The New York City Marathon Was Canceled. Runners Ran the Course Anyway.

During a run, she came to terms with the fact that her father might not survive. And it was after a run through Jersey City that she got a call. A nurse offered to read text messages to her father aloud. “Essentially that is how we said goodbye, via text message,” she said through tears.

After going to the funeral and quarantining upon her return, she started running again.

“It was one of those things that helped me breathe better,” she said. “And there was something in the back of my mind that reminded me, ‘Oh, yeah, you’re registered for this marathon.’”

She has felt a pull to do a marathon in tribute to her father, in recognition of her city, in pursuit of herself.

“I signed up for this race to push me out of my comfort zone once upon a time ago,” Nungaray said. “And now I’m doing this race to move forward and reconnect me to my comfort zone.”

She has close to 30,000 runners right next to her, virtually at least, and a city of more than eight million cheering her on, perhaps at a distance.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/01/sports/new-york-city-marathon-virtual.html