On January 23, I received an email from New York Road Runners, which had a link titled ‘Dreaming of running the five boroughs?’. I skim read the paragraph, which stated, “The application for the 2018 TCS New York City Marathon is now open! You have until February 15 to enter the drawing and take a chance at grabbing a spot in the race of a lifetime. It is free to enter the drawing, and runners from all over the world – of all ability levels – are welcome. Good luck!”

Once I seen the words “It’s free to enter the drawing”, I quickly clicked the link and did not think twice about it. I even put my mom, who was texting me at the time on the back burner, so that I can start and finish my application for the marathon. As part of the registration, I ended up having to register for New York Road Runners, which did not cost me anything to register. Moreover, after not getting a spot in the 2018 Chicago Marathon this was the next best thing and it is another World Marathon Major to add to my resume.

I have always wanted to visit New York again, after visiting it with the ‘Single Marine Program’ years back to see the Radio City Rockets. We even got a chance to eat at a restaurant called ‘Mars 2112’, which was Mars themed. According to ‘Yelp’, that place has closed, which led me to do further research on why it closed and I found that they filed for bankruptcy in 2002 and 2007, per Gothamist. I would have loved to visit the place again if my name was accepted into the lottery and I made it out to New York for the marathon.

There is just something about New York City that attracts a small-town guy like me, along with running through Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, The Bronx and Staten Island is another plus. I should know by the end of February if my name gets accepted into the marathon or not, so wish me luck everyone. I hope to make TCS NYC Marathon my twentieth career marathon.