veen in nyc: my friends ran the nyc marathon!

the first sunday in november is always the new york city marathon, and this year maggie and matt both ran it! it was the first marathon for both, and they worked so hard in the months leading up to it and kicked butt on race day.

it felt like a marathon for those of us who were supporting as well, chasing our participants through all the boroughs of nyc. our group missed maggie at mile 8, but we spotted her at 17 and again at 25 as she was entering the home stretch. other friends caught her a few other times, while those not in town were tracking her on the app and watching livestreams online. when we found her after the finish we had a mini party in the middle of the street to scream and shout our congratulations before taking the party back to sunnyside. and yes, we closed down the lowery that night.

i still have no interest in doing a full marathon myself, but if i’m honest the energy of the day has me thinking about training for another half next year. that’s a plan for another day, though, and for now we are continuing to celebrate maggie and matt and the 50,000+ other nyc marathon finishers — you are all incredible and i am in awe of your accomplishments.

en route to brooklyn to start the day. new york, new york. november 2023.
views from the subway. new york, new york. november 2023.
upper east side cheering. new york, new york. november 2023.
we finally caught her! new york, new york. november 2023.
rich and i are excellent cheerleaders. brooklyn, new york. november 2023.
runnin’ up that hill. new york, new york. november 2023.
abi found her at 110th! new york, new york. november 2023.
right after we saw her at mile 25, we hugged each other and cried a little. new york, new york. november 2023.
almost to the finish! new york, new york. november 2023.
she finished!! new york, new york. november 2023.
lorraine made me pose with the sign. new york, new york. november 2023.
abi with her sign. new york, new york. november 2023.
SHE DID IT!! new york, new york. november 2023.
so excited for her. new york, new york. november 2023.
squad goals. new york, new york. november 2023.
“y’all. it’s over.” new york, new york. november 2023.
our finisher. new york, new york. november 2023.
beginning the trek home. new york, new york. november 2023.
besties since childhood. sunnyside, new york. november 2023.
the three musketeers. sunnyside, new york. november 2023.
closing down the lowery once again. sunnyside, new york. november 2023.
more squad goals. sunnyside, new york. november 2023.
matt finished, too!! new york, new york. november 2023.