The NYC Half Marathon requires running four out of six borough races in order to get an automatic entry. With three races down and a fourth needed to get into the 2020 NYC Half Marathon, I woke up early last Sunday to run the NYRR Bronx 10 Mile race.
It had been a few months since I ran the Brooklyn Half Marathon, and my running over the summer was less than the previous year, but I woke up early and headed out to the Bronx to do my best.
As the race started, I was feeling good. The first three miles up the Grand Concourse were gradually uphill, and posed a minor challenge, but I was able to push through and run at a comfortable pace for the first 5k.
Around the four mile marker we turned left onto the Mosholu Parkway, giving our out and back a T shape. A short run up the Mosholu Parkway S before hitting a U turn and heading down the Mosholu Parkway N to the 5 mile marker.
It was around the time of the hill back onto the Grand Concourse at about five and a half miles that my stomach began to be upset, throwing off my race. With about four miles to go, I was forced to slow down or walk parts of the race, but I was determined to finish the race, no matter how long it took me.
It felt like a struggle to continue at times, but ultimately I made my way back down the Grand Concourse and turned right for a quick downhill to the finish line to complete the race.
While my finishing time of 2:01:05 was a far cry from the previous year’s PR, I was happy to have been able to finish my last race of the year. With its completion, I am now able to run the NYC Half Marathon next year and look forward to racing again in 2020.
