Chasing Dreams: My Most Ambitious Bucket List Adventure

I thought it was time I put my fingers to the keyboard and pen my experience firstly at the New York City Marathon in the latter part of 2025.

This trip was 3.5 years in the making. After watching Anna Liptak's documentary I'm Not A Runner around the time I'd made the decision to have my gastric sleeve surgery done, completing the New York City Marathon became one of my "why's".

Then it was another 12 months of registering interest for the marathon with an International Tour Operator (ITO) RunFun Travel and planning the rest of my holiday with the help from Bec Taylor Travel.

Those 12 months also included the training lead up to New York. In February 2025 I kicked off with the Run with Turia 10km program as I'd loosely done the 5km program over the January. First run I headed out (which was to only be 15 minutes) and got bitten on the leg as I tried to run around a bloody pug. I was furious! If I had of taken Daisy I would have crossed the road but my thought process was I had a lot of running ahead of me & needed to do it on my own to find my rhythm. So that put me back a week & then I was back into it.

I won't go through the 8 months of running but it was bloody hard. Once I completed the 10km I moved on to the 21km, a distance which I'd never done before. The day I completed that I was exhausted, both physically & mentally, there were tears, there was my first damaged toenail, but I had to turn around and start the marathon training plan the week after.

My training was nowhere near where it should have been. I wasn't looking after myself from a nutrition perspective and I was still drinking too much. Not as much as I had been the year prior but still too much when I was trying to build endurance, work full time and run 3 times a week, up to 4 hours at a time most weeks.

I followed a Runna program for the marathon which allowed me to adapt it to the days I wanted to run, where I was at in my perceived running experience and it all linked through to Strava for record keeping.

I was due to do 32km on the last long run before New York. My Dad & step-Mum Deb were visiting and it was a warm day. I headed out from home and got down to Trigg (about 13km), stopped for a photo, wee & drink then turned around. That's when my mind started on me.

"You can't do this"

"You're not a runner"

"You can't even do the distance, how are you going to do a marathon?"

"People are laughing at you & your efforts"

"You're too fat to be a runner"

"You're not fit enough to be a runner"

"You drink too much to be a runner"

"You're an imposter"

And over and over they just kept on at me. I ended up messaging Billy & my words were "Oh boy I am in struggle town, I can't make it home" when I was 5km from home (still had more to get to the 32km too). When he came to get me, I got in the passenger seat and burst into tears and I sobbed and sobbed. I felt completely defeated and didn't know how I was going to complete 42.2km on my own in New York City away from my family & friends.

From then on I pared it right back & did shorter runs and walks with Daisy to keep the legs ticking over. There was nothing more I could do to prepare & what would be would be.

28th October was my last day at work and I was getting excited. This break was going to be the longest I'd ever had off for work before, so I was super pumped to put that out of office on and completely disconnect for 4 weeks. I'd been semi-packed for a week or so and had most of the next day to finalise anything I needed to.

Wednesday rolled around and I took Daisy out for a last big walk with her Mumma and then set about final preparations. I had packed & culled & packed & culled but I still had a heavy case (with every intention of buying one there to fill!) and then it was time to head to the airport with Billy & Kyla. I checked in and then we settled in for a bite to eat & I had a celebratory bubbles to signify my solo adventure. I was getting nervous now though, having never travelled further than Hong Kong so there were tears when I bid farewell to B & K before heading through the international departure doors.

I flew Singapore Airlines Perth>Singapore then Singapore>Newark (17.5 hours) and boy that was not a nice flight!! Such a long time to be on a plane and whilst I was in Premium Economy it still wasn't overly comfortable and I didn't sleep much. I did get to see the Northern Lights though which were spectacular!

Arrival into Newark was grey and wet. But I was there and I didn't care!! I went straight through customs (surprised me) and out to meet my driver. Coming into Newark I had no idea where I was or where anything was! But just being somewhere new was exciting & due to the time of day there was lots of traffic and school buses that look just like the ones on the Simpson's and in the movies!!

I'm pleased I had the foresight to book my hotel room for the night before so I could go straight to my room and dump my things. I decided to go for a walk because hello, I was in New York bloody City!! Snapped a couple of pictures, marvelled at where I was but couldn't really get my bearings then. I found a grocer got some water for my room, grabbed a snack & then went back to have a nap. We had our welcome dinner that evening with the group from RunFun so I wanted to be coherent enough to have conversations!!

We met in the foyer for our team briefing and also heard from Steve Moneghetti who was our group's ambassador for the marathon. What a career he had! Met Amanda & Roger who were also selected for the Parade of Nations & made plans to meet in the foyer for that the next arvo. Off to dinner we went and there were around 25 or so of us so not the whole group. We went to a great little Italian placed called Mercato only 2 streets over & the food was delicious.

