I trained for the marathon. I run along the East River, and I used to run all the way down Manhattan, up the West Side and back home.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
A couple of years ago I ran in the LA Marathon.
I watch college basketball and sports in general. I'm also a runner. I live on the Upper West Side of Manhattan near Central Park, so I try to squeeze in runs through Central Park when I can.
I don't have great running technique, but I like to run. I've heard from countless people that the last six miles of the marathon is all mental. But what better city to have this in than New York City where there are millions of people there supporting you?
I've had a lot of success over the years racing in New York, but the main point is that I feel the marathon is a different event, a lot more my event.
I've been a runner a long time. When I first got into it, I started doing small triathlons in Chicago, and I just did it to get in shape. When I got out of college, I put on a few pounds like everybody does. I did it when I was in my early 20s, but I never really did any long runs.
Marathons are good training goals.
My dad was a big runner. Growing up, I watched him do half marathons, and he was always running six or seven miles.
These days, I am the most boring, methodical runner. I always do the same three- to five-mile loop near my home every evening. I hardly ever miss a day. On the weekends, I might go longer or add in weights.
When I was running the marathons in Munich, I always trained by myself. Between the demands of graduate work and a young family, I had to train at unusual hours. A few times, I ran home from my lab late at night, which was 20 kilometers out of town.
I ran my first marathon in Florida in 1985. I had never run more than nine miles.