June 2009, Caspary Auditorium, Rockefeller University (RU) Convocation: a professor praises his graduating student and mentions, among a long list of other accomplishments, that they also ran the New York City Marathon (NYCM). This happens four times. At least one other marathoner is graduating that day. Perhaps his advisor now feels that it is a given: RU graduate students apparently run marathons, it is no longer worth mentioning.

Alex Kogan and Andy Gallina on the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge. Photograph by Brightroom Event Photography.

Flash-forward to November 1: two RU staff members, Alex Kogan and Andy Gallina, find themselves all alone on the Verrazano Narrows Bridge. Having been accidentally jostled into the elite corral, they are quickly left in the dust by runners with goal paces of up to six minutes per mile faster than theirs. Only eight months ago Andy thought the idea that he could run in a marathon to be ludicrous. He might have always believed this, if his own family hadn’t agreed−a little too whole-heartedly: “they laughed hysterically at me.” Now he is on the bridge with his friend, intending to prove to his children that there is nothing that they can’t do. Soon a second wave of faster runners will chase them down, but for the time being they are almost alone, staring down an eerily empty bridge at the island of Manhattan and facing the remaining 25.2 miles of their first marathon.

Running 26.2 miles is no easy feat and although the popularity of the marathon has increased in recent years, it is still considered an unattainable goal by the majority of the population. Is there something about RU that explains why so many of us attempt it: is it our location, the support of our community, the very nature of those of us that work here; or is it NYC and the lure of one of the most popular marathons in the world?

Jeff Smith (center) entering Central Park at mile 26. Photograph by Anna Kruyer.

There is no question that New York is a running city. Perhaps it is the fall-out from hosting such a large and popular marathon. Perhaps it is the intensity of working in such a competitive environment that drives people to the streets and parks to escape. Whatever the reason, NYC is teeming with runners. Jeff Smith, a laboratory manager who has run in eight marathons (five of them in NYC), was spurred out of a long running hiatus when he found himself amid runners in Central Park: “I was wearing dress shoes, but I sprinted for about a hundred yards. My lungs burned and my legs hurt, but I realized how much I missed running. Being surrounded by all those running just made me long for it even more.”

On marathon day, not only do these runners take to the streets along with thousands of others from all over the world, but it is estimated that two million spectators stand in the often chilly November air to cheer them on. The enormity of marathon day in NYC inspires novice and serious runners alike. Alex describes cheering several times for his uncle (who ran 19 consecutive NYCMs) and feels that seeing the “support that you get from the crowd” encouraged him to run it himself. Beth Duncan, a long-time runner and one of those honored at the 2009 RU Convocation, had not run a marathon before coming to NYC and RU: “I definitely think watching the 2001 NYCM after moving to NYC is what inspired me to run it myself. The excitement of both the crowd and the runners on First Avenue is really infectious.” Beth has now run six marathons, five in NYC and one in Boston. She qualified for Boston while cheered on through the streets of New York.

Although crowd support helps, marathon running is a personal journey that requires self-discipline, will power, and the ability, in Beth’s words, “to appreciate deferred gratification.” These are all traits of a good scientist. Joe Luna, a second year graduate student, took up running before entering the RU graduate program as a way to prepare for the rigors of graduate school. He plans to run the NYCM in 2010. Although the marathon he will run is still almost a year away, he has been working towards it for almost that long already, by running nine qualifying races in 2009. Joe likens the lengthy process of marathon training, as well as the act of running itself, to the pace of graduate school: “a long journey, so slow, so incremental, you can’t rush it.” For Joe, training himself to run, and run well, has been like an experiment−an experiment with his own body and his own “limitations.” Adrian Baule, a Postdoctoral Associate, who ran his first marathon in Hamburg, Germany and also qualified for the 2010 NYCM, feels that scientists make good runners because of “the degree of [their] ambitions and [their] drive to succeed.”

It’s not surprising that RU members are drawn to marathons because we are used to hard work and dedication, but is it also because we’re smart? A Runner’s World magazine subscriber study found that 93% of its members were college educated. Jak Fak, a Research Assistant who ran the NYCM in 2007 and plans to run it again in 2010, remembers that his high school cross country team was made up of the smart kids. He remembers the group, himself included, being “skinny and helpless,” but also running fast−and winning. Winning a lot more often than the football team in his football-oriented town. Running may appeal to those with mentally challenging lives as a form of escape. In its essence it requires very little thought. There is some strategy in racing, but ultimately it is the act of putting one foot in front of the other and not stopping−in the case of a marathon, not stopping for a very long time. Beth praised the role of running in her very successful graduate career because it was a way to “clear your head and organize your thoughts, no matter what type of problem you’re considering.” Jak and Joe both see running as a way to escape the pressing demands of their daily lives. For Jak, running is a way to find time for himself out of a demanding family schedule. For Joe, who lives on campus, it is a way to ensure, no matter how busy he becomes, that he has scheduled forays outside of the RU gates.

The precise reason why they found themselves at the start line that November morning was likely the last thing on the minds of RU members as they crossed the finish line in Central Park. They were likely focused on that pesky hill just at the finish, on smiling for the cameras, and on cherishing the experience they had had along the way. Alex Kogan had had the opportunity to be the cheered instead of the cheerer; Andy Gallina had taught his children a hard-earned lesson in dedication; Jeff Smith had translated several months of intensive training into a six minute personal record; and Beth Duncan had run her personal best and her first marathon since the birth of her daughter less than a year ago. However, shortly after crossing that finish line, it is also likely that they were thinking about their next start. Despite the pain involved in running a marathon, and the fact that for many of the people I spoke with, the experience was even more harrowing than they had anticipated, they all planned on doing it again—and not just doing it again, doing it better. They planned on taking their experience and translating it into lessons for improvement and for personal growth—which is just what one might expect from someone at Rockefeller.