|
Congratulations
Nancy Briskie places at the top in NYC Marathon
Runner shows that hard work & determination
are the key to winning
Above is Briskie (in green with 358 tag),
running in the Bruegger’s Bagel Run in Albany this
fall |
Nancy Briskie, a
member of the Schenectady City School District Federal and State
Programs office staff, started running in her mid-twenties as a
means to quit smoking and improve her health. Twenty-eight years
later and after years of dedication and training, Briskie is in
top physical shape and taking on the world’s best marathon
runners. This past Sunday, at age 52, Briskie not only competed
in the New York City Marathon against more than 40,000 runners
(100,000 apply) from all
over the world, but she took the top spot in the age group of
women 50-54 and placed 94th overall with a finishing
time of 3:09:02. Briskie does not take this accomplishment
lightly as it comes on the heels of hard work, health issues,
some setbacks and with unrelenting determination.
Briskie is listed
as the top finisher of the NYC Marathon in her age group, but
is proud to say that she actually finished the race second to
Joan Benoit Samuelson, a 52 year old Olympian who won the
masters division (40 +) and broke the world record.
Samuelson’s recorded time however was not registered for the
top spot in the 50-54 group.
This weekend was
not Briskie’s first time running the big marathon. She has
conquered it five times in the past and was very familiar with
the course. “It’s my absolute favorite marathon,” said Briskie
who also ran in the Disney Marathon and those in Miami, Chicago,
Boston and the Marine Corps in Washington, DC. “Nothing can
compare to New York.”
Briskie trained for the NYC Marathon by running 40 miles a week
regularly and then a couple of months ago increased her weekly
running goal to 50 miles. Her regimen includes speed and hill
work, yoga twice a week and training in the gym.
Briskie said the
gym work really benefited her when it came down to the last
stretch of this race. She said when she reached the last two
miles she decided not to drink any more Gatorade or water.
Consequently her legs began to cramp. “I felt like I was ready
to fall over myself,” she added. She explained how she pumped
her arms as hard as she could to make them move. “That’s where
the gym workout helped,’ added Briskie. “You need a strong
upper body to keep you moving in a race like this.”
More than two million spectators stood road side to watch the
race and more than 315 million watched it on TV. While running,
Briskie said she watched the crowd, soaked up the music and the
cheers along the course and took in views of the neighborhoods
of the city. “Every part of this course is just plain
exhilarating,” she said. “The people along the course were
5-6-7 deep.” She added, “I would put my arm out once in awhile
and yell to them and they would just go nuts. The energy that
gives you, I just can’t explain it.”
Briskie admits it
took a while to get to where she is. She became a runner when
she was in her mid-twenties and while facing some health
challenges. “I went to the doctor because I thought I developed
asthma,” she said. “I learned that I was in the early stage of
emphysema.” Briskie’s husband Rob, who was her boyfriend at the
time, convinced her to start running as a way to stop smoking.
She took his advice. “I ran and stopped smoking cold turkey,”
said Briskie.
As a novice
runner, she logged about 10 miles a week. “The most I ran at
that time was maybe 20 miles in the summer once or twice, but
mostly around 10 miles,” said Briskie. Then she began running
5K races.
She raised the bar
in 1997. Briskie said she read how Jeff Blatnick participated
in Team in Training, a program that raised money for Leukemia. Blatnick
is an Olympic gold medal wrestler who was diagnosed with
Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 1982. “You had to raise $100 per mile for
26 miles and they would train you to run a marathon,” said
Briskie. “I always ran alone so I went to a meeting for Team in
Training and decided to do it.” Briskie set her sights on
running in NYC that November which meant she had to raise $2,600. “That
was the start of my higher mileage,” she said.
Briskie has always
been athletic and very competitive. She was a member of the OC
Ski Club and competed against other ski clubs in downhill races
in the winter. In the summer she played volleyball with the
club. “When I got more into road racing, I always wanted more,”
she said. Briskie got involved with the Hudson Mohawk
Road Runners Club where she formed friendships with other
runners. In 2004-2005, she was invited to run with the Willow
Street Athletic Club as a master’s runner, which refers to the
group or division after a certain age. At that time she began
competing in shorter races but made a point to always run a
marathon every spring and fall.
Briskie faced some
setbacks a couple of years ago when she was diagnosed with Mono
and had to sit out the fall and most of the winter. Following
her illness, she began training with a new strategy. Briskie
returned at first for the shorter races and decided to change
her focus. Instead of striving to meet higher weekly mileages,
Briskie directed her attention to increasing speed work and
quality training. Her strategy paid off as she soon improved
her times while running the 5K’s. However, when it was time to
push harder and begin increasing her mileage, Briskie became
ill again. This time she was diagnosed with chronic Mono.
While it was yet another frustrating fall and winter, she didn't
give up. Briskie slowly worked her way back and was soon
training hard, putting in quality work and was more determined
than ever.
While she prepared
for the NYC Marathon, Briskie said she was reluctant to exceed
50 miles a week in fear becoming ill again. “I kept it at 50
and under, made sure I got my rest. While I wasn’t sure
that would work, I just decided not to doubt myself and just do
it,” she added. She ran a couple half marathons recently to
see how she would fare. “I would just check to see how I felt
during the first few miles and go faster or slower if that’s
what my body told me to do,” she said. “I felt good so I tried
to keep the pace.”
Again, it appears
her strategy worked.
Briskie is
certainly pleased with what she accomplished at the marathon but
she thinks she can do better. “I was happy I was able to keep a
strong mind and realized that if you set your mind to something,
you can make it happen.” She added, "I think my husband and my
son were even more excited than me.”
As she crossed the
finish line, Briskie said she checked her time and was really
excited about it at first. “A few minutes later I started
thinking, could I have done better,” she said she asked
herself. “Maybe, next year.”
Briskie, her
husband Rob and son celebrated by first walking through Times
Square and then having dinner at the Hard Rock Café. She
returned to work on Monday, mentioning her weekend
accomplishments to only a few. She is shy and quite humble while
talking about herself and the sport that she has mastered.
Briskie said she
will definitely run the NYC Marathon again next year. “I try to
run annually,” she said. “This race brings out emotions you
never thought you had, thanks to all the people along the way.” |
