race.

3) Running up 1st Avenue with a Gumby costume in the middle of the street waving your hands up and down to encourage the crowd to cheer and cause an uproar.  I must have used so much energy doing this, but it was all worth it!  I passed a local bar and the crowd just chanted: "GUM-BEE...GUM-BEE...GUM-BEE!" Increasing in intensity and loudness.  It was awesome!

Still wearing a smile on First Avenue!

4) The Flyer Gel Station
What else is there to be said? Every Flyer looks forward to this moment where they pass the tunnel of camaraderie of volunteers.  Seeing your friends when you need it the most is absolutely the best!  That carried me all the way to 20 where I got to see the infamous Pat D. in a kilt, playing his fabulous bagpipes!

The Low:
I was running for FUN in a Gumby costume, and was also trying to coach the members of my team to the finish line.  No matter what I did to prepare, I finally hit the point in the race where things get rough. At mile 22, back in Manhattan, it was difficult seeing anything.  It was already difficult to see with the costume on, but now the sun was glaring straight into the runners faces, including mine. The thoughts rolled around in my head asking myself: Why, oh, why did you need to run a marathon in a costume?  Why are you continuing with a costume?

So finally, growing impatient while climbing the 5th avenue hill, I took off - running the rest of the race at my own, full-out race pace with the costume on.  I needed to just get finished, get the costume off and be done, and then go back on the course to coach the rest of my team.

Looking back, maybe this may have seemed a little discouraging to other runners as they struggled up 5th avenue and the last 4 miles of the marathon and suddenly saw a costumed Gumby sprinting full speed ahead of them to the finish line. I felt a little bad, but I just wanted complete the entire race in costume, and now I can finally say that I did it!  I had FUN, experienced a whole different outlook and embraced the moment.

I ended up only with a chafed nose as the screened costume of the eye rubbed up against my nose throughout the race.  Leaving me with a red nose, many people asked what next year's costume may bring?  Maybe since I have this red chafed nose, maybe Rudolph the red nosed reindeer will be thrown in the mix.

We shall see when next year rolls around. I'm currently taking suggestions! Congrats to everyone who ran!