A Tale of Two Sundays

Julie W and Lara K

From the Blogmaster: This blog post was co-authored by Julie W and Lara K. -Dave K

INTERNATIONAL LOVE -- 

THE "PEEPOLZ MARATHON" REPORT

LARA
Marathon Sunday.  Although we couldn’t have guessed it a month, or even a week out, it would really be a day like no other.

Having taken the “semester” off from marathoning, I expected to spend the day once again, volunteering at the Flyers PowerGel station, and maybe even running a few miles with a teammate.

But the events of October 29th changed everything.  I’m not gonna rehash things here.  You all know how things played out.  And on that Friday evening, emotions ran the gamut from acceptance to relief to anger to just maybe feeling a little lost.  I wasn’t even running the race, but I felt them all with you.

Then my awesome Flyer teammate Julie W posted on Facebook:

“I have a proposition...an impromptu marathon in Central Park on Sunday. Four loops just like the old days. We can dedicate it to the hurricane victims or to Laurie H. or whatever feels right.”

That was exactly what the doctor ordered.  And from what was witnessed through various social media channels, many many others seemed to be on the same wavelength...

So I headed to the park on Sunday, honestly a little apprehensive...based on what I had witnessed over social media the few days prior, quite a few people may have been taking some of the lyrics of David Guetta’s song Titanium a little too seriously... ”Stone-hard, machine gun.... Fired at the ones who run..."

Would we be welcome, or met by hordes of protesters and the like?  I need not have worried, as Central Park was absolutely MOBBED with runners.  Many wearing their orange NYCM race shirts.  Many wearing their race bibs.  And probably many wearing what they would have worn for the race as well.  And there were no jeers from the crowd, only cheers.  Restored all faith in humanity for me :)

Running Through a Cheering Tunnel

So at Engineer’s Gate, Julie said a few words of thanks to everyone before we all set off at the symbolic start time of 9:40 am (if you’re not sure why that’s symbolic, the answer will be later in the story ;-) )  In the early going, Julie had International Love by Pitbull playing on her iPod, which I felt was very appropriate for the day.  

Flyers Ready to Run

The first loop of the park was just taking things in.  All the runners from around the world, whether they were doing 1 loop or 4, for fun or a hard effort, and everything in between.  The spectators on the side cheering their heart out.  Recognized some locals (Brian H!), and many holding the signs they would have held if the show had gone on.  Little bit of a shame they had people running around the finish line instead of through/under it, but I guess some things are sacred :)  

Stephanie T Does a Finish Line Leap

I had the pleasure of sharing the second loop with our Thursday Nite Run leader Michael R, where we had a celebrity spotting of sorts!!  Yep, pasta party speaker Amy Hastings with her running partner Kim Smith were logging their mileage among the crowds in the park!!  (And rumor has it Meb Keflezighi was out running as well!)  Was a cool sight –– the elites wanted to be one of us that day.  And right around the 102nd street transverse was another celebrity spotting –– our very own Pat D playing the bagpipes...not quite the Willis Avenue Bridge, but was great to see him doing his thing :)

Pat D Gets a Thumbs Up from Julie W

My two loops done, I stuck around at Engineer’s Gate to cheer on my teammates going longer, and, well, everyone else too!! Central Park was a party still going strong.  Lots of runners still out and the crowds were as deep as 5th Ave.  Some spectators even had out their own “finish line tape” anticipating their loved ones’ finish.  And eagle-eye Glen W spotted a runner in a “Seoul Flyers” singlet and we had a photo op-see, the Flyers are EVERYWHERE!

To sum it all up, what I witnessed in Central Park on that Sunday was just so much caring and love, and a sense of renewal.  I walked (well, ran) away from Central Park proud to be a runner, and declared on Facebook that “Others may think otherwise, but from what I witnessed today, runners are the best people. ever.”

International love, indeed.

JULIE
A wise man (my father, actually!) once said: 

“You can’t change what you can’t control…you can only change your reaction to it.” 

And although he wrote this to me after the Yankees got knocked out of the playoffs this year, never was this phrase more apt than post-hurricane Sandy. I grew up in the south, land of epic storms, and I actually “rode out” hurricane Andrew in 1992 while in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. However, nothing prepared me for the devastation wrought upon New York and New Jersey by Sandy. Despite having seen thousands of images on the news as well as in person, it still feels so unreal to me.

Another wise old saying is that “hindsight is 20/20”. I’m sure the NYRR staff are feeling that phrase deeply having gone through the “on again, off again” NYC Marathon once Sandy had done her worst. 

Of course, it would have been better to cancel the marathon earlier and save those traveling great distances the headache and disappointment associated with a last-minute cancellation. And they should have anticipated the community’s reaction to going ahead with the race in the face of so much destruction. However, I don’t think anyone really knew the full impact of this storm until days later. And the bottom line is that I personally feel that although they made the decision too late, they made the right decision.

Given the fact that the race was canceled at the last minute, it was understandable that many folks (Flyers and non-Flyers alike) were shocked and disappointed to learn that they would not be running two days later. Once the initial shock wore off, I felt it was time to “make lemons out of lemonade” and hold “The Peepolz Marathon” anyway, Sunday morning in Central Park. 

The idea was simple: 

• Show up at 9:40 (the original start time of the race), 
• Run anywhere between 1 to 4 loops of the park, and 
• Have fun doing it. 

Stephanie T, Julie W and Lara K
Having Fun on the "Peepolz" Run

The idea quickly caught fire and gained momentum, and before we knew it our Flyers had organized not only a sizable running contingent, but a large group of race supporters (complete with a table setup by Glen W and friends).

