Yesterday morning at 8 AM I bustled Mrs Ansky & Lil Ansky into my Nana’s big blue cruise ship of a Buick and we set off for Mile 8 of the Pocono Marathon. Our USO moment had come: we were headed to the first of three mile markers where we’d be cheering for AG (my friend, who blogs & tweets about his running like me) as he set out to flatten the Pocono Mountains by running over them as quickly as he could.
Before we set up camp at Mile 8, though, I stopped at a gas station and bought a detailed road map of Monroe County. Nana’s car (I borrowed it because Husband needed our Corolla in the city this weekend) has no GPS, so we would be navigating the back roads and road closures using an old-fashioned paper map. We got to Mile 8 with plenty of time, and were able to see the lead vehicle come through with the camera van, and watch the leaders zoom through. Mrs Ansky and I were laughing about the fact that there was a lead vehicle in such a small marathon (800 registrants), it was the Poconos Police Department’s big moment! Before we knew it AG was pounding down the hill and we started cheering like mad. Run, Ansky, Run! Lil Ansky was so excited to see her dad, it was pretty cute. AG looked so strong, and he shouted at me “one-oh six!” He had a look of supreme focus on his face. I got a surge of hope for him, of happy anticipation for his finish line moment. I knew it would be great, I could feel it.
We weren’t even a mile from the first cheering point before we needed to pull out the map, since road closures obviated the directions I’d picked out on Google Maps the night before. But, the back roads were gorgeous–curving and swooping through a green forest and past picturesque farmhouses and mountain cabins–and we enjoyed the adventure. Again, we had a few minutes to cheer for other runners before AG would be arriving at Mile 16, so I laid down some of my trademark cheering. I love noticing something singular about the runners and shouting about that. A guy with tattoos up & down his arms gets Nice ink! A woman who streaked her hair punk rock red for race day hears Love the red stripe! A man with flourescent orange racing sneakers inspires Fancy kicks! Apart from AG, my favorite person to cheer for was a woman who was racing in her Baltimore Marathon finisher’s tee, since I ran the Half and recognized the tee. Run Baltimore! And here came AG, smiling this time, giving Lil Ansky a big handslap as he tore by–because truly, he was moving at a clip. According to my watch, by Mile 16 AG had been running for about 2 hours and 16 minutes. Nice & even, especially considering Miles 8 thru 20 are all downhill. I am interested to read AG’s race report and hear what his actual splits were.
It made me happy to see the clusters of spectators along the course. Later AG would tell us crowd support was light, but I was impressed with the cheering that the few of us that were there did put out. Many of us had that fit runner look–I saw just as many BAA jackets on the spectators as I saw BAA racing outfits on the runners. I tried out a new cheer–Way to run with a smile!–since so many of the runners who came by were grinning.
The three of us piled back into the blue Buick and headed out towards Mile 25 to boost AG one last time. This required lots of rerouting and map consultation, but again the streets were gorgeous and the company relaxed and amenable so it felt like an adventure. Once we got to Stroudsburg and closer to the finish line, one-way streets and road closures made it tricky for us to find our way to Mile 25, so I made a quick left turn, an ill-advised U-turn and did a bit of creative driving in reverse to park the car at Mile 24. There was a couple of older ladies standing there waiting for their runner to come by, a crossing guard, and some neighbors drinking beers & smoking cigarettes, on the porch of the cattycorner house. The ladies had been cheering politely but once I began applying my lung power to the situation they stepped it up. It was a perfect day to be a spectator–sunny & warm with a cool breeze–but I could only think the marathoners must be suffering from the heat. And in fact, they all trotted by looking extremely damp. At Mile 24, we did see some folks walking by, which always makes me sad but I hate to point it out (it seems impolite) so I switched my cheers to Way to gut it out and Run tough! For the third and final time, we saw AG run by, again with that determined look but still with enough energy to quip at us, “Am I done yet?” He came by earlier than I’d expected, it was clear he was picking up speed and passing folks. Mrs Ansky and Lil Ansky were so delighted they got to see their man three times, I was glad to be a part of that with them, and see one of my running buddy’s training fulfill its purpose.
We did our best to get to the finish (a lap around the track at Stroudsburg High School) in time to cheer him across the line, but he handily beat us as we got stuck in lots of traffic. We found AG on the field, standing there wrapped in mylar and a medal, looking spent and stunned. 3:39:46, his Garmin said, which meant he made his goal of running a 3:40. Nice! “I’m gassed!” he said. Well, yeah! He ran his heart out. While he puttered around catching his breath and sipping Gatorade, I went over and congratulated Baltimore on her race; she was happy with her effort and said the course was harder than the Baltimore Marathon, which has hills that many runners compare to the Boston Marathon.
Later, back at the house, after AG had showered & stretched, he sat down with a big plate of baked ziti and marvelled at all the folks who congratulated him on his performance via Twitter & Facebook. I was happy for him, I remembered how much everyone’s comments had meant to me after I ran London, and was glad I kept our Twitter circle updated on his progress that morning. Congratulations Ansky! You ran a great race!
So awesome. I think your amazing TK. And Ari, well just wow!!!! Great read!!!
The familt support in a marathon is so cool. In my experience, I waited for those brief moments and encounters and really provided a boost and context for the race
Awesome and you are a good person. I think people underrate the importance of a familiar face on the course…I know from my own run, even though it’s only for a few seconds that you get to see that face…it gives you that push that you need.
You are a real good person.