Friday morning we met as a group to do a run along the Highline with Steve and his wife Tanya. Of course they ran off well ahead of me but I got to run with the lovely Janet and chat with her and then picked up Nicole's husband Brendan along the way. The path was shut off part of the way so we turned back. I kept going then as I wanted to get 5km in and ran up to Fifth Avenue (OMG to see the sign in real life!) and vowed to return - haha.

On the way back I located Bluestone Lane coffee which my cousin Josh had told me about - business started by guys from Melbourne so got a long black or Americano as they call it there and a bag of ground beans to take back to my room. As most would know US coffee is not great and I need my daily fix!

Then it was on to the Expo to collect our bibs! Wow the lines were HUGE but once in it was a very quick process. I secured my bib - yay! - and then proceeded to the New Balance area to purchase my finishers jacket and a top. Chatted to a lovely young woman in the line who was from New York and was running after having her first son.

Friday afternoon was the Parade of Nations in Central Park which is a lottery to be selected. There were maybe 4 or 5 of us from our ITO but all up Australia was well represented, including ex-pats who now live in the States. It was a lot of waiting around and got pretty chilly - the parade itself didn't last too long and then Amanda, Nicole, Scott & Brendan asked me to join them for a meal which was lovely to have some company & get to know other people and their why's for visiting NYC & the marathon.

Saturday = free day! First stop was to get a rainbow bagel which Kyla had suggested I do and I found these at Pio Bagel on 9th Avenue. I got bacon and scallion cream cheese and it was GOOD! Could only eat half though so the other got wrapped up to enjoy later. I then headed off towards Target as I wanted to get a coffee plunger and find some cheap sweats to wear over my running gear on race day. Being Halloween the day before there were still plenty of brownstones decorated and I walked past a cute little market stall with so much amazing fresh produce on offer. This was the day I found my bearings in the big city & felt confident in finding my way around. After I took my things home I headed toward Times Square as I was meeting up with a fellow Runner with Turia in Pam Duddy. I also had some shopping to do so this worked out well!

Times Square is not as big from a square footage perspective as I thought it was. The billboard screens are of course huge and everywhere, the 3D ones were fabulous. But the space of it wasn't as big as you'd think! Still though it is an iconic spot! Lots of scammers taking photos, characters dressed up etc all trying to make a buck or two. I spotted the Naked Cowboy doing his thing, some great Halloween characters and a really weird woman or man, not quite sure, just screaming and waving around a tip box with a guitar on their body but not playing anything. I was thinking to myself if you want tips you play first, not scream!! Ahhh New York! Went into the M&M store and picked up a few things to take home, that wall of dispensers is something else! So much choice! Popped into a couple of other stores but nothing jumped out at me to buy.

Met Pam & Paul at Bubba Gump Shrimp Co in Times Square for a bite (they bit, I had a drink) and a chat. Hearing about their travel plans post the marathon and their ITO experience as they were with a much larger group and had a lot more on their itinerary to go to than what I did.

After that we bid farewell and I walked back to the hotel. I think it was this walk I had the thought "check me out, nailing New York City all on my own I ended up ordering in that night as I was starting to get a little anxious about the next day and just wanted to chill. I laid everything out on my bed and took the obligatory flat lay photo. Alarm was set (2 of them actually) and tried to get some sleep.

RACE DAY! It was finally here! I had a shower and threw some clothes on to go have some breakfast but already could feel the panic & anxiety start to settle in. I was starting to tear up but knew I had to eat so off I went downstairs. I ordered an omelette and sat there eating that through my tears and feelings of absolute fear and loneliness. I went back to my room and had a huge cry and felt so many emotions. I felt so alone having no-one there to help me break out of the funk, I felt like a massive imposter wondering how the hell I was going to complete this ginormous challenge, and the tears would just not stop. I recorded a video for the family in my WhatsApp group which I didn't end up sending as I didn't want them to worry especially when there was nothing they could do for me.

My ferry time was 9:30am and other runner from our group Tony (who is also from Perth) was on the same ferry as me so we met in the lobby and headed down together. That certainly helped having someone to go along with and chat to on the ferry ride. What a spectacle that was! Whilst it was a cool morning there wasn't a cloud in the sky and the sun was shining. We got the perfect views of New York City and the Statue of Liberty with the Nike ferry going by. It was all so surreal, exciting and daunting at the same time. We jumped on buses to get transported to the starting area on Staten Island. Once arrived it was through security, bags etc scanned and then into the waiting corrals. Tony headed off as he was starting before me.

I took in my surroundings and was in awe of where I was and what I was about to attempt. There was a puppy petting zone for people to quieten their nerves with some puppy love. I would have done that but as you can imagine the line was long! Plus Daisy wouldn't have forgiven me. Dunkin' Donuts were handing out beanies and coffees and donuts, plus there were many portaloos so no issue with getting those nervous wee's out of the way.

