Fun on Foot Running, Walking Blog

New York City Marathon – How to Get In

Administrator — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 23:53:17 +0000

If you have even the remotest interest in running the New York City Marathon in the next couple of years now is the time to act. If you already qualify for 2012, go ahead and enter since applications just opened. If you do not qualify, go ahead and enter for the ballot, but do not hold your breath since the ballot win likelihood is shrinking every year. Another way you can get into 2012 is to become an active member of a NYC running club – clubs get some marathon slots and just might help you. Join now.

Most importantly though, and often overlooked, is that you can easily get a guaranteed entry into 2013 by simply running nine NYRR qualifying races in 2012 plus volunteering once. However, to use this path you MUST join NYRR before January 31, 2012. Act now to join NYRR at a modest fee if you have any possible interest in running in 2013 and you do not qualify otherwise.

New York City – Manhattan Hudson River to Van Cortlandt Park

Administrator — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 21:59:40 +0000

The popular Hudson River trail in Manhattan ends at the George Washington Bridge, with a continuation along the Henry Hudson Parkway to emerge near the west end of Dyckman Street. Not far away, in the Bronx, there are many excellent trails in or connecting to Van Cortlandt Park. We have been researching connections between these two trail systems and believe we have now nailed the best one. This trail will allow you to connect from the Manhattan Hudson River trail to the New York Botanical Garden, Pelham Bay Park, Yonkers and points further north in Westchester County.

The on-foot distance from Dyckman Street and Broadway to the Van Cortlandt Park Nature Center is 3.4 miles, of which 0.5 mile is on pedestrian/bike paths and the rest are on (mostly quiet and pedestrian-friendly) street sidewalks.

The Manhattan end of this trail connects to Fun on Foot routes MH3 (Upper Hudson River and the Cloisters) and MH8 (Harlem Parks Corridor). The Bronx end connects to routes BX1 (Van Cortlandt Park), BX2 (Van Cortlandt to Botanical Garden) and BX8 (Van Cortlandt to Yonkers). Both ends are convenient to subway stations and food-beverage establishments. Therefore, there are some good options here for creating longer routes with a pleasant wind-down place and/or a subway ride back to where you started.

This connecting route is described in our new article, available free at www.funonfoot.com/article1102.html. Enjoy and please provide your feedback!

Philadelphia Marathon Course Information

Administrator — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 22:40:33 +0000

The Philadelphia Marathon and Half Marathon are coming up on Sunday, November 20. If you are a first-time runner we have an article describing the course and providing some tips to help you through it. Read our article at www.funonfoot.com/article1005a.html It is based on first-hand experience and capsulizes the information we presented at our Philly Marathon Expo seminar last year. Good luck in Philly – it is a great race!

New York City Marathon 2011

Administrator — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 22:37:30 +0000

It was a fantastic event, as always. Over 47,000 people this year, making their way from the Staten Island end of the Verrazano Bridge 26.2 miles through cheering crowds in the other four boroughs to the finish in Central Park. The weather was perfect this year, with no risk of precipitation and pleasant temperatures throughout.

I finished it, albeit with a very poor time (my worst ever). However, recalling that six months ago I could not run a step owing to an Achilles tear, my finish brought enormous satisfaction.

Nola was not so fortunate – a new injury forced her to not start. She deserves the most respect, having done all the hard work training but being denied the ultimate satisfaction.

My main memories are of the cheering squad of my team, the Reservoir Dogs, at the 19-mile mark and the fantastic celebratory party we had Sunday night despite seriously painful legs and a still-nonfunctional NYC taxi system.

Congratulations to all finishers, all supporters (especially the Reservoir Dogs and Mercury Masters squads), and all like Nola who deserved a start but had fate intervene.

New York City Marathon Countdown

Administrator — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 19:55:30 +0000

We are one week away from the New York City Marathon. For those of us running, it is time to virtually wrap up our training and enjoy that nice taper week where we can give more attention to resting and carb-loading than we do to pounding our feet. For those of us planning our last longish training run for yesterday (Saturday) we received a rude shock. We were treated to a vicious winter storm with strong winds, frigid temperatures, and, would you believe it – inches of snow.
I had been planning a ten-mile, marathon-pace run but, choosing discretion instead of valor, decided to do my gym workout Saturday instead and postpone the run. Good choice. Today Nola and I ran a pleasant 10 miles along the Hudson, in cold, but otherwise friendly conditions.
What looks particularly attractive, so far, is the weather forecast for marathon day, November 6 – no precipitation, a high of 64 degrees F and a low of 49. You cannot ask for any better than that. Life is so much easier when we don’t have to prepare for nasty environmental conditions at Ford Wadsworth. Of course, forecasts do not always follow through their promise but we can cross our fingers.
I wish all marathoners good luck and a memorable run in the amazing NYC Marathon, and thank all spectators in anticipation of their marvelous support.

