I’M IN: New York City Marathon 2014!

So, yesterday was quite possibly the LONGEST and most stressful day EVER. It was New York City Marathon lottery drawing day!

But in the end, the running gods smiled upon me and by some stroke of luck I was actually selected from the tens of thousands of hopeful runners who entered the New York City Marathon lottery.

I WILL be running this November!

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To say I’m shocked (and thrilled!) would be an understatement. I know you guys all know me as a hardcore runDisney fanatic — which I totally am — but if there was ever another marathon I’d want to run as much as one through the Disney parks, it would be the New York City Marathon.

I’ve always lived in New Jersey, and ever since I went to see my first Broadway show when I was barely out of diapers, I have always relished any opportunity to venture into “the city” — so to be able to experience NYC while participating in one of the largest marathons in the world? Yes, please!

After I crossed the finish line of my first marathon, I knew that I HAD to someday run the NYCM. I just didn’t realize it would be this soon. It’s a dream come true and I still can’t believe I’m in! It was my first time entering the lottery, and honestly, I didn’t expect in a million years that this would happen. The odds are definitely against you; with some 77,000 non-guaranteed applicants, only 9,000 names are drawn.

Assuming there was no way in hell my application would be accepted, I’ve been casually researching NYCM’s partner charities and how the “running for charity” process actually works, and had every intent to figure out some way to meet the average fundraising requirement so I could run this year. I really did have my heart set on it.

Of course, I knew better than to get my hopes up…so yesterday was definitely a pleasant surprise! I do feel awful that there are people who have entered multiple times and haven’t gotten accepted, and hate that it has to be a lottery.

Photo credit: New York Road Runners

Photo credit: New York Road Runners

Of course, the folks at New York Road Runners really know how to toy with your emotions. After waking up early and compulsively beginning to check my e-mail for any sign of a “you’ve been accepted!” e-mail, I hopped on Twitter and started chatting with others who were just as anxious for news on their application.

In stalking the NYRR and NYC Marathon websites, Facebook, and Twitter pages, and chatting with some other runners who had been accepted in previous years, I found out that the first place I might see a glimmer of hope was in my bank account. Apparently, if you see the registration fee pop up as a charge from NYRR, even if you haven’t yet received your e-mail or an update in your NYRR account, then you’re in.

And, low and behold, when I checked yesterday morning, there was a pending charge on my credit card for $255.

Of course, I still wanted official confirmation in the form of both an e-mail and an alert on the “My NYRR” homepage, so I was cautiously hopeful as I (attempted) to go about my day. I even felt compelled to go for a run (on a ridiculously WINDY day, might I add…not the smartest idea!) because I thought it would help take my mind off the agony of waiting for official confirmation.

It wasn’t until HOURS AND HOURS later, at 6pm, that I finally received THE e-mail!

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Of course, this race effectively completes my already overflowing race calendar for this year, and while I don’t look forward to having to begin marathon training in the heat of summer, I honestly can’t wait to get started. I am SO pumped.

I want this to be the first marathon I run “for real” — I plan to have the time of my life, but I still want to see exactly what I can do out there. Unlike running my first marathon as part of the Dopey Challenge, where my goal was just to survive, and unlike this month’s Rock ‘n’ Roll USA Marathon, where my goal was to make sure Todd survived, this is going to be MY BIG RACE. This is my opportunity to prove to myself what I’m really capable of achieving. I am going to train HARD for this marathon. No stopping me now!

The best news of all? I guess you could say my running mojo is back. :)

Anyone else running with me this year?!

What is your “dream” race?

Comments

  1. So excited for you! Congrats girl!

  2. Congrats! I will be marathon training in the heat of summer with you since I’m doing Portland which is right around the same time as NYCM! So excited to follow along with your training, which will hopefully push me to train hard too :) Although since it’s my first marathon I’m just trying to get to the finish line without dying.

    • Jennifer says:

      Thanks, Kristina! Oh, wow! How perfect. We can commiserate together on long runs in the heat! Haha. I’m definitely going to draw inspiration from you, too! :) The goal of any first marathon is to finish, IMHO, but I know you’re going to KILL it.

  3. YAYAYAYAYAYAY!!!!! Extra big congrats to you! The only year I entered the lottery was the year it was cancelled. Then I decided big races just are not really my thing. But I can imagine how the crowd fuels you in this race.

    • Jennifer says:

      Thanks, Amy! I am SOOO pumped. Aw, man — totally sucks. Oh, I definitely prefer smaller races, too, no doubt about it (other than Disney, I mean) — but I am definitely going to take advantage of the spectator support for this one!

