NYCM2011: Have you seen a Marathon Morning like this?

Before this: NYCM2011: All over the press / NYCM2011: At the NYCM Press Conference / NYCM2011: FootLocker Run – Bart, Ryan, Bobby, Carrie, Steph, well… everyone was there!/ NYCM2011: Who wasn’t at the expo?

And here we go!

This being my 4th NYCM in a row, I know the shtick by heart. But this was SO different…

To start, getting car service to the start is delicious. I do love taking the ferry, the view, the camaraderie, the shared anxieties, but I love new, and I love different and this was not my every-year-same-marathon-deal. This was not my NYCM. This was an adventure!

Got to the start village and were promptly brought into the RED VIP tent (there were a few different ones). My boys and I chatted for a bit, with lots of food. Mostly powerbars and Gatorade for me, but there was a quite a spread in there!

new york city marathon 2011 Footlocker five boro challenge nyrr elizabeth maiuolo 22

new york city marathon 2011 Footlocker five boro challenge nyrr elizabeth maiuolo

From the right: Sal (Queens, who *should* have had his black Footlocker warm up somewhere…), Rob (Bronx), Drew (Brooklyn), and me.

new york city marathon 2011 Footlocker five boro challenge nyrr elizabeth maiuolo 2

That is Gabriella, who I adore to pieces!

Time to talk politics of course!

Getting my gear together, and almost ready to go!

Time for team photos! Everyone is ready to go now…

Carrie really was everywhere this weekend…!

So… Rob and I were going to do two interviews for the same channel, so we were on the move. The guy is great at spotting celebrities, I was like “where, where, where?” as if I had left my contacts at home. He spotted Mya two meters away. I am not gonna lie, I had no clue who she was, but I had seen her on nyrrtv.org and heard she was running. She was a bit scared of the marathon biz so I told her about the course and the Queensboro and all. She seemed super nice. She ended up doing around 6:59.

Then Rob, again, spotted Christie Turlington, a couple of steps in the other direction. Again, if it’s not a runner, I have no clue. I have “track goggles”! So we said hello, she was tying her shoes, Rob kneels down to he at her height, and holds her hand… her friend is like “he’s gonna propose!!!”. It was pretty hysterical! NYC was her first too, so we chatted for a bit. She ended up doing 4:20! So fab!

So we went out for two seconds, stripped to look good, and did the interviews. I was really happy to be doing one in Spanish! And for NY1 no less: NYC’s finest channel!

This was when I thought I was gonna need arm warmers!

We went back to the tent, collected our stuff and schlepped it all to the skybox, another VIP tent super close to the start, where the elites and all the other stars were… Yo Drew!

Drew wanted to meet Edwin van der sar and we run into him right here; he got lucky! My pictures were crappy, but this one below is Mayor Bloomberg going by!