October 23, 1983

It’s October 23, 1983, my second marathon my first New York City Marathon. It’s 8:39 AM. The bus from Long Island drops us off a quarter of a mile from Fort Wadsworth on the Staten Island side of the Verrazano Bridge. It’s an easy walk to the Fort where Military Police meet the runners to make sure they have a NYC Marathon race number. Once inside the Fort, the runners go through a final check-in and then it is about a two-hour wait for the start of the marathon. Most of the runners are under tents trying to keep warm. Most of the runners are relaxing in the grass and are trying to stay warm. It is 59 degrees with off an on light rain. A couple of times over the next couple of hours I join the men and contribute to the world’s largest urinal.

10:30and it is call to assemble. Runners start shedding some of their warm-ups, shirts and disposable trash bags (used as wind and rain breakers). Many of the runners are just toss away their warm-ups and extra shirts they were wearing to keep warm and dry. All of the discarded clothing is eventually picked up by race volunteers and donated to charities. I am at the starting line with another 17,164 runners. The entire top span of the Verrozano Bridge is closed to traffic. The left hand (west bound) lanes are reserved for the top seeded women runners followed by primarily women runners. The right hand (east bound) lanes are reserved for the top seeded men and primarily men runners. Helicopters and planes are circling overhead. There are many boats circling below in the river. I can see NYC Mayo Ed Koch on the official’s platform. Men bring empty bottles to the start line to be used as last minute urinals. With just a few minutes before the start there is more discarding of clothes. Shirts, warm up pant and tops are thrown over the heads of runners in an attempt get them out of the way of the runners. At 10:45 the Howitzer Cannon is fired and the marathon starts. Again, more clothes are discarded. It only takes me 45 seconds to get to the start line. But even at that point, I wasn’t able to run. The first mile, entirely on the Verrozano Bridge is all up hill. I am at the top in 8:00 minutes flat. I expect to average 8:00 minutes a mile, so I am right on pace. Just past the 1 Mile mark I hear several runners yelling there’s Floyd Paterson (the former World Heavy Weight Boxing Champion from the late 1950’s). I slow to run along side of him for about a half mile. At times it feels like you are running on foam rubber. I find out after the marathon that the foam rubber effect is due to the bridge being a suspension bridge and the vertical give and go as the runners traverse the bridge. We get off of the bridge just short of the two-mile mark. We are in Bay Ridge in Brooklyn, the second of the five NYC boroughs that we will through. This is also the first of the multitudes of cheering crowds encountered on the course. Time, 15:00. Thanks to the one mile down hill, I’m one minute ahead of schedule. The ethnic mix through this part of Brooklyn is mostly Irish, Scandinavian and Hispanic.

3-mile mark in 22:10, 7:20 pace and feeling great. 4 miles in 29:30, 5 miles and still holding a 7:20 pace. The crowds cheer you along as you run down 4th Avenue. Spectators are offering the runners water, oranges and hard candies. Kids along the way reach out to give the runners ‘five’. I’m at 58:00 minutes at the 8-mile mark. I pass one of the long time landmarks of Brooklyn, the Williamsburg Bank Tower with its majestic clock. Miles 9 through 12 takes you through Williamsburg. This is now home to one of the largest, if not the largest population of Hassidic Jews. It is a strange feeling seeing so many Hassidic Jews in their long black ‘Great Coats, black hats and long ear locks. Just prior to entering Queens the crowd turns primarily black and Hispanic. As I cross the Pulaske Bridge entering Queens, I see my half marathon split is 1:35:00. If I keep this pace up I’ll finish in 3:10:00, 20 minutes ahead of schedule and qualifying for Boston in the open division.

As you enter Queens the crowd is large and loud as they welcome you into their borough, the third along the course. Two miles later the crowd thickens again as spectators cheer you onto the Queensborough Bridge. The bridge is steep, long and you run on an open grading which is not very comfortable after running 16 miles. There is carpeting over the open grading but it is only wide enough for two runners. Mile 16 is at the top of the bridge. I am surprisingly still feeling good. You get a great view of the Brooklyn, Queens and Manhattan skyline form the top of the bridge.

The cheering is deafening as you come off of the bridge and onto First Avenue in Manhattan. The crowds line both sides of the First Avenue. Spectators continue to offer the runners water oranges and hard candies. Kids still reaching out for a high 5. If you have your name on your shirt, or city or state, the spectators yell encouragement to the runners. “Good run Bill, Go England, Nice run Florida, etc. The crowds again turn black and Hispanic as you approach 96th St. People are leaning out windows watching and encouraging the runners. We get to the Willis Avenue Bridge at 19.5 miles. As you exit the bridge you enter the Bronx. Big crowds greet you as you enter the Bronx. I was looking forward to getting to the Bronx since this is where I was born 39 years ago and spent my first 5 years. We have now run in all 5 boroughs, but with 20 miles completed there is still 6 more to go, 5 of them in Manhattan. I am at the 20-mail mark in 2:26. If I can maintain my 7:15 pace I’ll still finish in 3:10. I start to feel the strain as I cross Madison Avenue Bridge entering Manhattan. We are now running into the wind and rain. Did I forget to mention it has been raining off and on for the last 16 miles? My brother who joined me at the 17 Mile mark for moral support, gave me his Goretex jacket to try and help me keep warm. I had to walk in order to get the jacket on. After walking about 100 yards my legs (quads) started to cramp. I guessed the cramping was due to the cold rain. I never should have walked.

The next 5 miles were agony, walk, run, walk, run… Try to run the down hills and straight a ways and walk the up hills. The crowds cheer you on, especially those of us who are walking. I don’t remember much of the two miles to Central Park. The crowd kind of gets you out of your stupor as you enter Central Park at 23 miles. The puddles in Central Park are fairly deep in areas. My calf muscles started cramping when the cold rainwater was splashed on my legs. If I didn’t step into a puddle it seemed like the runners around me did. Couldn’t stay away form the cold water. The Central Park loop is hilly. It seemed like there were more uphills then down hills. Just after you cross the 25-mile mark you exit Central Park and run along Columbus Circle, another up hill. Did I forget to mention that NYC is not flat? You re-enter Central Park just short of the 26-mile mark. 26-mile mark, 385 yards to go. The cheering now is at its maximum. There are bleachers on both sides of the road and trail leading the finish line. You feel like you have just caught the winning touch down pass in the Super Bowl. OK, may be not in the Super Bowl. But the feeling is tremendous. I open my jacket to show my race number allowing me to enter the finish line area.

I have seen pictures of the NYC Finish Line and now I am there. I’ve finished – I won. The last 10K tool me 62 minutes, an average of 10 minutes per mile. Finishing time – 3:28:32, 7:58 pace, 4,703 out of 17,165 starters. But wait until next year. (I ran a 3:22:07 in 1984 and 3:42:50 in 1988)

Trivia: 17,165 Starters
44,000 Rejected
2,500,000 Spectators
320 Portable Toilets
500,000 Paper Cups
68,000 Safety Pins
18,000 Yards of Barricade Tape
4.500 Volunteers
36 Intersections Closed
5 Bridges Closed
286 Participants from Florida
All 50 States Represented
63 Foreign Countries Represented
14,315 Men
2,850 Women