Yes, I will run 26.2 miles tomorrow. No, I won't wear a cowbell.

Dearest friends and family,

Well, the moment has finally arrived. After many months of training and anticipation, the running of the 40th NYC Marathon will take place tomorrow. It's been a rainy Halloween; sheets of tepid drizzle driving distraught looking trick-or-treaters back whence they came...

But the weatherpeople assure us that tomorrow will be beautiful.

So, it's on.

Today was extremely busy. I spent most of the day zipping around the City, making sure I'd taken care of all my last minute marathon business. Made a midday trip to the Javitz Convention Center to pick up my number and the place was PACKED. Thousands of runners from all over the world milling about, filling out forms and just generally looking fit. I picked up my number and, if I do say so myself, it's a good one. 23811. Sounds lucky, doesn't it?

After the pick-up, I headed over to Midtown to attend the MMRF Team reception; a nice opportunity to meet the Team and hear some final words of warning/ encouragement. They even had MMRF Team cowbell noise-makers! I didn't take one, because I refuse to run my first marathon wearing a cowbell and, frankly, I don't know any cows.

Marie and I just had a delicious pre-marathon dinner at our favorite Spanish restaurant in the Lower East Side. Under the ruse of needing to stock up on "complex carbohydrates," I talked Marie into splitting a huge plate of paella. It was awesome.

Tomorrow morning will come early. We're expected to meet the Team bus at Central Park South at 5:30 AM for a prompt 6 AM departure. Don't want to be too late to get on that bus. That would be a truly stupid reason to miss the marathon. Tomorrow afternoon I expect to be able to write again, giving as detailed an account of the race as my haggard body will let me write. Maybe it will have to be Monday....

Thanks again to everyone for your wonderful support and encouragement. Without your kindness and generosity, this would not be happening.

Forward!

Runnin' in the trees - Don't worry! It's not Sasquatch. It's just me.

Well, I’m afraid time has gotten away from me! Several of you have helpfully pointed out that I’ve not posted an update in QUITE awhile. Yes, it’s true and I apologize. Life has become exceptionally busy in the last two months. Part of the problem is this: I’m now officially a graduate school recidivist. As a consequence, I’ve spent much of the the past two months up to my knees in social science treatises. Good times! That doesn’t mean that I haven’t been training, however. With two weeks before race-day, I’m pleased to report that we are on track!

Marie and I just returned from a short trip up to New Hampshire. While there, I was able to log an EXTRAORDINARILY beautiful 8 miler. For those of you who haven’t been to NH, you really must go! It’s full of some of the most beautiful views and most friendly people you can imagine. Being several hundred miles north of New York, the temperature in late October is pretty chilly up there. As you can see from the images, the foliage is in its full autumnal glory. I did run in shorts, but was extremely glad to have my gloves and long-sleeved jersey. In fact, I wish I’d had a hat!

On a side note, tomorrow the MMRF Marathon Team is doing its first group run. We’ll be running the final 10 miles of the marathon route with our Team Coach, Tom Holland. I’m looking forward to finally meeting my team-mates. The only bad news is that the weather is going to be miserable. By “miserable” I mean, 45 degrees and raining - hard. So, this will be a good opportunity to test our team mettle! Nobody said it was going to be easy, right? I’ll let you know how it goes.

Forward!