Run the NYC Marathon With Team Fatty, The Runner, and Me
UPDATE: Team Fatty NYC is now full! Check out the team — each of which has committed to raise a minimum of $3500 – at our team site!
Hey. Whatcha doing on November 7 this year? You don’t know? No special plans? Oh, well that’s OK. I generally don’t plan that far ahead either. In fact, I generally try to never plan ahead further than lunch (turkey-lettuce-tomato-avacodo on wheat is my current intention, though I reserve the right to be lazy and just reheat last night’s dinner).
But maybe — since you’re not doing anything else that day — you should mark your calendar to come do something with The Runner and me.
And a few other Team Fatty folks (for a total of 12 of us, to be exact).
And — to be honest — with around 40,000 other people.
Something like run The NYC Marathon.
You know, that one marathon that’s huger than pretty much any other marathon in the whole freaking world.
The Bucket List
Until I started running with The Runner, I had never really even heard of the NYC Marathon. But it’s been on The Runner’s Bucket List for a long, long time.
And since reading A Race Like No Other, I can totally see why. This has got to be one of the most amazing spectacles an athlete could ever experience. The start, with fireboats shooting colored water into the air. Running through all five boroughs. Cheering crowds for the entirety of the race.
We’re not going to run this for time; We’re going to run it to get a firsthand perspective of what sounds like one of the most amazing athletic spectacles imaginable.
And we’re going to be fighting cancer while we do it.
You should come do it too.
Run the NYC Marathon, Fight Cancer
LiveStrong has given me twelve slots I can fill for a “Team Fatty” NYC Marathon team. Of course, two of those are taken — The Runner and I are doing this for sure.
We’d love to have you come run with us. So much so, in fact, that if you join Team Fatty for the NYC Marathon by Friday, I’m going to give you a Team Fatty Tech T to go along with the LiveStrong shirt and cap you’ll get (not to mention the one-on-one support from LiveStrong staff and the team celebration the night of the marathon). Be sure to email me what size you want.
But you’ve gotta know up front: signing up for Team Fatty to run the NYC marathon with LiveStrong is a very serious commitment. Specifically, you’ve got to promise you’ll raise $3500, half of which you’ve got to raise by October 21. And if you don’t, you’ve got to donate the balance yourself.
But bear in mind: you’re not raising money for a marathon. That’s just the gravy. That $3500 you’re raising is to help in the fight against cancer.
So, yeah. It’s a lot of money. It’s a serious commitment. But it’s going to be an incredible experience, and the cause couldn’t be more important.
Can You Do This?
So the question some of you might be having is: “Can I do a marathon?” The answer is easy: Sure you can. I did one, with hardly any training at all. With the amount of time you have here, you can raise the money and get yourself ready. Honestly.
Now, I’m not saying you’ll be able to run the whole thing. Heck, I don’t expect I’ll run the whole thing. And I don’t even care. I’m just going to take it all in. Sometimes running, sometimes walking. And at the end, I expect I’ll check my finishing time more as an item of curiosity than anything else. At the end of the race, what will matter is that I’ll have been part of two really mind-bogglingly huge things: The NYC Marathon, and the fight against cancer.
I’d love to have you along. For both.
How to Sign Up
To get details on LiveStrong’s involvement in the NYC Marathon, click here. For info on the marathon itself, click here.
Then, when you’ve decided you want to sign up, go to the Application Page. Be sure, when you sign up, that in the 2010/2011 Event Name drop-down field, you select the “Team Fatty, ING NYC Marathon” option.
Got Questions?
Signing up for a big race — and committing to raise a lot of money — is a lot to think about, and maybe you’ve got questions. Well, post them in the comments and I’ll do my best.
I’m looking forward to running with you!
Man, it feels weird to say that.
PS: My guess is that with the very small number of slots Team Fatty gets for this event, they’ll go fast. So if you know you want in, don’t dilly-dally, for crying out loud. Once these slots are gone, they’re gone, and I don’t get any extras.
Comment by Dave M | 07.22.2010 | 10:30 am
That’s 6 days after my 30th BDay and also something I’ve always wanted to do! Giving this some serious thought right now!!!
