Thursday 5/14
So how did I arrive at a bicoastal Goofy's race and a half challenge? Well originally, I was planning to run only the REVEL Reno Tahoe Marathon. The plan was to take my time and drive up to Reno instead of getting on a plane. For some reason on 1/13, I thought it would be a good idea to throw my name into the drawing for a spot in the Brooklyn Half Marathon even though I had already registered for the Reno race back on 9/23/2025! Much to my surprise, on 1/23 I received an email notifying me that I had been selected for Brooklyn. I quickly started searching for something affordable in NYC. Fortunately, I was able to find something within reason. I knew that I would be arriving late into Reno, so the next day, I contacted REVEL to add race packet mailing to my registration for an extra $40. That was how I ended up with this challenge. Running the races would be the easy part. Getting to them would be the challenge!
I got dropped off at
Terminal 4 of
Ontario Airport at about a quarter 10 pm to catch a red eye flight out to LaGuardia Airport with a layover at Chicago Midway Airport. I was a bit anxious with the changes to the boarding process with Southwest Airlines as passengers with a basic fare would be boarding in the last group. I ended ponying up $58 to have priority boarding on both legs just so I wouldn't have to deal with that stress with overhead compartment space.
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It would turn out that I really didn't need to panic as a good majority of the passengers on Southwest were all on a basic fare. I was the only one with priority boarding. I boarded right after the preboard folks. People probably thought I was military since I was wearing my Wear Blue jacket. I got caught up on some news on the flight over before getting some shuteye.
The plane landed at
Chicago Midway Airport at about a quarter to 7 am. I walked up and down the terminal to check out my options for breakfast. I don't like their food, but I eventually got in the long line to order from
Dunkin' as they were not accepting mobile orders. The main reason for the line being so long was that they were clearly understaffed and was having everyone place their order on one of the 2 available self-order kiosks. When it was my turn, I quickly realized how inept people were with ordering on a screen. I placed my order for a Bacon Wake-up Wrap and medium coffee. I tried to scan my mobile app to get reward points, but it didn't work. I gave up after the one try and just paid for the food. I was done with my ordering and the folks ahead of me were still trying to place theirs on the other machine. When I got my food, I found a nearby empty table to eat my breakfast.
Breakfast at Dunkin'
Bacon Wake-up Wrap
MDW > LGA
The plane landed at
LaGuardia Airport at about a quarter to 1 pm. I got off of the plane at
terminal B. After using the restroom, I made my way outside to catch a free Q70 bus ride over to Jackson Heights to catch the E train from the
74th/Broadway station to start heading over to Brooklyn. I took that over to the
7th Ave station to switch over to the B train. I took that down to the
Prospect Park station.
Q70 bus to Jackson Heights
After exiting the subway station, it was just a short walk across Ocean Ave to reach
Prospect Park. I followed the many signs directing people over to the race expo at the
LeFrak Center at Lakeside. Although a bit further, I thought that this venue was better and easier to get to versus the old location over at the Brooklyn Bridge Park Pier 2. It was the standard race expo. First, I was assigned a bib number and a starting corral. Second, I picked up my race shirt. Third, I found my name on the participants name wall. Before heading out, I chatted a bit with my friend, Coach Ben.
Prospect Park
LeFrak Center at Lakeside
Bib pick-up
Shirt pick-up
Race shirt
Back of race shirt
Participants name wall
Don't call me Emily! :D
Found my name
Coach Ben
After I was done with the expo, I backtracked on the subway lines until I was back on the E line train. This time, I got off at the
Sutphin Blvd-Archer Av station. Normally, when I come through this subway station, I would be catching an AirTrain ride to JFK Airport. This time however, I walked over to the
La Quinta over on 147th Pl. This hotel was recently built and opened at the end of 2025. When I did the pre-check-in online, I had requested for a late checkout. Unfortunately, that was denied. I inquired about it during check-in, but the best the lady could tell me was to ask again on the morning of checkout. I was assigned to room #810.
Note from general manager
While the hotel was nice, unfortunately the surrounding Jamaica area was a complete shithole. Just way too many people not giving a shit about where they throw their trash. I almost regretted walking the few blocks to go get water from
Target and some food from
Jollibee. As with most of my visits to NYC, I just put my head down and walked with purpose to wherever I needed to go. This particular Target store was a smaller one. At the entrance, I took the escalator down a floor. I was only there to buy a gallon of water. I got the usual Good & Gather for $1.39.
A gallon of water
I then headed next door to Jollibee to pick up dinner. I hopped on the mobile app to place my order. I ordered the usual palabok fiesta. I also added a bacon angus deluxe burger and redeemed a reward for a free ube pie. It took a while for the food to be ready. Once I had my food, I started heading back to my hotel. I seldomly order them, but I must say that their burgers are always very tasty!
