What It’s Like for a ‘Slow Runner’ To Do a Marathon

“Oh my gosh, there’s people, there is a ton of individuals, there is a finish line and cameras and videos,” Quinn remembers realizing as she approached the finish line. “It was probably one in all the good moments of feeling like, wow, like this event has been going all day. People began running at 7:30 within the morning. And there have been people still out here for me.”

The moment went viral, helped along by the proven fact that Quinn was wearing a rainbow tutu and an exuberant, infectious smile. As seen in a video posted on the NYC Marathon’s Instagram, Katy Perry’s “Firework” plays and Quinn pumps her fists and yells “Yes, yes!” You may’t help but cheer for her.

Despite Quinn’s obvious elation within the video, virality has its drawbacks. Comments on the video of Quinn’s finish criticized her end time and questioned the validity of her getting a spot within the marathon. While there’s a burgeoning movement supporting slow runners and the necessity for pace inclusivity at races, the Instagram comments play on a fear fellow slow runners or marathon novices could have of ending later within the day or of coming in last.

Quinn understands those fears, but doesn’t think anyone should let that stop them from experiencing what she did. “It’s a really, very valid fear, ‘I do not wanna be last, I do not wanna be the person singled out,’” she says. “However it comes all the way down to, once you look back in your life and your accomplishments, is it really gonna sit with you and trouble you that you simply finished last? Or are you only gonna be more excited to inform friends, family, your kids, I did this. I did it as me.”

How Bailey Quinn ran her race with perseverance, support, and joy

The 2022 NYC Marathon was Quinn’s first race ever. She hadn’t done a 5K, 10K, or a half. She didn’t even consider herself a runner. But she desired to tackle the private challenge, to boost money for Team for Kids—a charity that funds Latest York Road Runners’ youth programming—and to rejoice.

On the time, Quinn was a fourth-year medical student (she is now a resident in pediatrics). She did have a while goals initially, but an injury forced her to reassess her motivations and choose that her goal was to complete, and to do it for herself.

It was a moment of reframing Quinn had been through before. She played several sports growing up, and describes ending medical school as a quest to complete “twenty first grade.” She identifies as an endurance athlete since she bikes and swims (and now runs) long distances. But in 2014, she realized that to keep up a love of movement, competition could now not define her relationship with exercise. That was when she decided to bike across the country.

“There was some extent in my journey with health and wellness and athletics that I sat down and asked myself, Who do I do that for?” Quinn says. “Do I care if I’m fast? No. Do I care if I’m beating other people? No. I care that I showed up for me and I did something I deemed worthy.”

That spirit, the confetti canons of marathon spectators, and pure adrenaline carried Quinn through the primary half of the marathon. She describes the start, running through Brooklyn, as a time of pure joy, and that she didn’t even begin to feel the struggle of running a marathon until mile 12.

In the midst of the race, the realities of marathon running behind the pack—the hours of physical exercise, and the proven fact that there have been fewer and fewer people on the road—intensified.

“There have been moments that I used to be like, ‘Oh boy, I’m up to now behind everybody else. How am I getting through this?’” Quinn says. “I knew I can be a slow-goer. I knew I used to be gonna just keep on with my strategy around my race. However it definitely was daunting.”

The important thing to getting through it was attitude, support, and preparation. Quinn reminded herself that she didn’t care that she was behind everyone else; she just wanted to complete. Her boyfriend met up along with her at points throughout the route to offer her hydration, snacks, and encouragement. Late within the race, strangers still watching shoved orange slices into her hands. (Quinn yelled “I like you” in response.) And in any respect times she kept electrolytes and fuel along with her.

“A side of being a final finisher is that preparedness and that awareness of your situation,” Quinn says. “I knew in my head, I would like this many electrolytes, this many powders, because realistically after mile 12 to 13, I is perhaps alone with no first aid, no rest stops. And I have to be physically secure if I would like to complete this race.”

Accomplishing that goal was not a given. A miscommunication along with her boyfriend caused them to miss a meetup within the late teen miles, so she felt the isolation and struggle construct up. At mile 23, after they did reunite, she said she didn’t know if she could do it; she was too gassed. Her boyfriend plied her with fuel and encouraged her to only keep moving. One motivator was continuing to take selfies at every mile—even when the mile markers had already been taken down—to bask in each moment of feat, and spur her on to make it to the subsequent one.

“I actually love documenting the journey even when the journey is painful,” Quinn says.

Finally, the finish got here, and the insecurity, doubt, and fatigue of the last few hours washed away. “Nobody was times, nobody was telling me what number I finished,” Quinn says. “People were similar to, ‘Oh my God, you finished.’ And I used to be like, ‘Oh my God, I did.’”

Her advice for back-of-the-pack runners

For those who’re a “slow runner” or novice racer contemplating a race like a marathon, fears of ending last, of running alone, of feeling left behind aren’t unwarranted. Quinn advises that you ought to be aware of the realities, and plan to have adequate support within the face of them—namely, in the shape of a support person or people along the way in which. Know that amenities won’t be there anymore, and you could have to finish the ultimate miles on the sidewalk (while stopping for traffic), in case you finish after the official cut-off time.

Yet there are also some perks: Barriers get taken down, so you may actually rejoice with family and friends on the finish. At some races, support organizations like Project Finish on the NYC marathon will make an end-of-day finish line a celebration. And Quinn calls the joyous attitude of fellow late finishers and their support people “unparalleled.”

But crucial determinant of whether a race is something you wish to tackle is your motivation. What are you there for? What are your goals? Outside of the paradigm of ending first, or ending inside a certain time, what does a “win” seem like for you?

“It’s never risk-free to place yourself on the market,” Quinn says. “But I actually challenge those individuals with self-doubts to have them challenge [themselves with], How much fun can I make this? Because it truly is just all about what you make it. Learning easy methods to dance within the rain, and all that.”