Comment by Biker Only | 07.22.2010 | 11:05 am
You’ve now crossed the line. The only time *I* run is if someone is trying to steal me bike.
Comment by Roger Whitney | 07.22.2010 | 11:06 am
Already have a spot and see LiveStrong have an option for those that do. COOL. It will be a grand adventure
Comment by SET | 07.22.2010 | 11:08 am
Thanks so, so much for sharing such an incredible opportunity. I just signed up my fiancee as a wedding gift (we’re getting married a month before). He’s wanted to run it for years and just barely missed qualifying for it a few years back. Any idea when we’ll find out if he got a spot? Thanks again, Fatty!
Comment by SET | 07.22.2010 | 11:09 am
P.S. Fatty, I don’t have Outlook (using Google Apps) and when I click on Colleen’s email address, it just starts Outlook. Is there a way to get her email address (or could you email it to me)? Thanks again.
Comment by mrbalky | 07.22.2010 | 11:13 am
Great choice! I’ve run it twice; it’s a fantastic experience. Be wary of the concrete; stick to the blacktop pavement when you can. Enjoy the crowds. The city really comes out and puts on it’s most polite face for this (really!).
Comment by GenghisKhan | 07.22.2010 | 11:14 am
@SET: Her email is: colleen.legge@livestrong.org
Comment by GenghisKhan | 07.22.2010 | 11:15 am
Hope I didn’t just violate some email protocol–Fatty to remove it if I did!
Comment by skippy | 07.22.2010 | 11:25 am
It’s been a hell of a day here in Pau!
Call at 7am to say it’s snowing on Tourmalet blew the ride out as the boys in blue will be in foul mood for non racers! Raining outside also and though i ride like a duck and quack like a duck acording to “skippy’s fan club” i don’t dress like a duck!
Fact is i finally arrived at the start an hour before the off but security for my mate “Nico” was too tight to give him the promised “Livestrong Wristband and since Carla was not there it was hardly worth the effort!
Ken Hardacre the other guy greeting Lance at the Monaco hotel last year loomed up out of the gloom, slimmed down by his cancer treatments by some 30kilos wearing his 8 wristbands, he is determined to be at TDF again next year regardless of the doc’s opinions.
Well nov 7 clashes with my visit in Oz so i will have to sit that one out! you will remember Alan from the TRS team. Had a good chat with him at the team hotel yesterday whilst perusing some really new bikes that were decalled with the latest “Riding for __ ” labels!
Oh by the way google TourDaFarce and SKIPPI-CYCLIST for some random insights but only after you have watched the “Pau-Tourmalet replay” wouldn’t want you to know the result even if your superpowers are in full operation
Comment by Kathleen@ForgingAhead | 07.22.2010 | 11:26 am
Oh my, I thought riding my bike 100 miles was hard.
Comment by Eunanimus | 07.22.2010 | 12:01 pm
Ah, already signed up for philly marathon – - no doubt not the same scale and grandeur of NYC marathon, but i’ll run philly in my Fatty T shirt if they’re released in time.
Good luck to everyone who signs up. This philly effort will be my first marathon – Vibram Five Fingers purchased for training – i plan to run the 26.2 in them….Give barefoot running a thought – or at least in the VFF!
Comment by Eric | 07.22.2010 | 1:00 pm
Already doing it with Team Livestrong!!!!
Comment by Barbara | 07.22.2010 | 1:06 pm
I have run the NYC Marathon and if you have any desire to run a marathon, do this one! A wonderful experience all around – the spectators in all the different neighborhoods, the kids reaching out their hands to be “high 5′d”, the many different languages you hear all around you as you run, and most of all, the VOLUNTEERS who work the start area, the water stops, the finish line, and everything in between! A truly memorable moment for me was crossing the finish line and having a volunteer put a medal around my neck, hand me a rose (women only), check out my name on my bib and say “Congratulations, Barbara!” I was the 15,000-somethingth person to cross that finish line and this person treated me like someone special. Which anyone who finishes a marathon is!