New York – Staten Island Half Marathon

Administrator — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 12:12:53 +0000

The Staten Island Half Marathon was run on Sunday. The course takes the runners from the stadium near the St. George ferry terminal, along the streets to Fort Wadsworth, south about two miles to South Beach, and then turns around to return to the start mostly reversing the outbound route.
It is a quite tough route, with several hills and no shade. This year, the weather was a lot warmer than normal, with the temperature in the 70s throughout. I ran the race this year and, at the finish, felt zapped of energy and dissatisfied with my performance, thanks to the course and the weather. I heard of similar feelings from many runners. Nola was even less satisfied, struggling with a leg injury throughout the race.
One valuable aspect of this race for NYC Marathoners in training is that it helps condition runners to the logistics of the marathon, by having to get to Staten Island for the start. This race started at 8:30 am and the only Staten Island Ferries available were at 6:30 am and 7:30 am. I figured the 7:30 might be too tight time-wise so braved the early hours to catch the 6:30 and suffer the 1-1/2 hours of waiting around at the start. This turned out to be a good choice. There were way too many people at the Manhattan terminal for the 7:30 ferry and a good number were left behind. DOT was good enough to run a special, additional ferry but this did not arrive until the race was just starting. Nevertheless, it was a very successful race overall, made possible through the excellent planning skills of New York Road Runners and their volunteers.

Fall Running Season at Last

Administrator — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 23:33:43 +0000

In the northeast, summer has been very hot and humid this year and not conducive to comfortable running. However, that long-anticipated change has arrived. As of last weekend, the temperature and humidity both dropped to respectable levels and running started to feel easy again.
In New York, last Saturday brought the running of Grete’s Great Gallop, the early fall traditional half marathon conducted within Central Park. It was a particularly touching event since it memorialized the passing of Grete Waitz, famed and beloved nine-time winner of the NYC Marathon, who succumbed to a lengthy battle with cancer early this year. The race was run in refreshingly pleasant conditions, although still a touch warmer than some of us prefer.
I have been struggling all summer recovering from an injury and the weather has contributed to keeping my performance level down. I ran Grete’s and was delighted to see my performance getting back near where it should be. Nola leapt out into the park Monday and ran a 23-mile long training run without a second thought. Welcome fall running conditions!
We runners now have a busy calendar for a few weeks. There are forthcoming marathons in Chicago, Washington DC, New York City, and Philadelphia, to mention a few. Nola and I are looking forward to the Staten Island Half next weekend and then the NYC Marathon on November 6. It is a busy schedule but very enjoyable training conditions, thanks to the arrival of the fall weather.
Best wishes to all runners preparing for the great fall races! Arrive fit at the start line and let the routine play out…

Philadelphia John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge

Administrator — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 18:37:58 +0000

The John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge at Tinicum covers a freshwater tidal marsh area on the boundary of Philadelphia and Delaware Counties very close to Philadelphia International Airport. It has several miles of well maintained pedestrian trails and is quite popular with local runners and walkers. You can do an out-and-back trip of up to nine miles, and can introduce some variation by taking different trail segments in the two directions.
The best way to get here is by driving. You can get here by Regional Rail to Eastwick Station or SEPTA bus 37 or 108, but will need to do some hiking along the road.
The trails are mostly well maintained gravel trails, suitable for cycling (not all trails), running, and walking. Dogs are permitted on a leash. There is a pleasant 3.4-mile loop trail, starting and finishing at the visitor center. You can alternatively proceed the length of the reserve to the second parking area at Route 420 and beyond a short distance, for a roundtrip of 8.2-to-9.0 miles. The best route choices are those away from the highway, which tends to be quite noisy. See our more detailed article and route map with distances at www.funonfoot.com/philadelphia.html.
This is a very pleasant place to train if you live nearby or are seeking a change of environment.

Labor Day NYC Running Event

Administrator — Sun, 28 Aug 2011 19:06:23 +0000

Goodnight Irene and good riddance – thanks for ruining our weekend and wiping out the Bronx Half and the Harlem 5K. Now it is time to think about Labor Day weekend. The event I really enjoy is the 14.2-mile training run from the top to the bottom of Manhattan conducted by Finest Sports on Sunday September 4. I did this last year and it was a very pleasant event which, despite being low key, was well organized and well supported by volunteers and, of course, our finest. It starts at 7:30 am at 220th Street and Broadway and ends at Battery Park, employing Riverside Park and the Hudson Trail for much of the route. It is for a good cause and is good fun, involving many NYC club members. Details are at the finestsports.net website.
I hope Irene did not cause severe hardship for any of you…
Warwick Ford

New on the Fun on Foot Website

Administrator — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 18:27:24 +0000

We are reshaping the www.funonfoot.com website to distribute more runner information free. We have started with the Philadelphia section where we have added a high-quality, high-detail Schuylkill River Trail Map for free download (comparable with our popular Boston Charles River Map). We are also offering free printable mini trail maps for the major local trails.
We invite you to check out www.funonfoot.com/philadelphia.html and provide your feedback. Watch for similar improvements for other cities later this year.
Warwick and Nola