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In previous years
The lead up to the anniversary of my transplant
Has been emotional
And hard
I have felt robbed
Taken away from myself
Frustrated that I have this anniversary at all
This year
I’m too busy to be thinking about
Stupid Cancer
On the morning of the 5th anniversary of
Having my sister’s T-depleted stem cells
Injected into my port
I’m rushing to the Jacob Javits Convention Center
To pick up my race bib
Number 65800
(How fast do I have to be before I can get 24601?!)
Collect my t-shirt
Over to the Fred’s Team table
Friendly faces
Up to rehearsal at Ripley Grier
Spend the morning singing
Dancing
Running lines
In the afternoon the director starts rehearsal with a question
Who has a New York story?
I have a New York story
Five years ago today
Halloween. Hospital.
Stem cell transplant
Life/death
Here we are
On Friday
It is an honor and a thrill
To walk in the NYC Marathon Opening Ceremony
As a part of Team MovedMe
26 inspiring runners representing 53,000+, including
Yvette, who had been told as a child she would never walk again after being hit by car who is now a retired 26-year army vet running her 18th marathon,
Natasha, completing the Abbott World Marathon Major Six-Star in memory of her sister
Issac, a trans person representing Front Runners New York, and
A leukemia survivor running her 5th marathon on the 5th anniversary of her stem cell transplant
Walking over the Finish Line
Keep the emotions under control
Save it for Sunday
Saturday night
Italian for dinner
Hot date with my love
Traipsing the streets of NYC
To get new iron-on letters for my shirt
Thank goodness for daylight savings
Race day
Up at 4am
A&D cream to prevent chafing
Under arms, under boobs, inner thighs
Soles of feet and between the toes
Sunscreen
Sports bra, shirt, leggings, socks, shoes
Belt with dates, gels, phone charger, earphones, ID, and a bank card just in case
Meet the Team MovedMe bus at 51st between 6th and 7th
Everyone is shivering in the cold
Wishing for coffee
We board the bus
Head down through midtown
Past Times Square where Fred’s Team is gathered
I wish I could be in two places at once
I sleep
We arrive at Fort Wadsworth, Staten Island
The police are lovely
A security guard yells in my face
Your bib needs to be on! Stop! Don’t move!
But almost no one has them on yet
We’re saving them from being crinkled
I try not to be rude to her
She’s been up since god knows when
She’s just doing her job
She’s going to have a long day
Samantha from New York Road Runners leads us to the
Broadcast and Media Tent
Heated, and stocked with bagels and pastries and fresh fruit
The sun rises behind the Verrazano Bridge
Revealing a pale blue sky
The mercury promises not to climb too much
Perfect conditions for a nice long run
Our bags are collected
We hear the canon
The professionals are off
They’ll be almost done before we’ve even started
We are led to the corral
Extra layers are stripped off
Tossed in the giant blue bins to be taken to charity stores around the city
Christy Altomere sings the national anthem
Normally I get teary
But I’m too nervous/excited/emotional about running to get emotional about the anthem
We are called to the start line
Inch forward
On your marks
The canon fires
Frank Sinatra croons
It’s up to you
New York, New York!
We’re off
I’ve only ever run on the lower level of the bridge
Wave 1 runs on top
I thought I’d be afraid of the height
I don’t even register it
The views are stunning
The dark blue of the Lower and Upper bays
Against the pale blue of the sky
Manhattan to the left
Brooklyn to the right
Wave to Lady Liberty
Helicopters hover right next to the bridge
The pace of the runners is astonishing
I move to the side
To let myself go slow
Welcome to Brooklyn
Immediately off the bridge
The cheering begins
The crowds are insane
Several people deep
Holding homemade signs
“You’re running better than our government!”
“You’re running faster than the MTA!”
