The last hours in New York

With hurting legs I found my way Monday morning to the flagship store of Abercrombie and Fitch on the Fifth Avenue. Despite all economic crisis we even had to wait in front of the store to enjoy shopping at A&F. After a short stop on Houston street we walked through little Italy and Chinatown to stop for lunch at a Thai restaurant. Surprisingly I was still able to walk... In the afternoon we visited downtown Manhattan, the Financial district and "Ground Zero". I have visited this place now for the sixth time after 2001, 2002, 2004, 2006 and 2008. While in the first months still the wreckage of the Twin Towers could be seen, the years after nothing appeared to have happened on the construction site. Due to complicated underground work and finally long discussion about how and what to build as well as security aspects, the erase of the new "Freedom Tower" did not start until recently. Around Wall Street business went as usual, I could not (yet) see any traders or brokers jumping out of the window after loosing another billion dollars



We spent the final hours in New York on Tuesday morning in the colorful Central Park, walking from 72nd across Strawberry Fields to 86th Street and the Guggenheim Museum. At noon I had to say goodbye to my friend and my beloved New York and headed to Newark International Airport.






I flew via Chicago to Amsterdam. For both flights I got seats in the Economy Plus class of United Airlines. I don't like to fly with any US airlines (stewardesses are old, alcohol is not complimentary, aircrafts are old, service is bad...) but once more I got without any charge more legroom in the EcoPlus. Apparently UA is saving money on the wrong end, that is the IT-system since I got an offer to book the better seats for 150 dollars which I rejected, since I already got those seats assigned for free. Thx UA ;)

Wednesday morning I arrived with the good news of Barack Obama's victory in Amsterdam. In the afternoon I took the train to Paris to visit a fellow student from Rotterdam who wisely decided to move to a better place.

A few final words on The Run

Running the New York City Marathon was a great experience. A perfect organization, a frenetic crowd of spectaculars, good weather and a perfect race from myself made this run an unforgettable event. I don't know yet whether this will be the first and also the last marathon of my life, but for sure I know that I will never have a better one.

At this point I want to thank all people who explicitly or implicitly contributed to my successful participation in the New York City marathon. That is first my friend Andreas, whose stories about his marathon experience raised my motivation to take this challenge as well. Thanks goes to Ariel, who joined me for my trip to New York and who was one of the million people in the street cheering for all runners. Thanks goes to Kelly, Yen Dhe, Michael and Andreas who at least once trained with me. Special thanks goes to the little black boy in Queens, whose salt pretzels prevented me from starving. Finally, I thank my parents for their financial support and my whole family for their unconditional support through my whole life.

All race results can be found here http://www.ingnycmarathon.org/results/index.php

It is now Monday evening. Another day in New York City passed by. Despite hurting legs, me and my friend went to the Abercrombie & Fitch store on the 5th Avenue and to the financial district. My legs still hurt, now it is time to check the race schedule for next year...

