On April 29, 2019, my husband Chris and I took our first steps on a treadmill after my best friend enticed us to train for our New Jersey 5K race. I (Viv) had always dreamed of running a race—so why not start with a 5K. Lo and behold, it wasn't long before we were training for the NYC Marathon as well! Ever since I was a kid growing up in the Bronx, running the NYC Marathon was on my bucket list!
My late mom and I always watched the NYC Marathon together on TV during my childhood. I continued the tradition on my own during my adult life, which fueled my dream of running the marathon. Running the 5K in NJ was a kick-starter that led me to sign-up for NYRR’s Bronx 10 Mile Race. When Chris heard there’d be a finisher medal, he was all in! 🤣
This race began our 9+1 journey, and culminated on New Year’s Eve at NYRR’s Midnight Run. We gained guaranteed entry to the 50th Anniversary of the NYC Marathon in 2020! 🥳🎉 This bucket list dream of mine was to come true thanks to the help of a longtime friend and fellow Flyer Andy Tse, who had explained how easy it was to qualify for the marathon by completing the 9+1 program.
In February of 2020, Chris and I joined The NY Flyers with hopes of having a great marathon training cycle. Andy Tse was the driving force in recruiting us as Flyers. He told us all about the group runs with the club, the great running events the Flyers would host, and how awesome it would be to run with others who were as passionate about running as us. We even had a little FOMO when we saw Andy post pics while at the 2020 Flyers Awards Gala! It looked like so much fun seeing runners all dressed up! We needed no more convincing and signed up to become new Flyers!
We decided to join evening group runs in Central Park in addition to the Flyers large organized summer long runs. I remember our very first race as Flyers. It was a cold Manhattan 7 Mile Race in Central Park, and it took me more than two hours to walk the course. I was on pain medication at the time from a recent surgery to remove my thymus gland.
I had recently learned that a malignant tumor, a thymoma, had attached to my thymus gland, located in the middle of my chest. The pain that I felt in my chest after a 10-mile training run led me to go to the ER two days later which was when the mass was discovered. As a result, I believe running saved my life.💖 I don’t know if the tumor would have made itself known otherwise. Surgery was successful, and with the clearance of my medical team I got the go-ahead to return to running. I was determined to continue training along with Chris, expecting to run our scheduled half marathons and the 2020 NYC Marathon. Then…the world shut down.
During the difficult days of Covid, being separated from loved ones and Flyer friends, Chris and I continued training together to keep some sort of routine and normalcy in our lives.
What wasn’t normal were the completely deserted streets of NYC. We were able to run everywhere and anywhere without worrying about traffic. Long runs were a dream even though the world was a nightmare. By June, it was announced that the NYC Marathon was cancelled, but we continued to run together and decided to run it virtually.
After months of training together, and when it was safe to do so, fellow Flyers and I cheered and supported Chris and other Flyers running four-plus loops of Central Park in late October of 2020. I had the same support group two weeks later when I ran my 26.2 miles. I ran the virtual marathon on the day the "real" marathon would have been held on, November 1, 2020. I ran along the actual NYC route except for the Verrazano Bridge. The last 10 miles, there was a downpour and I was cold and soaked. But, I made it to the finish line that NYRR laid down in the park. It was an emotional moment as Chris ran the last 200 meters with me, captured my finish, and draped the iconic blue poncho over me that we purchased second-hand online.
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When races slowly began to resume in 2021, Chris and I trained together and raced together. We signed up for two more marathons, making what was just a bucket-list dream to run New York City into also running Berlin and Chicago! All in 6 week’s time!
Running together has taken us around the world, visiting cities we always wanted to see. We realized that we already were halfway towards completing all six of the Abbott World Marathon Majors so we decided to pursue attaining the Abbott Six Star Medal. We recently completed London in October ’22 and Tokyo in March of ‘23. Only the Boston Marathon remains for us to claim our final Six Star Medal! I’m hoping to secure a Boston entry via a charity, and Chris’ dream is to time-qualify for Boston.🦄 I know we can both do it!
After having less than stellar marathon finish times training on our own, I decided to invest in proper coaching and was coaxed by our wonderful Flyers Member at Large, Wendy Mitchell, to sign up for the Flyers Marathon Training Program (MTP). Chris followed along and signed up for training, too! This is what solidified what we especially enjoy as Flyers -- the camaraderie and friendships we have formed after joining the Marathon Training Program. There really is a wonderful social aspect and support system to group training - something we didn’t know we were missing in 2020. We also enjoy the personal bests we’ve been achieving while participating in this marvelous program. Being individually coached based on our fitness levels, Chris is nearing readiness for a sub-4 marathon. And me? Well, I’m happy to be out of the 6+ hour range! Last year in NYC, MTP helped me have a course PR of 1:02:12! 😍
When you don’t see me running races, you’ll see me cheering at races. My team spirit always emerges as I love cheering for Chris at races, along with cheering my fellow Flyers and everyone I’ve met from different running clubs and the running community. 📣
Although we started our journey together by stepping on those treadmills back in 2019, we’ve needed to train apart and at different paces to improve our marathon times. And that’s totally fine! It’s a small price to pay for the successes we’ve had. 🤗 We continue to celebrate one another’s achievements and continue to encourage and motivate each other for every upcoming race. Both of us joining the Flyers, joining MTP and both of us making wonderful running friends is the best investment we ever made in our fitness lives. 💕
-Vivian Duran-Moy with Chris Moy