“Kick some assphalt”
“Only 26 miles til beer”
“Tap here for a power up” with Mario Cart stars and mushrooms
“Punch here for a power up” with Trump’s face dead center
And my personal favorite
“If you want to restore your faith in humanity
Go watch a marathon”
Here are 53,000 runners
Young and old, and tall and short
People with hearing or vision impairments
Prosthetic limbs and wheelchairs
Survivors and servicefolk
Writers and waiters and workers and all manner of
Human beings
From all across the globe
Out running a Very Long Distance
Because they can
And hundreds and hundreds of thousands of their friends and loved ones
And perfect strangers
Are lining the streets
Cheering them on
And another 12,000 more have given up their Sunday to
Hand out water and gatorade and bananas
And the coming together of it all --
If you’re reading this you likely have a physical body
And sometimes
That body is creaky and tired and you may feel
Your very blood cells have betrayed you
And yet, here you are
Isn’t that an astonishing thing?!
We run down Fourth Ave
Through the flavors of Brooklyn
Russian, Polish, Chinese, Hispanic
You know you’ve hit Park Slope when the puppies appear
Mile 8, past BAM
(Remember when I worked there?
Too soon after treatment
I wasn’t ready
I was itching to work)
Turn right onto Lafayette
I hear a familiar voice
“LU!”
It’s Adam from London from Australia
I give him a hug
Familiar faces are a boost
Keep running
The Emmanuel Baptist Church
On Lafayette and St James
Is holding its service outside
The steps are packed with people
The preacher is singing
The gospel choir is singing
My heart is singing
It becomes quieter in the Hasidic neighborhoods
The men seem to ignore the runners
The little girls in their uniform dresses cheer from the sidewalk
Or from windows above the street
The parties are raucous in Williamsburg
I hear someone yelling “LU!”
It’s Adrienne from camp
I give her a hug
Keep running
Aaron said he’ll be at mile 13
I take out my phone to message him
My phone is dead
I stop to pee
I don’t see Aaron
Keep running
Over the Pulaski Bridge
Into Queens and
Before you know it you’re at the Queensboro Bridge
The red and white stacks of Big Allis
Forever in mind intertwined with Sloan
Transplant. Recovery. Anniversary. Five.
We round the corner onto 59th
Welcome to New York City!
Turn left onto First Ave
The crowds
The cheering
In my head
Five years, five years, five years
Mile 17
Past the hospital
I make heart signs at the nurses in scrubs
I say thank you in my head to Dr Stein and Dr P and Kim
And every single nurse and porter and attendant
And to every power there is
That I don’t have to be there anymore
Somewhere on the upper east side
I see Rickey from chorus
Give her a hug
Oh the precious souls we meet
Coming to mile 20
I know I’m going to see Aaron and
The Rabinowii Tribe
David joins me
A needed boost
I’m beginning to hurt
The front of my ankles
My hips
My heart, I know I’m not going to make it in less than 6 hours and
I’m disappointed
David talks me off the ledge
He tells me to go slow
Encourages me to get pain killers at the Medical Tent
Drink water and eat a gel
Remember
You just ran a marathon 6 weeks ago
You had rehearsal all week
This is your third marathon this year
It’s ok to walk
You’re doing the thing
Into the park
It smells of fallen leaves and a warm fire
The Rabinowii’s appear again at Mile 24
David steps away
The last two miles feel like forever
The crowds are incredible
No one is laughing at me for walking
No one is telling me I’m slow
Or pathetic
They’re cheering
“You can do this Luisa!”
“You’re so close”
“Go Fred’s Team!”
Briefly out of the park on 59th and 5th
The sight of Columbus Circle lifts me
I know the end is close
Back into the park
The music from the finish line
I can hear the announcer calling out names
The crowds are cheering at full volume
I run
Step over the line
Marathon number five is done.
The lead up to the anniversary of my transplant
Has been emotional
And hard
I have felt robbed
Taken away from myself
Frustrated that I have this anniversary at all
This year
I’m too busy to be thinking about
Stupid Cancer
On the morning of the 5th anniversary of
Having my sister’s T-depleted stem cells
Injected into my port
I’m rushing to the Jacob Javits Convention Center
To pick up my race bib
Number 65800
(How fast do I have to be before I can get 24601?!)
