BLIND DAVE'S BLOG

THE NEW YORK MARATHON

28-11-2006

Ever wanted to know what it feels like to run 26 miles? Blind Dave Heeley takes us breathlessly through the streets of New York,on his way to completing a year-long fund-raising effort for Guide Dogs which has so fargenerated more than £50,000.

Hello Stirrers. The morning of Sunday 5th November arrived, and after all the preparation we couldn't quite believe it was here. 4 am in the morning, talk about up with the larks. Back in England, the day was already awake and folk were getting ready to set the bonfires alight. I wonder if Guy Fawkes was up this early all those years ago? Anyway, back in New York we're working our way to the starting cannon and a big bang of our own!

5.45 am kit on, check I have my number, running cord and of course one very important piece of kit, my co-runner “Mad Mac” - without him, I'm going nowhere. Out of the hotel and on to the streets of the Big Apple heading for 39th and 5th, where the buses are ready to transport us to the start. They say New York is the city that never sleeps and they're right - even at this early hour, traffic was still flowing steadily and the deli's were already open for business.

There were a lot of runners about, but Mac said there were still a lot of locals going about their business - incredible to think how early it was in the morning, and on a Sunday too. It was also surprising how mild the weather was.

We arrived at the start at Fort Wandsworth on Staten Island around 7 am and as you can imagine there were buses and runners every where, but in fairness the chaos wasorganised. There was a real buzz about the place, party time for a lot of people, with cheering and hooting, laughter and singing and what was great as we made our way to our gathering point, Mac said there were marshals simply there to make you welcome, wishing you a good morning, ‘have a nice day and enjoy the race'. It was a lovely touch.

We made our way to the meeting point for Achilles, a disabled running club I joined in the States and they looked after us very well. Guides and other disabled runners of all nationalities met up and had a chat, ate some bagels and Dunkin Donuts whilst waiting for the start which was about 3 hours away, but how the time flew.

With the start only minutes away like every other marathon you try and find your time slot and jostle for a good position.. For the New York marathon as Achilles had been so supportive, I decided to run in one of their shirts, although my heart was running for Guide Dogs and as a salute to Debb's Dad who had sadly died the Sunday prior. I ran with a card pinned to my back, as a matter of respect which displayed, “Granddad Grumps, John Burford”. His memory ran every step of the way.

As we stood there I could hear so many different languages from the runners, it was truly an international event. Over the PA system, an update of what was happening was announced in many different languages too. A vocal quartet sang the American national anthem, and a US air force jet saluted all the runners by flying over, very fast and very low.

There were cheers, runners were discarding old clothes, bin liners, foil blankets, purposely worn to keep warm and at 10.10 on the dot, the cannon roared for the start, every runner now moving forward waiting their turn to cross the line and start the New York marathon , to the sound of a classic Frank Sinatra record, “I'm leaving today, I wanna make a start of it in old New York”.

I can feel the hairs on the back of my neck again at the very thought, it was absolutely brilliant, I didn't need any encouragement to run this race , but if I did this record did the trick, WE WERE OFF!

From Staten Island we crossed the Verrazano bridge, which is the longest suspension bridge in the States, making our way to Brooklyn. Mac commented on the spongy type surface, which came at intervals on the bridge, which I assume were expansion joints. There were only a handful of spectators here, press mainly, but as we hit the streets, the noise erupted and the spectators were out in force.

Through Brooklyn and over the Pulaski bridge into Queens we went. Unlike London, it's not steeped in history, but Mac said the crowds were incredible, no pubs on route just plenty of noise, from cheering men and women, kids, and bands of all description. Unlike at home there was no “Oggy, Oggy Oggy” - the phrase shouted at me was, “Way to go Blind Dave, way to go” or “Go go go Achilles” with a lovely American twang. And did we go with smiles on our faces from ear to ear and it was incredible how we were swallowing up the miles.

Moving on towards the Bronx, Manhattan, crossing over the Queensboro Bridge, which spanned Roosevelt Island, Willis Avenue Bridge, through Harlem, each borough welcoming us to their domain, we were heading fast for Central Park. Sitting here now writing this article seems unbelievable, excuse the pun but every thing still seems a blur, I need to pinch myself, did I really run New York? Yes I did!

We briefly touched 5th Avenue, very posh, through Columbus Circle and at around 23 miles we passed through Engineers Gate and into Central Park, I thought Manhattan and 5th Avenue was filled to capacity with spectators, their noise was absolutely deafening, but Central Park was some thing else. The crowds, the runners, to me all seem to blend, I felt like I was in a tunnel of people and voices, at times it was impossible to hear what Mac was saying, it was an incredible, unbelievable feeling, thousands and thousands of screaming voices, willing you on.

I could hear from time to time “Go Achilles, go go go “ and “Blind Dave, Blind Dave”, I wished if for only seconds to have seen these crowds, it must have been breath taking, as I write every hair on my body is standing, what a feeling.

The last couple of miles seem to pass by in literally seconds, every thing rushing through my mind, the family back home, my eldest daughter in the crowd, had she seen me (as I found out later they were situated at the 26 mile point and had got a photo of us) Debb's Dad, and every one who had sponsored me.

What we put the body and mind through is some thing else, but as I crossed the line I was shedding tears of happiness, joy, relief, total pleasure and pain, my arm went up as I crossed the finish line, “YES” I had done it, the medal was put round my neck, Mac was pleased with my effort and I was ecstatic with my time 3 hours , 31 minutes and 2 seconds, yes it had been worth the 26.2 miles.

You can add to Blind Dave's fund-raising tally at www.justgiving.com/blinddave