Alice Polzin, Au Pair from Germany with Au Pair in America, Watermill, NY

That feeling to cross the finish line is indescribable.  The whole stress drops from me and I have tears in the eyes.  My legs are shaking and I have the feeling I can’t move any further but my friends are there, hugging me and I have a medal around my neck.  Yes, I’ve made it . I smile. This is an experience what I will never forget!

How everything started …

On the first weekend in November, I applied for the New York City Half Marathon. When I had filled in the application on the internet, I already thought it would not come true.  I had to fill in which races I did before and I had nothing to put in.  I was worried, but also motivated to give it a try.  I didn’t really start with my training at this point because I wasn’t accepted yet. But the day of the lottry was coming closer and I was getting nervous.

When the day of the lottery came I couldn’t stay away from my computer for longer than 10 minutes.  I was so excited, checking my online profile everytime it was possible.  I also entered in a Facebook group for that race, so I was able to see how people commented that they were accepted and other ones wrote that they didn’t get a chace to run this year. My heart was beating really fast.  After a looooong while I could read the word “ACCEPTED”. I was so happy that I jumped on my bed. But I also realized that I have to start running now.

Running support…

I couldn’t stop telling everyone that I am accepted for the race and immediately my dad who’s a runner made me a run-schedule.  But the really big support for the whole time were my friends. Even if they had to work too and everyone has a different schedule they were my personal trainers. Whether with the bike next to me or also running there was always someone with my on the roads and beaches of the Hamptons. Thanks to Ane, Nina, Paulien, Catrin and Eva.

The Day of the race…

After a short night with two of my support girls in a hotel in Chinatown I woke up with a stomachache.  I was so nervous, anxious and thinking that I couldn’t run the whole 13.1 miles.  But my friends were all the time with me. They dropped me off in Central Park where the race started. The whole Central Park was crowed, 22 000 runners and their supporters.

The race started at 7:30 am and I waited in my running group for 40 minutes to cross the start line. These 40 minutes felt like 2 hours! Then I was running in Central Park for like 7 miles and it was amazing!  Everywhere people along the edge smiling at your face.  I was just running. My friends were waiting for me at mile 6 and I got new motivation after I saw them. The next big “stop” of the race was Times Square and then to the west side and all the way down to Ground Zero.

The finish was Water Street at Maiden Lane. And again were my friends waiting for me. The smile in my face was getting more broadly when I saw the finish line. I crossed the finish line in 2 hours 37 minutes 49 seconds.  I am so proud of myself and I’ll never forget that day in my life!