Have fun!
Comment by Jenn | 07.22.2010 | 1:13 pm
Do I get a vote? If so, it goes to SET – what an awesome and thoughtful wedding present! A lucky man, indeed. Hope you get him in!! Run on? That doesn’t sound right. Ride on!!
Comment by NYCCarlos | 07.22.2010 | 1:59 pm
I’ll be there cheering on Team Fatty!!!!!!!
Fatty, if you need help planning anything for the team before/after/during the marathon let me know… I’m here in the city all day every day :)
Comment by Philly Jen | 07.22.2010 | 2:05 pm
I’ll be in NYC to cheer on Team Fatty, but I’m running the Marine Corps Marathon the weekend before and I don’t think there’s enough free-floating HTFU in the universe to get me to run them back-to-back. Just sayin.’
(FWIW, the New York Road Runners have been granting automatic NYC Marathon entry to people who have entered the lottery for the previous three years, were denied lottery slot all three years in a row, and did not gain entry through other means. So if you’re hankerin’ to run in 2014…)
Comment by fat dadoo | 07.22.2010 | 3:14 pm
Cheers to Barbara, and team Fatty. My fondest memory of 5 months project time in NYC last year was 5am awakening for early flight out November 1, 2009. Halloween revelers in costume still abounded the streets of Manhattan while the runners emerged and mingled from their hotels to catch the shuttles. Quite a sight. Only in New York…Enjoy y’all.
Comment by Heat305 | 07.22.2010 | 4:57 pm
Fatty,
I’m already registered for the ING NYC, but this is just the opportunity my gf needed to run it too. She just registered for Team Fatty on the Livestrong website.
Comment by Laura | 07.22.2010 | 5:27 pm
I would be happy to donate in the name of a Team Fatty member….. how do I do this?
Comment by Christopher Stephens | 07.22.2010 | 7:27 pm
I run NYC every other year (alternating with Marine Corps – see you there, Philly Jen), but I’ll be handing out water at Mile 18 (about 96th and First). I’ve run the race nine times, so drop me a line if you need any advice.
Comment by Travis #2 | 07.23.2010 | 1:00 am
Just put in application! Hope I get to run it in honor of my great friend, Travis Goodman, that melanoma ended his ride a bit early this year. His name is on lances bike this week which is awesome! During our time at Trek working together — I became nicknamed #2. we raced as team good wood during a summer long 12hr mtn series in wisco
Livestrong! Fatty – thanknyou for all you have done. Just heard you on NPR tonight FYI!!
-Travis #2
Comment by Jenn | 07.23.2010 | 2:10 am
@Philly Jen – HTFU? I had to use urban dictionary (which I’m always just a little afraid to do, truth be told). LOVE IT and will be using it. Thanks for the, um, enlightenment?
Comment by John | 07.23.2010 | 4:52 am
Sounds like a great idea unfortunately I’m already signed up for my first marathon 3 weeks earlier! I know this is 3 weeks later but I want to know how I feel after one before committing to another :-)
IF you have the time could you check my blog out..a few posts back. If you think my Stridea is worthy of a mention I’d appreciate it. If not no problem I appreciate your time! Thanks and good luck in NY!
Comment by Barbara | 07.23.2010 | 7:24 am
John and Philly Jenn, I did my first 2 marathons 3 weeks apart. I did 3 minutes better in the second one (wondered if I could do 52 minutes better in a year). I figured I had already put in the training, so why not? This was back in the day (pre-Galloway) when marathon training meant 70 miles a week and one day off every 2 weeks. My idea of a day off was running Monday morning and Tuesday evening. For a week after the first one, I thought my chances of doing another one right away were nil, but the body heals and the mind forgets the pain. I had a really hard time getting through the last 5 miles in the second one.
Good luck in your first marathon! Be good to yourself.
Comment by chelsea | 07.23.2010 | 8:46 am
REALLY considering joining the team. How would the accomodations work? Is it each man for himself or is there a block of rooms reserved for the Livestrong folks?