ING New York City Marathon

The alarm kicked me out of bed at 4:30AM to catch the bus to Staten Island, where the ING New York City Marathon 2008 started. The buses in midtown departed in front of the public library, just few block away from my hotel. When I arrived, dozens of buses were already waiting on the Fifth Avenue to transport all runners to Fort Wadsworth on Staten Island. We arrived at 5:30AM - almost five hours before the start. It was very cold at that time and I was happy to have a second jacket, which in the end could not warm me up either. I tried to get some sleep in between of thousands of runners but did the cold (4 degrees) not really allow that. At 7AM I had some bagels and tea for breakfast before I spent another 3 hours with ... waiting.
At 10:00AM the loudspeakers announced that the third starting wave (the first and second wave were professional runners and those who expected themselves to be). We lined up and then walked slowly to the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, the starting point of the marathon. After a short speech and the typical American "God bless America" the race started. Weather conditions were perfect, sunny with light wind, about eight degrees.
I tried to push the race in the very beginning to have more time left in the end if I would get tired. With four hours, I had despite all the training I did, still an ambitious target time. Already on the first miles over the bridge I passed many other runners and tried always to catch up with others who were faster than me. After less than ten minutes I arrived Brooklyn and was really surprised by the crowd of people awaiting the runners and cheering. I finished the first 10km in 50 minutes, a good time. After 1:30 I got seriously hungry but unfortunately I did not carry any food with me. Therefore I was very happy to take some salt pretzels from a little black boy in Queens. I reached the half marathon mark after 21.1km and a personal record of 1:48 hours on the way up the Queensboro Bridge. After 25km I arrived Manhattan. The streets were even more crowded with people. While running up the second avenue I had the first time some doubts whether I would be able to make it in four hours since I remarkably slowed down and other runners started to pass me. However, the served energy gel of Powerbar and the arrival of the 30km mark after 2:40 and of the Bronx finally brought all my motivation and energy back. At this point I started not to feel any pain in my legs any longer. I did not notice what the people around were shouting (it was something like "Come on runners", "You can do it", "You look good"...). I was just running. Running. As fast as possible. I did not feel tired at all, so I kept pushing and passing other runners. When I reached Central Park North, the street was quite crowded and it was hard to find a way through the other runners as many of them already remarkably slowed down. At 86th Street, near the Guggenheim Museum we turned right into Central Park.
After 3:37:32 hours I arrived km40 and shortly after Central Park South. At this time I knew that I would make it for sure, to do the marathon in less than four hours. I felt still pretty strong, so I followed a police motorbike that was forcing some runners to step aside. At Columbus Circle we turned for the last time, back northbound into the central park. I reached mile marker 26, i.e. only 385 yards were to go. At this time I started to sprint, to invest the rest of my energy to get a good time in the end.
After about 3:50 I passed the finish line. I did not get the official results immediately but did my stop watch tell me a very positive result. I do not remember exactly whether I was happy or tired or whether I just wanted to continue running in this great atmosphere. Right after the finish line, all finishers got the official finisher medal. Volunteers handed over aluminum blankets to keep warm and drinks and some food.
I continued to the baggage truck of UPS where I handed it my belongings in the morning on Staten Island, then I left Central Park and the ING New York City Marathon 2008. I headed to 72nd Street to catch the subway back to the hotel but since I had only a 20-dollar bill, I had to go to McDonalds to get cheeseburgers and change (and free water sponsored by McDonalds -thx!) I arrived at our hotel at around 4PM, almost half a day after I started this great adventure in the early morning.

At seven I woke up after my shower and the necessary nap. I went to the Bubba Gump restaurant to finish the day with a huge portion of shrimps. In the end I ordered the dish with the highest number of calories, just to get back what I burned during my longest run.

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED

Finished on place 9363

Final time 3:49:29

The day before the day

We started the last day before the marathon with a good breakfast in 45th Street close to our hotel. In the morning we went to the Apple Store at Central Park South (I had to convince my friend to buy an ipod). We skipped the visit of the Abercrombie & Fitch for the moment since there was a long queue in front of the entrance despite the economic crisis. Afterwards I did my final training for the marathon and ran up Madison Avenue and through the park to 90th Street near the Guggenheim Museum.

In the evening we joined the Barilla Pasta Dinner for marathon runners and friends. Although a three block long waiting line suggested a long evening, we got quickly in and got some good pasta and drinks.



Tomorrow is the big day. After more than 1500km of training in and around Rotterdam, from Moscow to San Francisco and around my hometown in beautiful Bavaria, I will start at 10:20AM for the ING New York City Marathon 2008. The medical check was fine, I feel good and healthy although I did not completely follow my tuff training schedule in the end. Nevertheless I am optimistic to make it in four hours!

Big Apple

In the morning I went with my travel-mate from the Philippines to Javits Expo Centre to pick up my stuff for the marathon on Sunday. The number to look for is 40063, I will start at 10:20AM. Afterwards we took the A-train down to Brooklyn Bridge and continued our walk over to Chinatown, where we got some great Malaysian lunch.

With filled stomachs we took the Staten Island Ferry back and forth from Manhattan to Staten Island to enjoy the free ride with a great view on the Statue of Liberty and the skyline of lower Manhattan.