Collect my t-shirt
Over to the Fred’s Team table
Friendly faces
Up to rehearsal at Ripley Grier
Spend the morning singing
Dancing
Running lines
In the afternoon the director starts rehearsal with a question
Who has a New York story?
I have a New York story
Five years ago today
Halloween. Hospital.
Stem cell transplant
Life/death
Here we are
On Friday
It is an honor and a thrill
To walk in the NYC Marathon Opening Ceremony
As a part of Team MovedMe
26 inspiring runners representing 53,000+, including
Yvette, who had been told as a child she would never walk again after being hit by car who is now a retired 26-year army vet running her 18th marathon,
Natasha, completing the Abbott World Marathon Major Six-Star in memory of her sister
Issac, a trans person representing Front Runners New York, and
A leukemia survivor running her 5th marathon on the 5th anniversary of her stem cell transplant
Walking over the Finish Line
Keep the emotions under control
Save it for Sunday
Saturday night
Italian for dinner
Hot date with my love
Traipsing the streets of NYC
To get new iron-on letters for my shirt
Thank goodness for daylight savings
Race day
Up at 4am
A&D cream to prevent chafing
Under arms, under boobs, inner thighs
Soles of feet and between the toes
Sunscreen
Sports bra, shirt, leggings, socks, shoes
Belt with dates, gels, phone charger, earphones, ID, and a bank card just in case
Meet the Team MovedMe bus at 51st between 6th and 7th
Everyone is shivering in the cold
Wishing for coffee
We board the bus
Head down through midtown
Past Times Square where Fred’s Team is gathered
I wish I could be in two places at once
I sleep
We arrive at Fort Wadsworth, Staten Island
The police are lovely
A security guard yells in my face
Your bib needs to be on! Stop! Don’t move!
But almost no one has them on yet
We’re saving them from being crinkled
I try not to be rude to her
She’s been up since god knows when
She’s just doing her job
She’s going to have a long day
Samantha from New York Road Runners leads us to the
Broadcast and Media Tent
Heated, and stocked with bagels and pastries and fresh fruit
The sun rises behind the Verrazano Bridge
Revealing a pale blue sky
The mercury promises not to climb too much
Perfect conditions for a nice long run
Our bags are collected
We hear the canon
The professionals are off
They’ll be almost done before we’ve even started
We are led to the corral
Extra layers are stripped off
Tossed in the giant blue bins to be taken to charity stores around the city
Christy Altomere sings the national anthem
Normally I get teary
But I’m too nervous/excited/emotional about running to get emotional about the anthem
We are called to the start line
Inch forward
On your marks
The canon fires
Frank Sinatra croons
It’s up to you
New York, New York!
We’re off
I’ve only ever run on the lower level of the bridge
Wave 1 runs on top
I thought I’d be afraid of the height
I don’t even register it
The views are stunning
The dark blue of the Lower and Upper bays
Against the pale blue of the sky
Manhattan to the left
Brooklyn to the right
Wave to Lady Liberty
Helicopters hover right next to the bridge
The pace of the runners is astonishing
I move to the side
To let myself go slow
Welcome to Brooklyn
Immediately off the bridge
The cheering begins
The crowds are insane
Several people deep
Holding homemade signs
“You’re running better than our government!”
“You’re running faster than the MTA!”
“Kick some assphalt”
“Only 26 miles til beer”
“Tap here for a power up” with Mario Cart stars and mushrooms
“Punch here for a power up” with Trump’s face dead center
And my personal favorite
“If you want to restore your faith in humanity
Go watch a marathon”
Here are 53,000 runners
Young and old, and tall and short
People with hearing or vision impairments
Prosthetic limbs and wheelchairs
Survivors and servicefolk
Writers and waiters and workers and all manner of
Human beings
From all across the globe
Out running a Very Long Distance
Because they can
And hundreds and hundreds of thousands of their friends and loved ones
And perfect strangers
Are lining the streets
Cheering them on
And another 12,000 more have given up their Sunday to
Hand out water and gatorade and bananas
And the coming together of it all --
If you’re reading this you likely have a physical body
And sometimes
That body is creaky and tired and you may feel
Your very blood cells have betrayed you
And yet, here you are
Isn’t that an astonishing thing?!
