By Tracy Zwick
After 30 years of running on the Upper West Side, you’d think journalist Phil Wahba would be tired of its hills, footpaths, drives, sidewalks, and greenways.
Nope.
Wahba, who ran his 464th New York Road Runners race earlier this month, says he loves running close to home, and takes only four weeks a year off from training. With the marathon coming up, he’s been prepping to run it as an official NYRR pacer, again. For the past eight years, he’s led groups of runners to finishes ranging from three hours fifty-five minutes to four hours thirty minutes.
Wahba now runs exclusively in Central Park, and does not find it boring in the least.
He met his husband, Martin, through Front Runners, the LGBTQ+ running club. Martin will be sharing the course with Wahba this year, but rather than pacing he’s an Achilles runner, supporting athletes with disabilities.
With 84 marathons under his belt, including one in each of the 50 states, Wahba has a few tips for newer runners and spectators. WSR spoke to him by phone earlier this month.
What is it about NYRR that’s caused you to run their races so consistently?
Easy answer: Central Park. And with NYRR, you can trust the races will be professionally organized. Plus NYRR races used to be easy to get into!
You say you run exclusively in Central Park now. Why?
I can turn my brain off, I know it so well. I’ve probably run there several thousand times since 1998. It’s hilly, so it’s hard work and good training for the marathon.
Do you run alone or socially?
I almost never run with other people. I need my personal time! I don’t run with headphones either. I like hearing birds. I like to daydream. And I wanna be able to hear if a cyclist or moped is coming!
You’ve achieved so much. What are your running goals these days?
I’ve run 84 marathons, and I’ve never run a fast enough time to qualify for the Boston Marathon. That’s more and more elusive.
Pacing offers a different satisfaction and different goals – steadiness and helping others. The focus is about other people, not how much better I can get.
Having run so many different marathons, how do you rate NYC in terms of difficulty?
It’s a very hard marathon. I’ve done 64 courses. NYC is the 3rd hardest after Big Sur and Acadia.
What advice do you give first-time marathoners?
Don’t take other people’s advice! But also, don’t go out too fast.
Best place for spectators to stand?
Go to Harlem north of 96th Street on either side of 5th Avenue, or go to the northernmost parts of 1st Avenue, because crowds are thinner there. Central Park is too dense and as a runner you miss people.
Tips for spectators?
Stay out of the runners way, pretty please with a cherry on top! It is really annoying when spectators push onto the street and are on the course.
Where do you eat the night before the race?
We like Gennaro. That’s where I get pasta the night before the marathon. I get pancakes the morning of the day before the race at The Smith.
Any other pre-marathon rituals?
Every year on the Friday before the marathon, I go get my bib from the Javits Center [where the Marathon Expo’s held]. I walk up to the finish line [in Central Park near Tavern on the Green] and cross it with bib in hand, to make sure it actually happens.
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