Jollibee
Palabok fiesta, bacon angus deluxe burger, and free ube pie
Bacon angus deluxe burger
After I was done with my food, I laid out my flat runner for tomorrow's half marathon and took a shower. Then before calling it a night, I went through the race details to make sure nothing had changed from last year. I set my alarms to give myself a bit more time as I felt a little rushed last year with getting through all of the pre-race stuff such as getting coffee from Starbucks, going through security screening, getting to the assigned corral, and using the portapotties.
Flat runner
I got ready and left the hotel at about 4 am. There was the usual dodging of homeless people on the short walk over to the nearby subway station. I took the E train from Sutphin Blvd-Archer Av station which ran on the 6 Av F track this morning most likely due to the recent track fires. That confused the heck out of a construction guy trying to head over to the Port Authority. When he asked me, I told him his best route would be to get off at 42nd St-Bryant Park and walk over. I guess I had been coming to NYC enough times that I probably behaved and looked like a local. I got off at the
Broadway-Lafayette St station where I switched over to the
Bleecker St platform to catch the late night 4 train to
Franklin Av-Medgar Evers College station. The train was quite full by time it arrived at the subway station. As I was starting out of wave 2 and headed to
Starbucks for my usual pre-race coffee, I peeled off from the group of faster runners that were starting out of wave 1 and took the northern exit. On the mobile app, I ordered my grande flat white before going inside.
Starbucks
Grande flat white
With coffee in hand, I leisurely made my way up to the Grand Army Plaza to enter the corral. Along the way, I saw a lot of wave 1 runners either warming up or running around trying to find their entrance which was down by Franklin Ave.
Brooklyn Museum
Start line
I crossed the start line at 7:31 am. Having run this race 4 other times, I was quite familiar with the course and the strategy that I would use. I was running around the 1:50 pace group for about the first 4 miles. They would drop me at the climb at about mile 5. Like clockwork, similar to last year, just as I was running down the ramp to get onto Ocean Pkwy, my left foot cramped up a bit. I need to figure out why that keeps happening! I backed off on the pace and hoped that the foot would loosen up. Thankfully, it did. As I continued heading south towards Coney Island, most of the runners gravitated towards the left side of the road as it was still mostly shaded. Since I was just cruising and praying that my left foot wouldn't fully cramp up, I just stayed in the middle of the road where it was the flattest. For the last 6 miles, I was actually running about 10-15 seconds slower per mile than the usual 9:09 pace for a sub 2 half marathon. Thankfully, I had built a big enough cushion for me to cross the finish line in under 2 hours.
1: 8:17
2: 8:25
3: 8:06
4: 8:33
5: 8:51
6: 8:58
7: 8:35
8: 9:19
9: 9:25
10: 9:20
11: 9:29
12: 9:33
13: 9:25
13.1: 2:08
Finish: 1:58:25
Click
here for my Garmin data.
While I was pretty disappointed with the foot cramp, I actually did rather okay if I looked at my past results. The average from the other 4 times was 1:58:22. Today I only finished 3 seconds slower. Out of the 5 times of racing here, last year was the only time that I did not finish in under 2 hours. Sometimes it can get quite warm and humid at this race.
After receiving my finisher medal, I continued down the boardwalk where I received a Culligan bottle of water, a wet towel, and a recovery bag with the usual post race goodies. I used a portapotty before I started making my way out of the post race area. I stopped briefly for a selfie in front of Nathan's. Then shortly after that I bumped into a guy dressed in a full Arsenal kit. I told him that I was a Spurs fan and asked if his team was actually going to finally win the league this year.
Finisher medal
Close up of medal
Side 2 of medal
Post race goodies
Full kit Gooner
Now to hurry back to my hotel! With all of the congestion in the immediate streets around the finish area, I thought it would be best for me to head east past Ocean Pkwy before hailing an Uber ride. Instead, all I came across was a shit ton of regular traffic of people just trying to get around and do their jobs! In hindsight, I should've just walked a few blocks north as the quickest way back would be to hop on the Belt Pkwy which the driver ultimately did. The ride cost $56.10. I was able to use a promotion to knock off $8. Thankfully, I got dropped off a few minutes after the 11 am check out them. I was able to rush up to my room, take a quick shower, and pack up my stuff. They were already pounding on the door right when I got out of the shower.
After dropping off the room key at the front desk, I hung out in the very spacious lobby to charge my phone a bit. My flight out of
JFK wasn't until about 4 pm. Once I had enough charge, I headed across the street to catch an
AirTrain ride over to the airport. I paid the $8.75 fare and took it over to
Terminal 8 to catch my America Airlines flight.
