UPDATE: Four Upper West Siders, Four Reasons to Run the Marathon — See How They Did

UPDATE: Monday, November 3: West Side Rag checked in with the four runners we profiled last week, to see how they did in Sunday’s marathon. Each was glowing, if sore, Monday morning. Diane, who ran the marathon 20-weeks pregnant alongside her mother, said she had some cramping during the race, so she walked at times to make sure she was staying safe and healthy.  “I stayed with my mom the entire time!” she said. “It was great to have her company.” Diane printed her name on her shirt, so spectators constantly called out to her by name with inspiration. “I felt like a celebrity,” she said.

Charlie, the fastest of the four, finished the race in a blistering 3:07 in honor of his late brother-in-law, Ross. “I felt like a professional athlete, the way the crowd was cheering for me,” he said. “I’m very happy, and Ross kept me going throughout the race.” Charlie raised money for the team at Memorial Sloan Kettering that looked after Ross during his illness. “My wife and mom were there supporting me,” Charlie told WSR by phone. “A brilliant day all around.” 

Nimmi, running to break a family cycle of respiratory illness and trauma, fought through a period when she felt she might have an asthma attack. “The adrenaline was a lot,” Nimmi told WSR by phone, “I felt outside my body at times.” Her pacing didn’t go exactly as she’d planned, but Nimmi was looking at the bright side: “I’m grateful I made so many mistakes. It helps me figure out what I need to work on next time.” 

UWSer Anna Costello had a great day, too. “It was definitely harder than expected,“ she said, and she “hit a wall around mile 13.” But she “locked in with music” and resisted the distractions of the crowd. “It was definitely a lot of fun,” Anna said Monday as she looked ahead to a well-earned evening massage. But she confirmed she’ll be back on a starting line soon.

By Tracy Zwick

On Sunday, more than 55,000 runners will surge across the Verrazzano Bridge to start the TCS New York City Marathon, each with a story fueling them through the five boroughs. Whether it’s overcoming loss, illness or heartbreak, honoring a loved one, celebrating a milestone, chasing a dream, or drawing attention to a cause, every marathon run has its reason. 

Loads of UWSers have been training for months, running in the dark before dawn, or putting in miles on black evenings in nearly empty parks. Sunday they’ll be on the world’s biggest, grittiest marathon stage – out of the darkness and into the spotlight.

WSR met four UWSers tackling the course Sunday who capture the spirit of the marathon and the strength of the UWS. 

Anna: One Step at a Time

A year ago, even brushing her teeth felt impossible. Yet this Sunday, 27-year-old UWSer Anna Costello will take on 26.2 of the world’ s most challenging miles.

In 2024, while training for her first NYC Marathon, Anna was hit with debilitating fatigue, dizziness, and anxiety. After months of uncertainty, she was diagnosed with POTS (Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome), a condition that can make standing or walking exhausting. “I’d been a competitive athlete since I was eight,” she said. “Suddenly, I could barely leave my apartment.”

Anna felt disoriented after being treated dismissively at times by doctors. “I was extremely confused, so I pushed myself,” she explained. “I was just gonna mentally push through. But I got sicker and sicker.”

Finally, she stepped back to step forward. 

She started a treatment program prescribed by Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. It had her begin by laying down, doing floor exercises, then eventually walking for 10 or 15 minutes. She built up to short spurts of running, followed by a recovery walk. 

When she was especially anxious, she thought of a favorite running quote: “All running is just putting one foot in front of the other, and having the courage to believe in yourself.” So she said, “I kept doing that.”

Pre-diagnosis, her marathon goal had been less than 3:30, but now she’s simply hoping to finish in under five hours, employing a run/walk race plan. She’s been taking care of herself, hydrating, and monitoring her nutrition. With POTS, it’s very important to eat enough salt, and get enough healthy food, so she’s wearing shorts with extra-deep pockets Sunday, in which she’ll store six applesauce squeezers. She’s also got a belt that’ll hold salt and pretzels. 

“I’m not going for time. I just want to finish,” she said. “I used to think strength was just pushing through. Now I think it’s about giving yourself grace.”

