New York marathon

Did it in 2010 - fantastic experience - they know how to put on a show!! Enjoyed every painful minute of it

(make sure you have enough warm clothes at the start - you'll be there for a while and it can be a bit nippy)

Yup, I'm in!  My first time in NY as well.

Good luck everyone! I am sure you will all have an amazing time. We have runners taking part for Sue Ryder Wheatfields Hospice in Leeds so look out for them when you are there. One tip I do have is don't do too much in the week running up to the Marathon and enjoy the experience! If you know anyone that would like to join you we have a few places available. Check out the details at this link: http://www.sueryder.org/Get-involved/Events/All-events/2012/November/New-York-Marathon

I'm in for next year ... have some local friends who'll be running it, it's awesome. Been there as an spectator and the atmosphere is incredible.

I did it at the end of last year and enjoyed it. Great race, but tougher than I thought it was going to be. The bridges (especially Verrazano and Queensboro) are quite energy-sapping if you havent incorporated many hills in your training, the drag along 5th Ave towards Central Park is one long slope, and Central Park itself is just one rolling hill after another. The crowds through Brooklyn and along 1st Ave were superb, but The Bronx was probably one of my favourite parts, yet you only run through about a mile of it!

As already mentioned, take something warm and disposable to Staten Island for the start. You'll be there for a while and you will be exposed to the elements... and it could be very cold at 6.30am!

For me, one of the best parts was being in New York AFTER the race. No better place to celebrate your achievement.

Word of advice: wear your medal everywhere you go for about 2 days after the race and you'll get treated like royalty, from simple congratulations by friendly strangers, to discounts on meals!!

sounds great

I'm doing it this year! Never visited NYC before. Can't wait! For previous marathons I've only ever trained enough in order to complete the course, but I quite fancy doing a time in NYC. Training well under way now. Managed 13 slow and sore miles today.

Watcha folks, I'm in for this year but have been injured since I signed up and only slowly getting back into it.  Love NY, have family there so hopefully some extra support.  Sounds like good advice on clothes and hills, I had heard the bridge spans are killers.

Am arriving on the Tuesday as Wednesday is the big Halloween parades which the kids insisted on seeing, sadly am heading back straight after the race as need to get them back to school no no chance of any medal related discounts.

Brolish - is that piccie the end of Amsters mara, if so another top race.

Cheers

Murph

Hope you like bagels!!! Fantastic experience I did it in 2004 and amazingly it was red hot at the start. Wish I was going with you-enjoy

Yup, will be my first stab at the NY marathon!  Started training last week and hopefully got it all (roughly) planned out to be in shape on time..!  Good shouts about hills and the cold, but that hard part's going to be 'resting' before the marathon when we want to explore the city!  Well, a bit long sleep the day before ought to do it   Good luck with the preparations to everyone running.

PS anyone interested in training together in the London area let me know!

Murph- yea, the previous one was from Amsterdam.  Good memories.

Good luck with your trainig everyone.

The travel packages seem incredibly expensive - has anyone tried arranging their own flight and hotel?

Southdownsman, do you have your entry already secured for the NYC marathon? Because if not, as someone coming from abroad, you'd have to enter through a tour operator and purchase some package combination ( they don't do just the race entry on it's own).  I ended up doing the flight/entry combo, and have organised my own accomodation using AirBNB.  The entry cost for the marathon alone is quite expensive, and the rest of the fee was pretty comparable to what I would've been paying for a flight on it's own at that time anyways.

Hi folks!  Thought I'd join in this thread as I too will be running NY for the first time!

It's my first time in NY so really looking forward to seeing the city too! We arrive early Sat morning and stay to Wednesday afternoon so should have a couple of days to see the city (and get some discounts!)

Can anyone who has done NY before give me some tips on how best to get to the start? I haven't signed up for any of the official transport as i just assumed it'd be straightforward to use public transport, like London; it's only recently I've realised getting to the start line sounds as big a task as the race itself!

One more thing, when should we expect to receive the 'race packs'? I've entered direct i.e. not via any tour operaters or as part of a package if that makes a difference.

Cheers everyone and hope the training is going well!

Big Bertie - Ive only done NY once but, depending on where you're staying, I'd recommend that you get the transportation they lay on. Either the bus out of Manhattan or Staten Island ferry. It is very well organised, complimentary, convenient and is almost certainly the easiest way to get to the start. Even though they assign you to a bus at a certain time, nobody checks that you get on the bus at that time. I was assigned to a 6.30am bus but got one closer to 7.15am and nobody said a thing. The bus takes about 45 minutes to get from Manhattan to Staten Island, so its a good opportunity to eat, drink and relax.

You'll need to pick up your race pack at the Expo in the 3 days before the race. They'll send a few bits and bobs (mainly forms) through the post before you head out to New York. If I remember correctly, they came through about a 3-4 weeks before the race.

Yes, it sounds lke the official transportation is the way to go (excuse the pun!). The deadline for regestering has passed now but I understand you can sign up for any available spaces at the Expo so will do so (If they have any left on Saturday morning!)

Just seen that there is no baggage facility this year. Personally I think it's a good idea if it speeds things up, but I bet a few will disagree!

That "no baggage policy" looks ridiculous! I can understand that they wanted to do something about the post-race collection problems (it was a VERY long walk and far too time-consuming!), but surely there is a better way than this. Personally, I think they could've just organised that part a bit better rather than do away with it entirely!

I did NY in 2010 and enjoyed it so much am doing it again this year.

Amazing atmosphere and I am actually delighted that they've removed the bag check facility. It was quite excruciating on your legs shuffling in a crowd for about an hour to get out of the park. For people complaining about getting cold, don't worry the crowds will keep you warm and they are giving out a fleece poncho in addition to the foil wrap.

Will be getting the bus at NY library again v v early and will have lots of charity shop clothes on to keep me warm in the wait for hearing ole blue eyes kick off the event on the bridge, still gives me goosebumps when I hear New York, New York!