The Best Injury Treatment: Team Support

Injuries are torturous both physically and mentally. Not that I would have been able to tell you that firsthand until about a month ago. Somehow, despite participating in fairly high-risk sports my whole life, I was blessed to never have been injured. Sure, sometimes things hurt or I was sore, I am not claiming to be superhuman, but it was always tolerable and went away without any residual complications. Even when I jumped right into running marathons with reckless abandon, almost exactly a year ago, I was still an injury virgin. So why was it that two weeks before the NJ Marathon at the end of a completely injury-free training cycle that went so well and where I hardly ever even felt the effects of my long runs, I suddenly could hardly walk, let alone run? Note: this is a rhetorical question and I am not really interested in hearing once again that I ran too much, or anything of that nature.

The clichéd lyrics of the song Big Yellow Taxi by Joni Mitchell, “Don't it always seem to go/ That you don't know what you got till it's gone” have run through my mind on more than one occasion. So true. I definitely took a lot for granted and often forgot to really appreciate running. Suddenly the thing I looked forward to most in my day and that made my whole life brighter was gone. I had no idea what to do with myself. I honestly could not remember what I used to do with my life before I started running and consolations of “now you can do all the stuff you normally don’t have time for” were no comfort at all. I was not interested in doing those things. If they were important to me, I would have already made time for them. I wanted to run! Unfortunately, wanting only takes you so far when you can barely do three limping strides before wanting to start crying from the pain. I could have easily tried to hide myself from anything running related, but I found it oddly comforting continuing life as before, so I continued attending Flyers events, going to marathons that I was supposed to run to cheer on teammates, and just generally doing all the things I would have done before, except without running.

However, the stage of denial can only last so long. I tried everything, including massages, ice baths, warm Epsom salt baths, foam rolling, stretching, over-dosing on cherries (apparently the anti-inflammation superfood for marathon runners) and even taking painkillers for the first time in my life (seriously). Each morning I would open my eyes and hope that it was the day I would be magically better, but no luck. Then doomsday arrived; the day that I said I would see a sports medicine specialist if I had not gotten better. I solicited help from fellow Flyers for doctor recommendations, received so much support and help, and was able to schedule two appointments in the following two days. I was petrified of what they would find. Of course the one thing I had started doing with all the time I was not running was looking up every single horrible possibility of what could be wrong with me as reading about all the possibilities proved to be quite interesting (and addicting).

I turned out to be quite fortunate. The consensus of all the specialists I have seen seems to be that it was weak muscles creating compensation issues and extreme muscle tightness. In some ways it seems unfair that whatever has been causing me all this hardship does not even have a proper name making it seem less legitimate when it is definitely real! Yet, namelessness is better than the alternative. I have been given permission to run, but it still hurts and does not feel normal. I cannot wait for the day when running feels effortless again and while I cannot promise not to take things for granted, I will try not to forget how lucky I am to be able to run. However, one thing is certain. I will not forget how kind and supportive everyone has been. Thank you! I am lucky to know such a great group of people and if any of you has any secrets/miracles to get rid of my pain that you are keeping from me, please let me know!

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The Downtown Rundown

So maybe I'll see you there
We can forget all our troubles, forget all our cares
So go downtown, things'll be great when you're
Downtown - don't wait a minute for
Downtown - everything's waiting for you
-Petula Clark

Central Park is the quintessential New York City running location. On any given day, in any weather condition you will find runners in Central Park. It is the location for the majority of New York Road Runners races, as well as the majority of the Flyers group runs. However, it can be nice to see new places. The Hudson River Waterfront, the location of the Monday night downtown runs, provides that. Starting in Jackson Square Park, the run heads from Greenwich Village, to the West Side Highway, along the Hudson River Park waterfront, through the Financial district, all the way to the tip of Battery Park. After a few twists and turns in downtown Manhattan it turns back up the greenway shared path to the meeting spot.

The downtown run was the first Flyer gathering that I attended last November. I remember being nervous, because it can be hard to go to somewhere where everyone knows everyone else and you are the only new person. What if no one was welcoming? What if they did not think I was cool enough? I still felt very new to running and I also worried I would be completely left in the dust.

I need not have worried. Everyone was very welcoming and friendly and there is such a huge variation of paces that there is always someone to run with. I have met so many great people through the Monday runs. It gets such a great turnout of members and it is nice to see people regularly; something that makes such a large club seem more intimate.

Another nice part of the Monday downtown group is that the first Monday of the month everyone meets afterward at a selected bar for what is naturally referred to as "First Mondays". The turnout for that week is always the largest and some people who cannot make the run will still join everyone else at the bar. It is always nice to catch up with people over tasty food and drinks. Birthdays are also celebrated if you are lucky enough to have your birthday fall on the first Monday of the month. Angela G. and I had the chance to share our twin birthdays this year with ice cream generously brought by Brian H.