AirTrain
Before heading through TSA screening, I hung out in the ticketing area to finish off my water. While I did that, I spotted my friend come rushing through. I was able to grab a quick selfie, but him and his friends were in a hurry to catch their flight.
Jonesy!
Once I had finished my water, I got in line for TSA screening. After getting through that, I stopped at the
Starbucks to get coffee and something to eat. On the mobile app, I ordered a tall flat white and cashed in 300 stars for a free ham & Swiss on baguette.
Tall flat white and ham & Swiss on baguette
For the flight out to PHX, I caught the Preakness 151 where Napoleon Solo would go on to win the race. The race announcers always make it sound so exciting! After that I tried to get as much rest as I could as knew that I would be arriving late into Reno.
JFK > PHX
Napoleon Solo wins the Preakness 151
My connection was at about 9 pm, so I headed over to the B gates to eat dinner at one of my favorite spots,
Matt's Big Breakfast. Ordering was a bit different since the last time that I was here. They had me scan the QR code on the table which opened their ordering portal. I placed an order for the usual steak & eggs.
Matt's Big Breakfast
Steak & eggs
I have been traveling on a very tight budget lately with so many races on the calendar, but sometimes I have to make an exception. Since I was going to arrive in Reno very late, I had to pay $6.99 for a 1 liter bottle of water from
Phoenix 12 News in order to stay hydrated.
Bought some water to stay hydrated ahead of PHX > RNO
The plane landed at
Reno-Tahoe Airport at about a quarter to 11 pm. After getting off of the plane to a rather empty airport, I followed the signs that directed me over to the designated spot for rideshare pick-up. It was in the parking lot on the most northern end of the airport. I thought it was rather funny, as it was just a bunch of people waiting in an open parking lot. The ride cost $34.71. Once again, the promotion knocked off $8. What was cool was the vehicle that came to pick me up was a sky blue and white VW ID Buzz electric bus!
VW ID Buzz electric bus
It was a short ride over to my timeshare,
WorldMark Reno. I was probably one of the last or the very last to check-in for the evening. I had reserved a 1 bedroom unit, but they were all out. They "upgraded" me, checking me into to a 2 bedroom unit #208. Needless to say, that unit was way more than I needed as a solo traveler! It was large enough for about 2-3 families!
WorldMark Reno
Shortly after laying out my flat runner for tomorrow's marathon, I took a shower and tried to get as much sleep as possible! I made sure to set multiple alarms. I might have gotten at most 1 hour of sleep before I had to get up and start getting ready for the race!
Flat runner
At a little after 3 am, I hailed an Uber ride for a ride over to the bus pick-up location along Coliseum Way. It was just across the street, north of the Reno-Sparks Convention Center. The ride cost $23.91. I don't frequently take Uber or Lyft, but I did notice that there were significantly less fees when riding outside of the airport! I thought I would be getting some shuteye on the drive up to the start line, but I ended up having a very nice conversation with the guy that sat next to me. He was a very educated French guy living near Truckee that worked on the physics of rockets for space travel! It was his very first marathon!
It was quite chilly at the start area. Thankfully, I had brought one of my old Surf City long sleeved race shirts as a throwaway to stay warm. The size of the race field seemed a bit on the small side. It would seem that they had lost quite a bit of business after the Boston Athletic Association instituted time penalties for courses with too much elevation drop. It reminded me of the days when races had just returned from very strict COVID restrictions. As I milled around, I bumped into the usual familiar faces.
Bonne chance, Olivier!
Eddie and Gysel
Karen, Glen, and Dan
Lea
Start line
Course & Aid Station Map
Aid station layout
The race started on time at 6 am. I began the race at a comfortable pace. I wanted to keep it at around a 9 minute per mile pace. I was able to do so for the first 4 miles, but it felt harder than it should have. I believe that had something to do with the higher elevation, having run a half marathon yesterday, and the lack of sleep! When I reached mile 4, I decided to pull over for a walk break as I felt like I was working a bit too hard. I resumed with the same pace, but had to take another walk break after reaching mile 6. I was able to go a little bit further before taking my next walk break at mile 9. However by mile 12, I definitely had boarded the struggle bus.
1: 8:32
2: 8:53
3: 8:53
4: 8:57
5: 9:44
6: 8:59
7: 9:47
8: 8:55
9: 8:54
10: 9:35
11: 9:07
12: 11:07
13: 11:33
Mile 11.1: Very scenic!
