It was a beautiful day for a race! This was to be my first half marathon. The run was for women only and consisted of two loops and a half around Central Park, ending at the 72nd Street Transverse. Central Park has MANY hills!! Running Central Park once, is enough, twice was going to take a lot of gusto.

The race began on the West Side at 68th Street, counterclockwise. I had a premonition a few days earlier of what my time would be as I finished. I hoped to come close to it. After one loop of the park, I made a one-time potty break, then continued on to my second loop. The Harlem Hill, as it’s known at 110th Street, is tough! I gave it everything I had as I pushed forward to the finish line (the professional pictures truly showed this) and crossed the finish line at 2:19:27; short of my premonition by three minutes, which I attributed to the potty break, so therefore, I actually came in where I wanted to be! I was so excited and emotional once I saw my husband. It was an amazing morning!!