New York New York, so good they named it twice and I can definitely say that the marathon definitely lived up to its stella reputation. An adventure in crowd support with each of the five boroughs bringing its own version of the mighty #cheerdem spirit. Long energy sapping bridges that actually made me wish I'd run some hills in training and the longest avenues known to man with a four mile ending of rolling hills in Central Park. This is not a marathon for the feint hearted or the ill prepared but of all the marathons I've run over the last eight years this has been by far my favourite. Rocked through the first 13 in 1.45 and then the wheels came off around mile 18 and ran walked the rest to come home in 4.20. A long way off my PB but my best adventure over the 26.2 distance. Top highlight being the conversation with my man from @burt_btg about his impending fatherhood, random strangers shouting my name who recognised me from Instagram, the Bridge The Gap mural at mile 4, the cheer spot at mile 9 and @jessiezapo and her smiling face and the confetti shower to end all confetti showers at the mighty Mile 21 cheer spot. Add the tightest hugs from @misssanchialege and a final 5th avenue course break down from the legendary @mikesaes and you have one happy soul. A perfect end to my birthday week and a big piece of shiny bling to add to the collection. To everyone who has ever liked or commented over the last year I thank you from the bottom of my heart. You can't have crew without the support of the people dem and I appreciate the energy from each and everyone of you. If still in doubt I say just do it. You all have a marathon inside you and the lessons you will learn over distance will stay with you for life. Run strong people run strong #rundem #rundemcrew #bridgethegap #crewlove #goodvibesonly #runwithdark #nycmarathon #nike #nikerunning (at New York, New York)