Jason Kwong: Runs for the Camaraderie with Others

Jason Kwong, webmaster for CUMC Web Services, used to bike the 13 miles from home to work. Then one day, he asked himself, "Why not run it?" That decision snowballed into marathon running.

How long have you been a runner?

I’ve been running somewhat regularly for about five years. I got into it through biking. First I was biking home. Then I thought to myself, why not run home? It’s only 13 miles.

That snowballed into wanting to run a marathon. Ever since I ran my first one—this will be my fourth—I’ve been trying to push myself and see how far I can push my body.

What do you like about marathon running?

I like the sense of accomplishment and camaraderie, being in a huge but select group of thousands of runners for that day. At the pre-marathon expo, where runners pick up their race bibs, you see so many people—German, Chinese, American—people of all ages and abilities and backgrounds. Everyone has different reasons for being there, but everyone is just finishers at the end of race day.

All the marathon runners find one part of the course that they will remember for the rest of their life. Mine was coming down the 59th Street Bridge as you make the left-hand turn onto First Avenue. As you run over the bridge, it’s quiet. All you hear is your own breath, so many runners’ footsteps, and moaning and groaning.

Then you come off the bridge and make the turn onto First Avenue; the crowd hits you. Everyone is cheering, and you feel like you just won the World Series. You feel you could run an extra 50 miles because of the burst of energy from the crowd. For me, that’s my moment. And all runners find theirs—whether it’s seeing a family member or a friend or slapping high five with a kid—it’s pretty awesome.

Then at the end, all of the runners are exhausted and too tired to really speak. On the subway afterward, you see each other with the finisher medals and you give each other a nod of acknowledgment. It’s not about how fast you ran—you just nod and acknowledge another fellow finisher to say, we did it. It’s pretty cool.