I once held a world record in the marathon. It’s true.
There is documented proof of this in the November 3, 2014 edition of the New York Times.
To look at me, it’s easy to ballpark my age to be in my mid-fifties. Do the quick math, and that puts me in my forties in 2014. Far too old to set world records in running events. Nevertheless, I held a world mark for nearly three years.
In high school, I joined the cross-country team. I was not one of the fast kids. I only made the varsity team for one race. Otherwise, I was satisfied with personal improvement.
As an adult, I ran several 5K and 10K races each summer for many years. As I approached my fortieth year of life, I learned an interesting statistic. Less than 1% of people ever complete a marathon. Thus, a bucket list goal was set.
I put in the training miles and prepared mentally for the challenge. In December of 2007, at the age of 39 I completed my first marathon in Las Vegas, NV. However, this was not where my world record took place.
I would complete three other marathons, two in Fargo, ND and one in Deadwood, SD, before my final and record-setting performance.
The day began as a cold and extremely windy November morning. I woke up at 5:00, got dressed, and walked down to the sidewalk outside the apartment building where I was staying. Across the street was Central Park. THE Central Park… the one in NYC. I made my way to the subway, where I noticed many others dressed in running tights, running shoes and light layers and hats for warmth. They seemed to be heading in the same direction. I was nervous about getting lost in an unfamiliar city, but if I followed the flow of runners, I knew I’d get to the starting line on Staten Island.
I waited over an hour for my wave to start. After the gun went off, we immediately climbed the double-decker Verrazzano Narrows Bridge. I was surprised at the steepness of the climb and the wind that jostled me violently as we crossed New York Harbor over to Brooklyn.
Upon exiting the bridge, it started. The largest mass of humanity I had ever seen greeted me and the thousands of runners who were just starting the 26.2-mile journey through all five boroughs of New York City.
I received countless high fives from child spectators. I laughed out loud at the funny signs and costumed runners, whom I made a point to pass and keep behind me. I passed a runner bouncing two basketballs.
I proudly wore a shirt that proclaimed me as a resident of Eau Claire, WI and received many cheers from people I assumed had a connection to the badger state. It was a thrill of a lifetime.
After finishing, I later learned that I had bested some of the famous people that also ran in the event. I was faster than New York Giants legend Tiki Barber. I beat Deperate Housewives’ Teri Hatcher. But Odell Beckham Jr.’s mom? Nope. She beat me. In fact, it was the slowest of the five marathons I had completed in my life.
So, what about the world record? 50,563 people and I combined to set the world record for the largest number of people to complete a single marathon event. That record would stand until 2017 when 50,766 people finished the same course. I was proud to share that record with the thousands of strangers who managed to complete a monumental goal alongside me.
And I always enjoy the reaction when I tell people that I once held a world record in the marathon.
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One response
I love your retelling of this awesome day. Brings back memories! Great article, John.