So far this reads like a propaganda ad for the Monday downtown runs so in an effort to temper it a little I will say that in addition to the fun times because of the great people, I have also really grown to like the course so much that I even run it on my own. The nice little scenic stretch has a water fountain that is open earlier than any of the other water fountains. Between liking it and the added convenience of the open water fountain earlier in the spring before the others were open, I even did an 18-mile run on just the 3-mile stretch. Feel free to judge. However, let us go back to the propaganda aspect. If you are a new member or have not checked the Monday downtown runs out before, you should! - Celia K.

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Marathon Training: Spring vs Fall

There is no season such delight can bring,

As summer, autumn, winter, and the spring.

William Browne (c.1591–c.1645)

Despite growing up in the north where seasons were very much a reality of my daily existence, in terms of my athletic life they played no role at all. As a figure skater, I had always practiced in an indoor rink, otherwise known as a perfectly controlled cool environment with very little variation. When I decided to run my first marathon, the NYC Marathon, last year, I quickly learned that training without the creature comforts of the indoors definitely comes with its challenges in the summer. Then choosing to do two winter marathons and then train for a spring marathon, I learned that (surprise!) the flipside has its challenges as well.


Many differences exist in terms of training for a fall marathon versus a spring marathon. One of the most obvious differences is the weather. Training for a fall marathon will have you training through the summer and it can get really hot and humid. It is essential that you drink enough fluids. However, it is encouraging when the temperatures start to cool and running becomes easier. On the other hand, a spring marathon necessitates training through the winter. Days are shorter. Winter brings ice, snow, and temperatures that can be terribly brutal making it essential to have proper clothing to stay warm and to take the time to let your muscles warm up. The quality of workouts can be drastically decreased if you are stubborn like me and insist on running outside no matter what because you cannot bear the thought of the treadmill. However, having never made the winter to spring transition as a runner, what worries me most about a spring marathon is that I will not be acclimated at all for the possible heat.


Overall, although I prefer cooler temperatures to run in, I think I prefer training for a fall marathon. Not that I loved some of the freezing temperatures, but I did not mind them that much. It is actually two things unrelated to weather that make me not crazy about winter training. I do not like the oppressive darkness that comes with winter and I found the lack of water fountains to be extremely challenging on long runs. I also think training in the heat makes you a stronger runner. I am not totally convinced that training in the cold makes you anything except crazy.


Despite the challenges, so many good things are associated with the different seasons. Beautiful snow-covered landscapes, flowers blooming and leaves changing color to name a few. The changes make you appreciate each season for its own unique beauty. As runners, we are so lucky we get to experience the beauty of the outdoors and nature even in a big city. I used to love circling the same indoor rink hour after hour, but I feel so incredibly lucky that running has opened up a whole new world for me.
- Celia K.

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The New York City Half Marathon: A Great Day In Running!

The weather gods were smiling down on the NYC Half-Marathon as it enjoyed its debut as a spring half-marathon instead of a summer half-marathon. The temperature was a comfortable 53 degrees, the sun was shining enough to be cheerful but not too bright, and over 11,000 people were ready to run at the early hour of 7:35am on Sunday morning. The field included several pro runners, local runners, more out of town runners than the typical Road Runners race, and of course many, many Flyers.

The course started out on the East Side of the park near 95th St., then took runners on a clockwise loop of the park plus an additional two miles before the exit onto 7th avenue. You could feel and hear the excitement as the course left the park because the hardest part of the race was over and it was time to enter the part of the course with all the entertainment and the part that was something different than regular loops of the park. The course then gave runners a chance to run down south through Times Square before heading west to go down the West Side Highway where almost at the end of the race at Canal St was the Flyers hydration station, which was great fun to pass.

Mara Yamauchi set an event record for the women with a time of 1:09:25 and Peter Kamais, the men’s winner, finished with a time of 0:59:53. The favorable conditions made it a great day for PRs all around and many Flyers set PRs. Despite having run several marathons, this was my first half-marathon so I guess the jury is out for if it was a PR for me. Is the first race you do of a certain distance an automatic PR or is it just a benchmark? Nevertheless, I had a fantastic time.

Congratulations to all the Flyers who ran the race and thank you to all the Flyers who were at the water station, cheering elsewhere along the course, and the Flyers running the race who cheered for me on the course! You were amazing! - Celia K.

Julie C. gets some refreshment at our Flyer-run water station in the last stretch of the race.

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