We run down Fourth Ave
Through the flavors of Brooklyn
Russian, Polish, Chinese, Hispanic
You know you’ve hit Park Slope when the puppies appear
Mile 8, past BAM
(Remember when I worked there?
Too soon after treatment
I wasn’t ready
I was itching to work)
Turn right onto Lafayette
I hear a familiar voice
“LU!”
It’s Adam from London from Australia
I give him a hug
Familiar faces are a boost
Keep running
The Emmanuel Baptist Church
On Lafayette and St James
Is holding its service outside
The steps are packed with people
The preacher is singing
The gospel choir is singing
My heart is singing
It becomes quieter in the Hasidic neighborhoods
The men seem to ignore the runners
The little girls in their uniform dresses cheer from the sidewalk
Or from windows above the street
The parties are raucous in Williamsburg
I hear someone yelling “LU!”
It’s Adrienne from camp
I give her a hug
Keep running
Aaron said he’ll be at mile 13
I take out my phone to message him
My phone is dead
I stop to pee
I don’t see Aaron
Keep running
Over the Pulaski Bridge
Into Queens and
Before you know it you’re at the Queensboro Bridge
The red and white stacks of Big Allis
Forever in mind intertwined with Sloan
Transplant. Recovery. Anniversary. Five.
We round the corner onto 59th
Welcome to New York City!
Turn left onto First Ave
The crowds
The cheering
In my head
Five years, five years, five years
Mile 17
Past the hospital
I make heart signs at the nurses in scrubs
I say thank you in my head to Dr Stein and Dr P and Kim
And every single nurse and porter and attendant
And to every power there is
That I don’t have to be there anymore
Somewhere on the upper east side
I see Rickey from chorus
Give her a hug
Oh the precious souls we meet
Coming to mile 20
I know I’m going to see Aaron and
The Rabinowii Tribe
David joins me
A needed boost
I’m beginning to hurt
The front of my ankles
My hips
My heart, I know I’m not going to make it in less than 6 hours and
I’m disappointed
David talks me off the ledge
He tells me to go slow
Encourages me to get pain killers at the Medical Tent
Drink water and eat a gel
Remember
You just ran a marathon 6 weeks ago
You had rehearsal all week
This is your third marathon this year
It’s ok to walk
You’re doing the thing
Into the park
It smells of fallen leaves and a warm fire
The Rabinowii’s appear again at Mile 24
David steps away
The last two miles feel like forever
The crowds are incredible
No one is laughing at me for walking
No one is telling me I’m slow
Or pathetic
They’re cheering
“You can do this Luisa!”
“You’re so close”
“Go Fred’s Team!”
Briefly out of the park on 59th and 5th
The sight of Columbus Circle lifts me
I know the end is close
Back into the park
The music from the finish line
I can hear the announcer calling out names
The crowds are cheering at full volume
I run
Step over the line
Marathon number five is done.
To Fred’s Team, especially Julia and Matt,
to NYRR and Team MovedMe, especially Samantha and Matt,
to everyone who donated,
to everyone who sent messages and tracked the race,
to Adam, Adrienne, David, Katherine, Rickey, Maddy, Naomi, Paul, & Sara, for being there,
and Aaron my love,
thank you thank you thank you.
to NYRR and Team MovedMe, especially Samantha and Matt,
to everyone who donated,
to everyone who sent messages and tracked the race,
to Adam, Adrienne, David, Katherine, Rickey, Maddy, Naomi, Paul, & Sara, for being there,
and Aaron my love,
thank you thank you thank you.
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