Several of our members told us about their first race....

Pat Perlo-

My first race was in 1980... Women's Mini Marathon... I don't remember my time.  My mother was very excited and sent me off to the 2nd Avenue deli for turkey sandwiches to celebrate.  She thought it was a very big deal ... which indeed it was.  I did the marathon in 1982 - 4:27:39.. equal that now and I'd be in Boston.  Any rate after the marathon, I was ordered to take a bath in epsom salts... I could not get out of the tub.  I have not taken a bath since 1982.

Darby Brooks

My first race was in January of this year.  It was the New York Road Runners Grid Iron.  Only 4 miles.  But cold.  Very cold.  I was ecstatic when I finished.  Though, on my next run about 3 days later I partially tore a ligament in my knee and couldn't run for 4 months.  So mixed feelings about that.

I do remember being very nervous the night before.  I hadn't actually meant to register for that race, so when I got an email from NYRR I was surprised.  But I decided to run it anyway.  I googled what to do for your first race.  I pinned my bib on my shirt, and put my d-tag on my shoe.  I laid out all my clothes, and packed a bag.  And then I barely slept.

I still don't sleep well the night before a race.  Though I'm no longer anxious, I think I'm excited.  And I worry about oversleeping. 

Maggie Deschamps

My first race proved to be a real turning point for me and it's an amusing story.

In my early 20's I swam competitively and only ran for cross-training. I never considered running competitively, as all my running back then was at a comfortable pace. I'd always been a swimmer and swimming was my sport. 

After moving to Long Island in my late 20's I decided to run in the local Lynbrook 10k race to familiarize myself with the neighborhood. I lined up with the other 100 or so runners thinking, OK, this should be a fun run. 

By about mile 2 I hear people along the side shouting, " 1st woman!, 1st woman coming !" I'm looking around and up ahead and I don't see her. Where is she, I'm thinking. I keep running and I keep hearing the same thing. 

By about mile 4 it dawns on me that I am the 1st woman! Oh no, now I have to run really fast! No easier run. So I crank up my pace, I've now got a police escort ahead of me!

I finish the race to loud cheers, breaking my 1st finish line tape and well, after that I was hooked!!

I still find racing as exciting and fun as my 1st race and that's why I'm still at it!

MARGO LONG

It was the 1985 Turkey Trot in Prospect Park.  It was a bone soaking , rainy morning but it never occurred to me to "bag" the race due to weather.  I ran with my heart and loved every, wet minute of it.  As I approached the finish line I felt like an olympian.  As I crossed that line I  knew that I could do anything that I put my mind to.  For me it was the start of something that I love to do to this day.  It is probably the best self image builder  that I have ever found.  Like Nike says, JUST DO IT.

Michael Rieman

My first race? I think that was one in Prospect Park sponsored by a shoe company. We were given t-shirts that read "Kinney shoes. Run to be fit." I believe Jeff Derecki was there, and told me I looked happy as I ran through the lower transverse. But it is the second race that really surprised me: a trail race in Van Cortlandt Park.

Since I didn't know any better, I believed that the instruction about "going into the hills" meant there would be a roadway like the one at the zoo hill. Was I surprised by the real trail, complete with rocks and holes in the ground, that I found. The "flats" at the end seemed like a heart-stopper.I managed to be one of the first fifty or seventy-five guys to complete the course though, and received a little medal. I was totally proud, and also totally wiped out...but I was hooked on races.