Glen Ridge resident Kelly Shoemaker, who has run in more than 80 races, was planning on running in her third New York City Marathon this past Sunday.
She qualified because she competed in nine New York Road Runner Club races and volunteered to help out in a tenth race. But she recently slipped a disc in her spine.
Refusing to back down, she walked the 26.2-miles course through the five boroughs of New York City.
“It was a good experience,” she said. “Walking or running a marathon, in the end, is pretty similar. My last marathon was 5 hours 15 minutes. This was 7 hours and 1 minute.”
She expressed a little frustration with that extra one minute in her time because it kept her from cracking seven hours. Nonetheless, she said there is a benefit to walking a marathon. For one thing, there are not so many spectators. Most of them have departed. Shoemaker began her marathon at about 11:30 a.m. The better runners heard the crack of the starter’s pistol at 8 a.m.
“When you’re at the back of the pack because you’re going slower,” she said, “you get to see Manhattan and what people are doing. The guy next to me was juggling. He’d juggle and walk and the crowd loved the guy. But I thought to myself, I have to finish before him.”
Shoemaker said a person has to figure there are marathoners who are not competitors.
“I saw a woman with a cane,” she said. “There are all sorts of people. Some are blind or with multiple sclerosis. They’ll speed by you.”
Walking the marathon, she said, presents a whole bunch of walking wounded stories which runners never see including marathoners in costumes. Shoemaker said walkers also have the opportunity to stop and hug spectators.
“The whole day was like a party,” Shoemaker said. “One woman grabbed me to dance and hug.”
But Shoemaker, 53, said there is a mindset walkers share: They would rather be running. But she would not chance it with her back worries. A breast cancer survivor, Shoemaker is employed by Paramount + as a director of product design.
“I wanted to stay healthy and rise to the challenge,” she said. “It’s hard to walk a marathon.But there’s opportunities for more than the elite runner. When I got to the finish line, it was dark. Someone was handing out glow-in-the-dark bracelets. It was just a spectator. You have people handing out everything. The support New Yorkers have for marathoners is pretty amazing.”
Through all the races and cancer therapy sessions, Shoemaker said her husband John has been a proud fan.
“He’s awesome,” she said. “My constant support.”
Shoemaker had an MRI last week. She had felt pain getting up from the couch. A little fracture was detected. But she was given the go-ahead to walk.
“They think part of it was a birth defect,” she said. “They just found it; a little fracture. I had leg pain and after physical therapy, it shifted to my back. I probably could have walked and run the marathon, but I didn’t want to pinch it more. But I think I’m done with my marathons. I have a lot of other interests and I think I have to figure out ways to give back.”
Undeterred, Glen Ridge resident walks NYC marathon added by Daniel Jackovino on
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