Welcome to my favorite AND first race of the year: NYRR Gridiron Classic. This was an amazing race, especially since my TEAM was in the SUPER BOWL! The goal of this race is to celebrate the American tradition of Super Bowl Sunday, kicking it off with a longest football throw contest, followed by a 4 mile race in Central Park. Let's just say, the weather was STUNNING. 40 degrees and SUNNY. We had to watch out for black ice, but it was melting by the time we were in the sunny parts (West Side) of the Park. There was tons of trash talking, tons of "Go Pack Go's", and I even made friends with a Bears fan because his son was undeniably the cutest little boy on the East side. Aw.
Time: 37:53/9:19 pace
Distance: 4 miles (lots of hills!!!)
Highlights: Hilarious race announcer. Costumes encouraged. Every mile you picked your lane; Steelers of Packers (Um, Packers were REPRESENTIN'!). Wish I had gotten a picture :-( Water at every mile. GREAT volunteers!!! The crowd vibe was awesome, seriously. Packers fans EVERYWHERE, including the above pictured full gear guy! Niice. Bagels (which are always from the same distributer for NYRR and have a very distinct taste) and apples at the finish. Some people complained about no Gatorade; uh, there was barely any sweating going on in 40 degree weather, water will do just fine thanks.
Lowlights: Crowded, but who cares?!
I actually entered too late and didn't get in, so I ran it with my lovely friend Sara anyway. We had a grand old time. Our time was slower than it would have been because we were running together, and weaving with two people in Central Park is a tricky challenge. We relaxed and enjoyed the race!!!
Verdict: Every state, heck every town, should have one of these races! No matter what team you like, they were all represented!!! Event he Redskins and Bills (But no Raiders)! ;-) It was good clean football fun. Plus it's a day when naughty food is BOUND to be eaten, so why not start it off with a nice brisk run!?
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