Glen W with his Table and Friends

I figured there would be others running in the park that day, but I hadn’t counted on the sheer volume, international showing, and number of enthusiastic supporters out there. I literally got choked up walking up to Engineer’s Gate that day, and it was only the first time of many that day I would tear up.

Some of the most memorable moments were the large group of French runners coming in the opposite direction, cheering their hearts out, the Brazilian contingent handing out water along the way yelling “fresh water, no additives or artificial sweeteners…we made it ourselves!”, and the children handing out their Halloween candy to strangers. 

VIVE LE FRANCE!!

The NYC Parks Department had wisely anticipated the crowds, and was instructing bikers to get off and walk their bikes near the marathon finish line. Despite the amount of congestion and need to re-route runners around the finish line rather than through it, things went surprisingly smoothly. And at the end of the day, I think we all came away with a renewed sense of the resilience and determination that makes each of us proud to call ourselves a runner.

INTERNATIONAL AID: 

THE "BAD KIDZ ON THE BUS" TRY TO DO GOOD!

JULIE
For me personally, the only “fly in the ointment” about organizing the Peeps Marathon on Sunday was the fact that I would not be able to join a group of fellow Flyers in Staten Island to aid in the relief efforts there. So, when the opportunity came up through JackRabbit Sports and NYC MORE (Marathon Effort of RElief) to head out on the following Sunday, I jumped at the chance. 

Again, I was pleased to see many of my fellow Flyers were up to the task.  The idea was to bus 500 folks out to three of the hardest hit areas in New York: Staten Island, The Rockaways, and Long Beach. Groups left from three of the JackRabbit locations, and those leaving from the UWS went to Staten Island. We had four buses going to this location, and each bus was dropped off at a different site deemed most in need based on their inquiries the day before. 

Julie W and Brian H

I was on the bus with Reyna F, Victoria S, Shira Z, Lara K, Nick J, and Brian H. As you can imagine, we were like the “bad kidz on the school bus” during the nearly 2 hour ride over, but our fun and games came to an abrupt halt once we saw the extent of the devastation. 

Our bus was the last to drop off folks in the Tottenville region, which coincides with the southernmost point of New York State. When we got off the bus, we were instructed to break into smaller groups and go house to house to ask folks if they needed help. We were told to be somewhat persistent, as folks might be proud and afraid to admit they needed anything. 

Shira Z Carrying Supplies
To Bring on the Bus for Toting to Tottenville

The first house we came to, Nick approached two gentlemen who were coming out of their house and asked if we could do anything for them. To my delight, they spoke up right away and said if we were game for it, they needed two folks to help tear down the bottom portion of sheetrock from their first floor, which had been badly damaged by flooding. 

Nick and I decided to take on the challenge of demolition, and spent the next few hours happily encased in plaster dust, smiling the whole time. The guys turned out to be great…very down to earth “New Yawkers”, and a lot of fun to work with.  The younger man, Steven, said that he was so grateful we came by as he had just been looking around and getting very discouraged,  trying to figure out how he and his father, Frankie, were going to get all that work done by themselves. He said that we were just the motivation he needed…and we were certainly thrilled to help! 

With Frankie and Steven

While we were there, the Red Cross truck came around with food and beverages. Steven said they came by twice a day, and that the NYC Dept of Sanitation trucks came by non-stop to keep up with the loads of debris being put on the street. It was nice to see that things were finally starting to get organized.

After Nick and I finished up at Steven and Frankie’s , we headed over to a large house that was literally the southernmost property in New York State. Most of the other folks from our bus were already there. 

LARA
It was what was once a beautiful house on the water, complete with a long deck leading out to the shore, the glass windows letting whoever was inside see some beautiful sunsets on the water.  When we approached the house, we could not believe our eyes –– it looked like it was standing on stilts, the whole first floor had been washed away.  

The family felt lucky to have survived (by taking refuge in the attic) but you can tell it was devastating to lose a lifetime of memories.  We all got to work helping clean out the attic and the second floor and eventually debris outside.  When we were throwing out what had been damaged from the storm, we found a lot of trophies, medals, an old NYRRC race bib, even an old Runner’s World log filled in with entries of various runs and workouts-one of the daughters had been a champion cross country runner back in the day.  We could tell the experience was incredibly heart-wrenching for the mother –– she couldn’t look at the years of memories that had to go, but she was so appreciative for the help and gave us all numerous hugs and thanked each of us.

Before leaving for the day, we took a look at the next block over, which we were told was hit the hardest.  There were two homes completely leveled.  Another that had the front and side completely destroyed and gone, the red “Unsafe” sign had to be put on the wall by the fireplace since there was no longer a front door.  Sh*t had definitely gotten real.  I almost wanted to cry when seeing scenes like that throughout the day....

Picture Speaks for Itself :(

But on a more positive note, I was incredibly impressed by the sense of community, I definitely felt the “we are in this together” sentiment and the optimism that remained despite the horrible situation –– “we will rebuild.”  Our crew was exhausted on our bus ride back to Manhattan (no, not “the city” ;-) ) but felt incredibly fulfilled, which was definitely worth the trip to Staten Island and then some.

JULIE

My feelings at the end of the day echo Lara’s. Never have I felt more humbled and at the same time proud of the human spirit and the incredible strength people can show in times of adversity. I will always remember our day on Staten Island, and the people I met there. May we be ever grateful for what and, especially, WHOM we have in our life!

- Julie W/Lara K