Wall Street Run - NYC - 21:30

Runners - 4,817
Finish - 514th
Age Group - 31st
Time - 21:30


This was my 17th Wall Street Run, the most of any other race I have run. You don't run a race 17 times unless it is good. There is also nothing like running through the closed streets of the financial district, having the rush hour commuters stare in bewilderment. They are trying to rush home and the runners are rushing towards the finish line. I ran the first one in 1982 when I just got into running races. I worked downtown and it was perfect for me after work. The course could be a bit treacherous as there is always some type of construction. You have to be aware of the metal plates on the ground and the many potholes that are throughout the course.

The start has changed many times but it always finishes on the promenade near the World Financial Center. The course is not always accurate so I wouldn't plan on setting a personal best. I think it was advertised as 5K way back when, but now it's a 3 mile run. In 1983, I ran it in 17:28 which I know was not correct. The last couple of years the 3 mile course seems to be accurate.

I am not working in New York any more so I wasn't planning on running this year, but when I heard my good friend Frankie was running as well as a few former business partners, I decided to train it in. I got in early had lunch with an old friend, met up with a few old collegues, then met up with Frank at his apartment. I also got to meet Pdubs, Frankie's girl, who is just a great person.

My goal for this race was to run with Frank at his pace which I figured would be right around 7 minutes per mile. I had just run a hard 5K on Sunday so I wasn't expecting to run much faster than a 7 minute pace. We needed to get close to the front because with 4,500 runners navigating their way through the streets of lower Manhattan we would have had to suffer through a 10 minute first mile. As it turned out, we were right near the front and got off to a good start. We hit the first mile in 7:08 but were weaving in and out of runners. The pack never really opens up because of the number of runners as well as the narrow streets and quick turns. I never saw the mile 2 marker, but I think we hit it at the same pace. The finish gets crazy as runners start picking up the pace as we head on to the promenade heading towards the finish. You can only fit three runners across for the last 1/4 mile so passing people is tough. Frankie had fallen back a bit and I finished in 21:30 which was what I expected. Frank was a little disappointed with his time but he hasn't been running as much as I have been. He had just run a 10K in Central Park on Saturday so I am sure his legs were tired and he admittedly said the hills beat him up a bit.

Afterwards we headed to the Raccoon Lodge with a bunch of people for a couple of beers, then met up with Pdubs and Katya and grabbed a bite to eat at Dean's Restaurant. It was good night of running and the pizza was excellent.