While the weather did at one point get warm enough where I had taken the gloves off, I had to eventually put them back on when the weather did a 180 and had gotten quite cold. The sustained uphill section at mile 14 really wore me out. I decided to just walk most of that mile. As the race went on, the wind got stronger and the weather got colder. With about two miles to go, I started feeling pretty good and just wanted the race to be over. During those last 2 miles, I saw my friend up ahead. It was hard to miss her as she was wearing hot pink leggings. I knew that I was gaining ground, so I just maintained my pace. While the goal wasn't really to catch her, it was definitely a carrot to help me stay focused. She's a stronger runner than me at the marathon distance, so I was expecting her to hold me off. However, I managed to pass her on the final stretch, beating her by mere seconds.
14: 14:42
15: 11:26
16: 10:16
17: 11:16
18: 11:16
19: 9:56
20: 12:43
21: 11:33
22: 12:16
23: 13:05
24: 12:36
25: 11:43
26: 11:14
26.2: 2:11
Near mile 15 along Mt Rose Hwy
Approaching the finish line
Finish line!
Finish: 4:39:08
Click
here for my Garmin data.
Finish venue map
She was a good sport about it, probably because she usually beats me at the marathon distance. We got our finisher medals and took a selfie before going our separate ways. I was pleasantly surprised to see a couple of my friends off to the side. Because it was so windy and cold, the finish line area was a ghost town. Except for the essential finish line folks, everyone else had sought shelter.
Finisher medal
So cold!
Post-race goodies
It was quite blustery, so we were all wanting to get out of there and get to some place warm! I very much appreciated my friends giving me a ride back to my timeshare. In the haste to leave, I almost forgot to pick up my bonus Silver State Double medal! I only realized when we almost reached the parking lot where they had parked. My friends told me to go back for the medal and meet them at the corner of the parking lot.
Silver State Double medal
Close-up of Silver State Double medal
Goofy's race and a half challenge
Back at the timeshare, they waited for me to get cleaned up before we headed back out to get lunch. I was so discombobulated that I had no idea what time it was! I kept thinking that it was closer to dinner time! Just as I was about to hop in the shower, I received a phone call. They wanted me to attend an owner update! Yeah, no thanks. I declined and told them that I was about to head out with my friends and had no time for that.
The weather seemed perfect for a nice hot bowl of ramen, so we had decided on going to the nearby
Ramen 4 Real. Originally, we were going to walk over, but it had started to rain. We hopped in the car and drove over instead. Before entering the restaurant, that rain had turned to snow! Coincidentally, we were there right when they opened at 12 pm. We didn't plan it that way, but thankfully we showed up when we did as the place got packed in a hurry! All 3 of us ordered some hot tea. I ordered their Uchi Kuro Ramen. While waiting for our food, they gave us a free appetizer on the house.
Hot tea
Free appetizer on the house
Uchi Kuro ramen
After we were finished with our meal and paid our bill, we headed back to my timeshare. My friends hung out there until it was time for them to head to the airport to catch their flights. I pretty much hopped in the bed and crashed as soon as they left!
Monday 5/18
I got ready and packed up to head for the airport to catch an 8 am flight home. Since I ran out of promotions with Uber, I ended up hailing a ride with Lyft as it was a little bit cheaper. I timed it so that I would get to the airport at about 6 am. I dropped off the keys at the front desk and was picked up at about a quarter to 6 am. The ride to the airport cost $41.92. Thankfully, there was a discount for $12 to make it a bit cheaper.
After getting through TSA security screening, I opened up the
McDonald's app to place my breakfast order. I used an offer for a Sausage McMuffin with Egg for $2.99 and added a small coffee. Once my food was ready, I found an empty spot to sit down and enjoy my food.
Breakfast at McDonald's
Sausage McMuffin with Egg and small coffee
Sausage McMuffin with Egg
Small coffee
My flight home was with United Airlines. It was the third airline that I would be flying with on this trip alone! While I do try to stick with American Airlines, I will fly with whichever had the cheapest airfare. The flight was delayed a little, but it was just a short flight over to SFO.
RNO > SFO
Personalized
The plane landed at
SFO Airport for a quick layover. Thankfully, my connection was at the adjacent gate. It was pretty much off one plane and get onto another plane. I must say that flying with United Airlines was a better experience. Not a whole lot better, but I needed to purchase a regular economy ticket instead of basic economy in order to have a carry-on bag. I certainly do love that they had Stroopwafels instead of the usual pretzels and peanuts.
Very short layover in SFO
SFO > ONT
Airport traffic
I love Stroopwafel!
I arrived back at ONT
terminal 2 at about 12:30 pm. The weather was really nice, so I went outside to wait for my ride to show up. I really much prefer flying in and out of this airport versus over at LAX. For one, the foot and car traffic around here never gets quite as chaotic! Unfortunately, the cost for the airfare and parking had gone up significantly.
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