In the evening we went to the Metropolitan Opera to see La Traviata. We ended the day with a stop on Times Square.

Coming home... to NYC

I arrived at the airport in San Francisco at around 5:30AM, dropped of the car and took the air-train to Terminal 3 for United Airlines. The tachometer stated 17788 miles – overall I drove 1254 miles in three days. (that's almost the distance from Hamburg to Madrid!). The flight 'back home' to New York (I love coming back to NYC and in the meantime I feel like at home. Needless to mention there that I still hope NYC will one day be my home - even after the crash at Wall St. recently) was okay with the expected bad service of airlines in the United States. I arrived at my hotel near Times Square at 7PM.

Back to San Francisco

I skipped my running plans since I had to do some office work in the morning and left the motel at 10AM. I went back on the US89 southbound towards Lassen Volcanic National Park. After twenty miles I stopped in McCloud. The city represents all stereotypes Europeans might have about American cities – wooden houses, verandas in the front and pick-up trucks on the street.
With the Mt. Shasta in my rearview mirror I continued on the US89 southbound and stop shortly for another visit of the Lake Britton. At noon I arrived the Lassen Volcanic National Park and spent ten dollars and three hours with driving through and stopping at several spots around the volcanic area around the Lassen Peak.


I left Lassen NP after 3PM and continued on the US70, another beautiful highway through a narrow valley along an artful river. In the late evening I arrived back in San Francisco where I spent few hours on the backseat of my car before heading to the airport and to New York City.

Where the streets have no name

After more than 1000 miles in total I ended the second day of my road trip in Weed, California where I checked in at a nice motel. I spent the morning among others with driving and with visiting the Lake Britton area. The lake itself lies in the beautiful Shasta National Forest. I decided to stop there to take some pictures of an old railroad bridge which is part of the McCloud river railroad. I made this stop here as the bridge was one of the scenes in a favorite movie of my childhood and I always dreamt of walking over it for myself. The construction, 30 meters high with no handrail or anything and just the swells of the old railroad to walk over does not really invite to do so (and children should not repeat this without the allowance of their parents). Anyway, it was great to sit there and wait for the rain... but since the route is in the meantime abandoned there won't be any train in the future.


In the afternoon I drove approximately three hours in the middle of nowhere, that is the Mt. Shasta Wilderness. Lonely gravel roads through quiet forest without any other tourists made this afternoon a mentally very relaxing experience although steering my big SUV over rough and smooth required a lot of concentration. The GPS navigation system helped me not to get lost on all the dirt roads (most of them were just referred as military passes - for sure with a tank it is easy to drive there but not with any other vehicle)

On the road again

I started my road trip to the north of California at 7:30AM in downtown where I picked up my rental car - a Toyota Highlander (SUV). The tachometer showed 16354 miles, for sure this number will increase in the next three days. The first planned stop was at Marin Headlands to take some pictures of the Golden Gate Bridge with the skyline of the city. Unfortunately the weather conditions do not even allow to see much of the bridge so I immediately continue my trip to Vacaville for some shopping activities.


I left the outlet mall at 11:30 and continued my trip through the Napa Valley (which was not too interesting) and on different byroads which I would not even regard as roads. At 3PM I arrived on the US1, the pacific coast highway and my favorite street in the US. The first part, north of Stewart Point is not the most impressive I have seen so far but it gets better as further north I proceed. At around 6PM I watch a beautiful sunset near Fort Bragg.

Alcatraz, Climbing and Cheescake

Sunday morning was a good time to visit the island of Alcatraz (=the island of the birds) where the famous prison was located. It is the first day since my arrival with the notorious fog over the bay of San Francisco. Unfortunately the panorama of the city from the island is not the best but did the cold weather make the trip even more authentic as it allowed to feel how it was for the prisoners on Alcatraz most time. The tour (offered in half a dozen languages, among other in German) was very interesting and definitely worth the 26 dollars.