  4. CONGRATULATIONS!! It’s great that you got in, but also that it has demotivated you and reaffirmed your love of running. I can’t wait to read all about it!

    • Jennifer says:

      Thanks, Morgan! My thoughts exactly. I’m feeling EXCITED to run again. Maybe I just needed a new goal, right?! Can’t wait to share it all with you guys. :)

  5. I’m SOOOOO SO SO SO excited for you! This one is televised, right?! If it is, I’m watching and cheering!

    • Jennifer says:

      Thanks, Lauren! Yep, it is! Haha, you KNOW I’m going to try to come up with some kind of get-up that’s easy to spot… ;)

  6. So excited for you!! I think if I can make it thru Disney 2015, I might be putting my name in for Chicago 2015. Winning the running lottery is great :)

    • Jennifer says:

      You will ROCK Disney 2015, and I’d love to do Chicago someday, too! I guess you never know, right?!

  7. Congrats Jennifer! Can’t wait to virtually cheer you on!

  8. Oh my god! That is AMAZING!! Congrats :)

  9. Congrats on getting picked! I stumbled upon your blog looking for posts about RunDisney and as it would turn out we’re doing a lot of the same races this year. Glass Slipper Challenge, Rutgers Half, Dumbo Double Dare… AND NYCM! I am still in shock that I got picked as well. It will be my first Marathon, and threw my name into the lottery not expecting anything to come of it. I can’t wait to start training! Good Luck!!!!

    • Jennifer says:

      That’s awesome! Glad you found me. That’s so cool, congrats on getting in to NYCM. Totally shocking, right?! I’ll definitely look for you at our upcoming races — sounds like we’ve got a lot of training to do. :)

  10. Congratulations! It’s great that this race has helped you find your running mojo again! (I just recently found mine too…yay!). I won’t be running because, ummm, yeah I still have to do my first marathon (yeah Goofy 2015!) but I’ll be out there cheering! I’m taking requests now for pizza and/or bagels for the runners :)

    • Jennifer says:

      Thanks, Kellie! Yay — glad we found our mojo again. Sometimes it takes a new goal or a big race to give “meaning” to all of those boring, exhausting training runs again, haha. I’ll probably be there for WDW Marathon weekend, too — you will LOVE Goofy as your first marathon! So exciting. Hope to see you in November — I’m partial to pizza. ;)

  11. Congrats! That is so awesome!

  12. Congrats! I am very jealous. Unfortunately I’ve been applying for 3 years and haven’t had any luck, but had been looking forward to getting in through the 4 year guaranteed entry and just my luck they’ve done away with that!

    Oh well, I have to admit I really was only going to do NY since I feel like as a runner I’m “supposed” to do it at some point, there are actually a lot of other races I’d rather do so I’ll just put my money towards those!

    • Jennifer says:

      Thanks so much, Danielle, and sorry again that you didn’t get in this year. I am SO peeved that they did away with the 3-year policy…not cool! Totally sucks. :(

      I know what you mean. I do kind of feel like it’s a “must do” race just because, well, it’s NYCM. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t tons of races that are equally as worthwhile!

  13. Congrats! I know some people also got picked so even more reason to watch on TV in November.

  14. Congrats! NYCM is the best marathon ever. You’re going to love it!

  15. So exciting!! I can’t wait to read all about your NYCM adventures. I have to admit that while I’m sure I will run this race someday, it’s not as high on my list as some other marathons. So I’m really eager to hear your thoughts. :)

    • Jennifer says:

      Thanks so much, Christine! There are SO many awesome marathons out there…I almost (ALMOST) wish I could choose more than, say, 2 per year. I’m definitely looking forward to sharing my experiences with you guys! :)

  16. Jennifer says:

    It was my first year in the lottery too and I got in. Maybe they only let in people named Jennifer, there were probably 9,000 of us.

  17. Congratulations!! What exciting news! NYC was my first marathon and its still my favorite. Disney races are amazing, but there’s nothing quite like the New York City Marathon. I’ll be covering the race with On The Run. It’s my favorite week of the year!

    • Jennifer says:

      Ahhh, that’s awesome! I’m so excited…honestly, I’m just as excited to run NYCM as I was to run the WDW Marathon. I know it’s going to be amazing. Hope to see you there! :-D

  18. This is amazing! Congratulations!!!!

  19. Congratulations!!! How exciting! I can’t wait to follow along on your journey! :D

  20. christi in ma says:

    congratulations!!!

  21. Talk about a bucket list race! Congratulations.

  22. Congratulations. We missed out this year but will try again. Have a wonderful experience.

  23. Congratulations!!!

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