Finally it was time to head to my Orange Corral which would have me starting on the top level of the Verrazzano Bridge. I followed the crowd but found my way into the Pink Corral which I was allowed into because it was a level after me, but didn't know where the orange one was. Anyways it turned out to be the better choice as no sooner than ten minutes standing there I heard "Aussie Aussie Aussie" and it was Nicole & Amanda! It was so nice to see familiar faces amongst ALL the people there. So whilst I wouldn't be going over the top of the bridge, I wouldn't be starting the New York City Marathon alone.

We heard in the distance the National Anthem, then the "ready, set, go!" and the cannons going off signifying the start followed by Frank Sinatra belting out "start spreading the news....." oh my heart and nerves all exploded at once as we started shuffling our way along the Verrazzano Bridge! Running alongside thousands of other people fulfilling a dream, competing in another marathon, or doing it for a charity was such an incredible experience and I was in disbelief the time had finally arrived!

Words cannot describe the experience of participating in the New York City Marathon. The crowds are everyone's biggest cheerleaders! I was told to make sure I wore my name on my top and boy I'm glad I did. "Go Belinda, you got this!" "We see you Belinda!" "Keep going, you're running the NYC Marathon!" and so many more good cheers! I gave so many thumbs up, high fives and "yeah's" it wasn't funny but all those supporters are who kept me going. Brooklyn was INSANE! The crowds went forever. From there we entered Queens and that again was fabulous. The Bronx & Harlem were next - lots of music which was awesome and finishing in Manhattan and ultimately in Central Park - running past The Plaza with still so many people lining the course even at the time I finished. The silent mile at Mile 11 was interesting running through the Hasidic Jewish neighbourhood - the community just going about their business as though thousands of people weren't running through their streets. The Queensborough bridge was also interesting coming from all the crowd noise to no crowds and just the runners pushing themselves through. Highlight was meeting Coach Bennett at Mile 22 - he's the Nike Running Global Head Coach & I have run many a distance with him in my ear via the Nike Run Club app. He's exactly the same in person as he is on the app - full of wisdom & the best lines to keep you pushing!

Briefly on the actual run itself. I was doing good time up until around the 14th km and things started to slow down but I was still running more than walking. From kilometre 24 the walking was becoming more regular, but I was still clocking some km's under 10 mins walking. My calves felt like they were going to snap in half and I will forever be grateful to the woman who was handing out pickle juice in the first entrance to Central Park. It helped immensely! Heading into it I wanted to complete it in under 6 hours but that wasn't meant to be. I ended up completing it in 6:54:26. But hey, I FINISHED it! And got the medal to prove it! Considering less than 0.01% of the global population complete a marathon, I was so proud of myself to be part of that stat.

I got my medal, my poncho & bag of goodies then made my way out of the park and back on the subway to the hotel. It was group drinks in the bar (most had already been back for hours!) and then I shared a pizza with my new friends and hit the hay. My body wasn't feeling too bad but that shower once I got back into my room was absolute bliss. I was going to wear my medal to bed but it is so heavy so I decided against it as it might have knocked me out if it was flying around when I rolled over!

The next day I woke and enjoyed a quiet moment in bed reflecting on everything that happened the day before. I ventured out, slowly, around 1pm to make my way to Edge Observatory at Hudson Yards. We got free entry with our medals so I wanted to take advantage of that. I wore my medal & finishers jacket proudly. Found myself on the observation deck and got a heap of photos. Ran into Jan & Noel and chatted with them before heading downstairs for a bit of shopping. Discount at Lululemon with my medal again purchasing Kyla's jacket she desperately wanted, plus some purchases for me at Levi's & Zara.

Monday afternoon I cracked the bottle of Moet I'd purchased to celebrate my achievement then it was time to get ready for The Lion King on Broadway. What an incredible show that is! It was a wonderful way to spend the evening as it was only opened to the marathoners with ITO's as normally they don't do a Monday night show (so someone said!) Walking out of the theatre at 10pm I couldn't believe the people around! I had no issues in feeling safe walking home to the hotel after that. Considering the day of the marathon I clocked a massive 61,269 steps, I still managed to do 11,300 the day after. Was probably the best thing I could have done for my recovery.

The rest of my holiday is for another blog as there's so much more to share! Including 10 days post the marathon getting the route inked on my arm to be part of me forever.

The entire experience is easily one of the best things I've ever done in my life. It reminded me of who I am as an individual, the Capricorn grit & determination I still hold inside when things get tough, that despite the inner voices I can still find something to rise above and finish what I set out to do. That I am stronger than I give myself credit for and that

I. CAN. DO. HARD. THINGS.