I was trying to think of a clever way to pack our entire NYC story into a single post. Not gonna happen. So, over the next few days, I'll focus on four distinct themes: Running, Racing, Shopping, Walking. First up:
RUNNING.
Thanks to a surprising decision to join a learn-to-run group last April, and to my commitment to this new-found practice, I was able to join Hubby in a wonderful event that took place on the Saturday: the International Friendship Run. I didn't know what to expect, but I certainly didn't expect this!! Thousands upon thousands of runners representing a virtual United Nations of runners. Fittingly enough, the run started at the actual United Nations Headquarters building!
We arrived, two lone runners decked in red & white with the word CANADA splashed across our back, amidst a sea of French runners singing La Marseillaise.
Suddenly, we heard: "Look! There are two Canadians!"... and that's how we met Heidi & Sylvia, two energetic sisters from the Vancouver area. Obviously, we Canadians weren't too organized as a group, and we were happy to become a clan of four. Slowly, other red & white clad runners arrived and we began to gather mass. One runner had a tall pole with a Canadian flag, and he became our beacon in the crowd. At one point during the run, someone started singing O Canada. Next thing you know, we had ourselves a rousing rendition of our national anthem going. Running AND singing at the same time?! Man, I'm in unchartered territory here...
I enjoyed seeing how runners from other countries dressed up for the occasion. There were a couple of "sumo wrestlers" from Japan, as well as runners in kimonos... A bunch of Dutch runners were hard to miss in bright orange wigs. But mostly, people were simply wearing their national colours.
The run ended up being about 4km and finished in Central Park. That's when the exchanges started. People who couldn't even speak the same language were pointing to each others running shirts with the universally understood raising-of-the-eyebrows to say "Wanna trade?!"
Hubby & I weren't too sure how to go about this and just walked around watching. Then two guys approached us. They were from Brazil and we traded the sweaty shirts off our backs for two equally sweaty shirts from the Maratona do Rio de Janeiro. Hubby also got a brand new Brazil cap in exchange for his old faded Canada cap. Not a bad deal for him! As for me, what will I do with a man's large long-sleeved running shirt?! :-) Oh well, at least Antonio's wife will look sharp, running on the streets of Rio, in her new CANADA shirt.
All in all, quite an amazing experience... The NYC Marathon really does have quite an international flavour, and we tasted it for ourselves on a crisp Saturday morning, on the streets of New York. Hope you enjoy the pics!
RUNNING.
Thanks to a surprising decision to join a learn-to-run group last April, and to my commitment to this new-found practice, I was able to join Hubby in a wonderful event that took place on the Saturday: the International Friendship Run. I didn't know what to expect, but I certainly didn't expect this!! Thousands upon thousands of runners representing a virtual United Nations of runners. Fittingly enough, the run started at the actual United Nations Headquarters building!
We arrived, two lone runners decked in red & white with the word CANADA splashed across our back, amidst a sea of French runners singing La Marseillaise.Suddenly, we heard: "Look! There are two Canadians!"... and that's how we met Heidi & Sylvia, two energetic sisters from the Vancouver area. Obviously, we Canadians weren't too organized as a group, and we were happy to become a clan of four. Slowly, other red & white clad runners arrived and we began to gather mass. One runner had a tall pole with a Canadian flag, and he became our beacon in the crowd. At one point during the run, someone started singing O Canada. Next thing you know, we had ourselves a rousing rendition of our national anthem going. Running AND singing at the same time?! Man, I'm in unchartered territory here...
I enjoyed seeing how runners from other countries dressed up for the occasion. There were a couple of "sumo wrestlers" from Japan, as well as runners in kimonos... A bunch of Dutch runners were hard to miss in bright orange wigs. But mostly, people were simply wearing their national colours.
The run ended up being about 4km and finished in Central Park. That's when the exchanges started. People who couldn't even speak the same language were pointing to each others running shirts with the universally understood raising-of-the-eyebrows to say "Wanna trade?!"
Hubby & I weren't too sure how to go about this and just walked around watching. Then two guys approached us. They were from Brazil and we traded the sweaty shirts off our backs for two equally sweaty shirts from the Maratona do Rio de Janeiro. Hubby also got a brand new Brazil cap in exchange for his old faded Canada cap. Not a bad deal for him! As for me, what will I do with a man's large long-sleeved running shirt?! :-) Oh well, at least Antonio's wife will look sharp, running on the streets of Rio, in her new CANADA shirt.All in all, quite an amazing experience... The NYC Marathon really does have quite an international flavour, and we tasted it for ourselves on a crisp Saturday morning, on the streets of New York. Hope you enjoy the pics!
Our Canadian contingent of two...
1 comment:
Wow!! That is soooo cool that you exchanged shirts with people! I love it! I love the photos too - can't wait for more chapters! :)
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