The waiting game

Nov. 2, 2008, the New York marathon. My cousin and I woke up at 4:30 AM to get ourselves dressed and out the door in time to catch the bus to Staten Island. I don't think either of us really fully fell asleep, but that is usual for me before a race. I laid out my clothes and number the night before so I didn't have to do much thinking in the morning so, I got dressed and was ready to head out. We walked over to the bagel shop (have to in NY). The bagels were fresh from the oven and steaming, slathered with PB and we were ready nutritionally. We saw two other runners at the shop and a few other computer users (who knows what people were doing there at five in the morning on a Sunday but I guess some people are more morning people than I am). J-R and I marched up to Prospect Park and walked along it heading to 15th. It was a cold morning and I was glad I had a jacket and cut my stockings to wear on my legs. We saw a bus at 10th street and were told our bus was at 15th so that was reassuring that another track team knew of our bus. We made it to the 15th street circle and no bus was in sight, no runner was in sight for that matter either. We stood in the middle and did all we could do-waited. Eventually someone got out of a car and strolled over to us. "Are you here for the bus to the marathon" he asked. It was the organizer. I felt like our running clothes and standing around made it obvious, but figured you have to have an opener. "Yep" we replied. "Are you running this year?" I asked. "I've run the past twenty years." he said. "but my mother passed away this year and I'll probably just support this year and run a portion with some other runners." I felt bad for asking. "Well the bus should be here soon." he said. "I hope it shows up, I tried to double-check yesterday and nobody answered." Not long after the organizer pointed down the street, "ah here it comes." What was coming toward us was a school bus. Perfect, the experience already started. We climbed aboard and waited for more runners to arrive. After we were loaded, we headed off to the Verrazano bridge and Staten Island. We saw a huge line of cars waiting to enter the bridge, but our driver was excellent and knew a route that cut off a lot of the waiting and we slipped right in, which was good, because the coffee had kicked in at this point.
We hopped off the bus and were hit with a cold wind. It was a little before 7 AM and our start time was 10 AM, it was going to be a long wait! They were checking numbers as we walked in, but somehow I got by with my number still in my pocket. I saw a line of Port-o-lets with no lines and we made a bee line there. Afterward it was all about staying warm before the race and there were a couple of tents setup, like the gospel tents at Jazz Fest. We found a spot and sat down. It was as warm as we could be as we stared enviously at others in their sleeping bags. "Mental note" J-R said, "next time cheap sleeping bag and plastic to sit on." The two brits around me were talkative asking about our government and I was happy to share, kill time, and take my mind away from the race. We still had a good chunk of time to kill. The guy next to me was outfitted. He had a waterproof mat he was lying on, was tucked in a sleeping bag with stocking cap, two pairs of thick wool socks, and a bag filled with food. He was focused. In front of him was the "polar" opposite. This runner was squatting with tiny running shorts on and bare legs filled with goose pimples, and a thin sweater on top. Someone eventually gave him a plastic bag. After sitting this way for a good while J-R and I both needed to stretch our legs. We made another port-o-let stop and then decided to check out the other waiting areas and get a cup of tea or coffee. to be continued....