Comment by Roses | 07.23.2010 | 12:02 pm
I’m with Laura. I’m not doing the NYC but I’d consider helping a fellow runner get there.
By the way, Eunanimus, I’ve been bare/VFF since October. Lovin’ it!
Comment by Philly Jen | 07.23.2010 | 12:10 pm
Attention barefooters: Watch this blog! Team Fatty has got something in the works for later this year that is gonna knock everyone’s socks off…
Comment by Janey | 07.23.2010 | 5:09 pm
Who’s up for doing this run next year?
http://ws100.com/home.html
Someone named Greg Soderlund is the Run Director. That name sounds like someone you’ve mentioned before on your blog.
Comment by Bo | 07.23.2010 | 8:02 pm
Just started cycling this season, have loved reading this blog and donating what I can to cancer research.
I have ran about 2 miles in 2010, but for some reason I am drawn to this challenge. I think I could raise about $1500 locally, but the rest would be hard with just 3 months to go. If some readers are interested in possibly donating to help me get there, then please let me know.
I am a Georgia native, but have been to NYC numerous times and I have always felt sone connection with the city. It would be amazing to run my first and possibly only marathon in NY, with Fatty, and for Livestrong. I am going to speak to friends and family this weekend and see if I can get an estimate of funds I could raise.
Comment by Bryan | 07.23.2010 | 8:22 pm
I am already registered and running, but this post just made me even more excited. Good luck to everyone participating and if you have a Fatty Cyclist party in NYC you need to let a fellow blogger know! Awesome you are getting this opportunity!
Comment by travis | 07.23.2010 | 11:12 pm
where is the best location to stay? I am on the ‘team’ and curious what others are doing for lodging locations
Comment by davidh-marin,ca | 07.24.2010 | 9:13 pm
Cheers to the 10 who run with you! Like Laura, I would like to contribute to the ‘team’ on their money goal. Can you set up a common pool for all 12 runners?…. of course you can you’re FATTY!
Comment by MrDaveyGie | 07.25.2010 | 8:49 pm
Sorry I’m allergic to running. Hey I know I’ll ride my bike, hmmm maybe not, I might still get beat.
Comment by bob, wi | 07.26.2010 | 2:25 pm
hi fatty. love your blog. given all the money you raise — and ask to be raised — for livestrong, it would be really really great if you did a post explaining how the funds are used to support cancer survivors. i checked the web site, and it isn’t that clear so thought you could help out here.
thanks!
Comment by Anna | 07.27.2010 | 9:46 am
I am in! And I am SUPER excited!!!
Comment by kr | 07.27.2010 | 2:17 pm
I’m in along with my niece and we can’t wait! Thanks for the opportunity !!
Comment by travis | 07.28.2010 | 11:07 pm
so I am a cyclist – that has done a ton of endurance races — but running, well, lets say i have a long ways to go and with 12 weeks – is there any good crash course to get myself through a marathon in around 4 hours.. right now my mileage is um, well i ran 6 miles last week… working a lot, riding only about 3 days a week, in the gym some – in general I am a fat non-running cyclist. Pulling out a 100 mile mountain bike race or 24 hr solo ‘off the couch’ is easier for me to comprehend than pounding the pavement for 26 miles. Since I just threw down my CC for $900 work of room for a weekend, and pledged it as backing to raise $7000 (my sig other is also running it has more running background than I, but definitely more preparred to ride her Single Speed for 5 hrs than run). Sooo Fatty – are we going to have a Team Fatty training plan??? Anyone have suggestions..
Comment by Anna | 07.29.2010 | 7:52 pm
@Travis, Fatty, and the rest of the NYC crew…I think we should start an email list so we can correspond and motivate. Sound like a plan?
Comment by travis | 07.30.2010 | 2:50 pm
@Anna – definitely. Fatty – can you arrange with the list of the team?
Just got my training program from my friend at CTS – giddee up..Now the hard part – raising money.
Comment by Elissa | 07.31.2010 | 10:45 am
This sounds exciting! i’ll be there anyway and would be excited to cheer you guys on so keep us updated on where /when we can root for you all!