In the afternoon we climbed a second time up on the Telegraph Hill and were this time successful with our visit of the Coit Tower. The top of the tower is more than 140 meters above sea level, offering a great view over the city and the bay of San Francisco.
The huge sport program of the weekend allowed us to end my visit of San Francisco with a dinner at the Cheesecake Factory where to my surprise not only cheesecake but also very delicious food is served - together with a great view from the top of the Macy's building over the Union Square in downtown San Francisco.

Running through SanFran

Me and my friend started the day with organizing a ticket for a tour to Alcatraz on Sunday and a stop at Fishermen's Wharf. As we are both runners, we decided to use the good weather for a run to and over the Golden Gate Bridge. After a short moment of relaxing we continued with sportive activities and climbed up the Telegraph Hill to visit the Coit Tower which was unfortunately closed. The rest of the day was spent for a walk through the financial district of San Francisco to the Abercrombie & Fitch store on Market Street and a visit of the Union Square.

Friday in Frisco

I spent a wonderful Friday morning with lots of sun and 20 degrees in the street of San Francisco, riding the cable cars up and down the hills. Amazing views are given on the stop on Powell and California down the street with the Bay Bridge in the background and down Hyde Street on Alcatraz. After a visit of the Lombard Street, the crookedest street in the world, I did a short walk through Chinatown. After lunch I rested on the Alamo Square and enjoyed the view on the skyline with the "painted ladies", some old victorian townhouses in front.
The day ended with a bus trip to the beach and a walk up to the Cliff house and along the Coastal trail where I could get some nice views on the Golden Gate Bridge and also check some better neighborhoods of San Francisco where I will for sure life later ;)

In the evening I picked up my luggage and change my location since I checked-in for the next three nights at a friend's place.

First Steps in SanFran

With every trip to the US, the question at the immigration control appear to get more but I proceeded in the end quickly and before 2PM I arrived at the hostel in the Ellis St. where I planned to spend the first night. As my luggage got delayed in Frankfurt, I had to skip the needed shower but left immediately for a walk around in San Francisco. I stopped first at the city hall and followed then the market street towards the newly restored ferry building at the Embarcadero. The weather was amazing with more than 20 degrees and sun, so I finally felt asleep somewhere on a park bench for half an hour before I continued my walk along the bayside towards Fisherman’s Wharf.

Going to San Francisco

To avoid a huge jet lag when arriving in San Francisco I decided to start this year’s trip to the United States with going out in Rotterdam with some friends. I had to go to Rotterdam anyway to hand in my master thesis at the Erasmus University. I managed to do so although delayed flights and improperly running trains made it very exciting to get there on time. Now I am only one step away from my graduation. That is the defense of my work, which will take place on November 20th at the Erasmus University, and everybody out there is heartily invited!

Being now almost university and study free I did some socializing with friends in Rotterdam, just until 3:15 at night which was the best time to go then directly to Schiphol airport to catch the flight via Frankfurt to San Francisco. In good tradition fights from Amsterdam to Germany are delayed and we started almost an hour late, which left me only 15 minutes to catch my connecting flight to San Francisco – enough for a well trained runner but as I should realize later not for my luggage, which arrived in the end six hours later than me. The flight with the Boeing 747 of Lufthansa was okay, I reserved my favorite seat in row 54 and did nothing else than sleeping or eating. At noon I arrived in San Francisco.

USA2008 - NYC Marathon

Almost a year ago I decided to take another challenge in my life. I planned to run a marathon. Although I did some sports before I was never a big runner. However, running a marathon appeared for me as an excellent physical and mental training. In September 2007 I started my training in Rotterdam and finished it few days ago with a 30km run through places like Kemnat and Balzhausen around my home town Thannhausen in the south of Germany. In the end I ran more than 1500km in one year to make my dream come true - finishing the run in four hours or less. I was very happy about getting one of the few starting places at the New York City marathon, which are not given to travel agencies or sponsors.

On October 22nd I said finally good bye to Germany and headed to the United States. After a short stop in Rotterdam I plan to visit San Francisco, North California and New York. I will collect some expressions from my trip here. Enjoy traveling with me!