Diane: Running for Two (and with Her Mom)

For 33-year-old UWSer Diane, the marathon has always been a family affair, and this year, she’s got a new family member on board. In 2017, NYC was her first-ever marathon, and she ran it side-by-side with her mother. This year, with Diane 20-weeks pregnant, there’ll be three generations on the course.

Working in tech, Diane didn’t have much time or interest in running back in 2017. It was her mom’s thing. But she got into the marathon that year via the NYRR lottery, which she and her roommates all entered on a whim. Diane was the only one to get a spot on the starting line. 

At 63, Diane’s mom may have more years of marathon-running behind her, but over the last decade, Diane’s just about matched her mom’s race count. She’s run 16 marathons so far, including the prestigious Boston Marathon, and five marathons together with her mom. 

She’s been cleared by her doctor to give this race her best, and she’s planning to implement a run/walk strategy. Though in the past she’s been chasing time goals, this time, she says: “my goal is just to finish and have fun.”

She’s enlisted family and friends to hand her snacks along the course (“bananas, half a bagel”) and is looking forward to the stretch from the Bronx back into Manhattan, “where I can count down the number of miles left on one hand.” 

“I can’t say who’s going to be slower this year, me or my mom,” she said. It doesn’t matter to either of them.

Charlie: “Pedal Down”

For Charlie Martin, 32, running’s about memory and momentum. He’s racing this marathon with Fred’s Team, raising money for Memorial Sloan Kettering in honor of his brother-in-law, Ross Ziegelasch, who died about four years ago, at age 28 after a six-year battle with thymoma, a rare cancer of the respiratory system. Ross received wonderful, compassionate care at MSK, which Charlie and the rest of Ross’s family will never forget.  

A Brit by birth, Charlie’s been living in the West 90s for about two years, working for JP Morgan and running for Ross. “Ross was a brother to me,” Charlie said, and he was an inspiration to many. “He squeezed every drop out of his 28 years. He didn’t waste a day.” 

While Ross wasn’t a runner, he loved hiking and everything about the outdoors – interests he shared with Charlie. Ross had a saying: “Pedal Down”. Charlie explained what it meant: “Keep going. Stay positive. Find a solution.” That was Ross’s mantra during treatment at MSK and in all aspects of his life. Charlie’ll be channeling that mantra on the course Sunday, and wearing it across his chest.  

Though this isn’t Charlie’s first marathon – he’s run Paris and Venice, among others – New York feels different. “The energy here is unlike anywhere else,” he said. “The race is everything the city is – chaotic, beautiful, and alive. I can’t wait.”

Namrata: Breaking the Cycle

For Namrata Mohan, known as Nimmi, running is both an act of remembrance and an empowering statement about breaking generational cycles. The 30-something Upper West Sider is running her first marathon, in honor of her late father, who died suddenly of a heart attack 11 years ago. 

Nimmi’s from a family with a deep history of respiratory concerns. She’s asthmatic herself, and often has flare-ups while running. “I’ve collapsed a few times,” she recounted. “We have so many widows in our family; there’s such a long history of heart and lung ailments.”

But Nimmi has found strength in training to tackle something that previously seemed impossible – the marathon. Through tears, she described living with her grandparents and mom after her father died. “I saw so many people wither away under the weight of their pain instead of realizing how complicated grief is and embracing it.” Nimmi decided to live her life differently. When she moved to the UWS, she realized it was a runner’s haven, “an absolutely perfect place to run.” And she had a vision of how running could help. 

She joined a NYRR training group and got stronger. She started to feel her dad’s spirit when she ran, often finding herself in tears looking out at the Hudson. “This marathon has made me realize I’ve been living in grief, but there are so many people rooting for me. And I can be my own cheerleader.” 

This Sunday, she’ll be carrying her father’s ID card. She’s hoping to finish in under 4:15, but she knows her dad wouldn’t care one bit about her time. “I can hear him so clearly in my head telling me: ‘don’t be hard on yourself. If you have to stop, that’s okay.’” She said she’ll be grieving him in a sense this Sunday, but in the most positive way.  “Grief is just love with nowhere to go,” she said. “Running has given it somewhere to go.”

Subscribe to West Side Rag’s FREE email newsletter here. And you can Support the Rag here.