This week, Equinox members and newly-minted marathoners Aurora Straus and Luis Colón take a look back at race day.
In Pursuit of 26.2 is a series following two Equinox members as they train for the New York City Marathon, from their first long-distance runs to the finish line. Since early August, our athletes have been following a new personalized training program created by an Equinox Personal Run Coach, powered by Precision Run, and utilizing Equinox services to strengthen, stretch, and stabilize.
On Sunday, Equinox members Aurora Straus and Luis Colón crossed a major item off their bucket list: successfully completing the 2023 New York City Marathon — a major feat for anyone, considering less than one percent of the U.S. population shares the sought-after title. It’s a milestone moment the pair had been eagerly waiting and rigorously training for since early August.
Kicking off in Staten Island and wrapping up in Central Park, the New York City Marathon spans all five boroughs, providing more than 50,000 runners with a new perspective of the Big Apple. It’s not every day thousands of onlookers are cheering for you as you make your way across Williamsburg and East Harlem, after all. The race, which began at 8 a.m., boasted surprisingly warm temps for a Sunday in November. A high of 62 degrees isn’t ideal when you’re planning to run for hours, but the sunny weather did bring out the crowds to the delight and benefit of participants.
“I've only ever run with music. And I expected to have to use my AirPods the whole time, but I never listened to music [during the marathon] because the energy from the crowds is so good that you really don't want to drown it out,” says Aurora. “It would have been a disservice to the experience and to your own adrenaline that comes from it.”
The experience was also just as immersive during quieter moments, like crossing the Verrazano Bridge going into Brooklyn, or the Queensboro Bridge going into Manhattan — both of which lacked spectators. Fellow runners maintained the energy by exchanging words of encouragement to hype one another up.
“I had a really good feel for the course and the energy and it was just so beautiful out that by the time I got to mile 21 I forgot that I was racing,” says Luis. “I really took in those last few miles to think about what it had been like to live here in New York for the past 13 years. While everyone is cheering, you really have that headspace to push you through and reflect on everything.”
But successfully finishing the New York City Marathon doesn’t mean Aurora and Luis experienced zero setbacks on race day. While Aurora jokes that she could have shaved a few minutes off her finish time if she hadn’t stopped to pet dogs on the sidelines, the 25-year-old management consultant did share that her toughest moment came around mile 16 when faced with the Queensboro Bridge’s hilly course. “That was the first time that I really felt an incline,” she says. “It's at the point in the race when you're starting to get a little less fresh … I think that I was actually shocked at how long it lasted until I could tell that I was quite tired.”
Luis started the race off faster than he initially expected – “I think I was overly excited,” he says – leading to an average pace of a little over eight minutes per mile, which despite being on the higher end of the 32-year-old creative director’s goal, is still an impressive accomplishment nonetheless. The setback for Luis came during the last three or four miles when his left leg began to cramp up, from his calf muscle to his ankle. “I had to switch to that light jog, and I wanted to finish so that light jog was more of a light jog, run,” says Luis.
Consistency in training has never been more important, as well as the flexibility to change course if faced with unexpected obstacles. This was easily manageable thanks to invaluable advice from Equinox Personal Run Coach Corky, who’s been guiding Aurora and Luis on their months-long training journey.
“I went into this thinking, ‘Oh my god, if I've only done 20 miles, how am I going to do 26.2?’” says Aurora. “A lot of the horror stories that you hear about people hitting the wall or not getting to a high enough distance in their training — I just never felt like I experienced any of that, and that’s thanks to very careful guidance from Corky and her insistence on fueling, working with the pacer, and maintaining consistency. I went into the marathon with a whole arsenal of tools at my disposal.”
In the end, Corky was “really impressed” with how the first-time marathoners performed on race day. Averaging 11 minutes and 30 seconds per mile, Aurora completed the 26.2-mile course in five hours and four minutes without feeling pain in her shins, a welcome surprise seeing as her shin splints did act up throughout her training. “As the adrenaline rush dies down, the things that are getting really sore are not my shins, so I guess I've done something right if the things that are hurting are all the other body parts,” said Aurora on Sunday night. “It’s a huge sign of progress for me thinking about how far I’ve come in that particular department.”
Luis completed the marathon in four hours and five minutes, which is “statistically faster than the average time for the New York City Marathon,” per Corky.
“I looked at the final distance, I didn't do 26.2. I did 26.9 based on the zigzagging and going left to right, which I didn't realize would equate to an entire mile,” says Luis, referencing the runner congestion in Brooklyn, which caused him to clock in extra steps and time. “So there are a lot of lessons learned.”
Adds Corky, “They both did really well. I hope they had a good time and I hope they had fun.”
Now that the runners have reached their goal of finishing the New York City Marathon, all that’s left to do is rest and recover. In Luis’ case, he took BCAA and ZMA (a blend of zinc and magnesium) supplements on Sunday night to support his recovery, and iced different areas of his body in 10-minute increments for about an hour total.
Aurora, who had a flight to Hawaii scheduled for less than 24 hours after the race, reserved a lie-flat seat on the plane to help with her recovery. Chugging water to avoid dipping hydration levels was also part of her game plan.
Strenuous activity is not recommended for the first week or so, but a gentle walk to get the blood and oxygen steadily flowing in the body is always encouraged, per Corky. Restlessness or feeling discomfort at bedtime is also not out of the ordinary for marathoners a few days following a race.
“I always really advocate for my runners to hang their running shoes for a good 7 to 14 days,” says Corky, who also recommends waiting 72 hours to get a massage if you’re feeling especially tight. “Let it be because it's not just marathon day. It's all those months of hard training too that you’ve got to give your body and your brain a break from,” she says, adding, “Miss running for a moment.”
From barely eating to feeling ravenous, eating habits can be all over the place post-marathon. Everybody is different, but regardless, it’s vital to prioritize nutrition to rebuild those calories lost on race day, says Corky. Enjoy the burger, the chocolate milk, and the electrolyte drinks. There’s never been a more appropriate time to feed your body what it’s been craving.
It’s been a life-changing experience for Aurora and Luis, who both hope to keep racing as part of their regular fitness regimen. Luis has even decided he’ll be participating in next year’s marathon following the experience. “I feel really accomplished,” he says. “This was something that was on my bucket list since I was a kid. To go from not knowing how to do it to doing my first and now prepping for others and using this as part of my health and fitness plan is great.”
Despite what’s in store for the future, however, one thing’s for sure: These last few months of training have evolved their view on individualized coaching and curated recovery programs — both of which are available at Equinox.
“I have a better understanding of what Equinox as a community and as a Club has to offer,” says Aurora. “I did not at all associate it as a place to get really specific bespoke coaching. Or even just having someone to ask very specific questions to, like, ‘Should I have this type of gel or this type of gel?’ It's been a really wonderful experience. And that is another thing I'll take with me as I move on, marathon or no marathon, is to continue taking advantage of all of these new things that I know about.”
As Luis and Aurora enter their 27th mile (aka post-marathon life), you may feel inspired to begin your own pursuit of 26.2. To support you on this exciting new endeavor, Equinox will be launching its Personal Run Coaching program in 2024. Get ready to lace up, Club members — your next adventure starts soon.
