Malcolm GauldFinding myself with a personal day last week in America’s varsity city — every place else is JV — I was able to check off yet another box on my bucket list: Walk Manhattan from tip to tip.
Crashing at my daughter’s Upper West Side apartment — “Honey, I’m happy to housesit anytime you’re gonna be out of town.” — I took the #1 Train uptown to 225th Street.
Exiting the platform, I stepped on to Broadway, crossed the Harlem River bridge, and started walking… and walking… south on what may well be the world’s most famous street.
A hundred blocks later, I hit Harlem. A few blocks after that I strolled around Columbia University, an amazing place where I was fortunate to spend a glorious month back in 1995 on a fellowship with a dozen other school heads at Teachers College.
Before long, the scene switched from mostly residential to more commercial. After a quick lunch in the 70s, I kept moving… on through Lincoln Center and Times Square. The further south you go, the more “boutiquey” (that may not be a word) it feels. I walked by a few personal favorite standbys…
And bookmarked a few others for when I have more time on my hands…
I saw tourists…
And as often happens in NYC, I witnessed real live news happening in real time…
18 miles and 6 & 1/2 hours later, I ran out of Broadway at the Staten Island Ferry.
So, why the title: New York 3 Ways? Because, this was my third unusual vantage point of seeing NYC up close and personal. The first “by land” way was the NYC Marathon, an event I ran five times between 1986 and 1996. One of the cool things about this event is that the route finds you hitting all 5 boroughs — Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, and Staten Island — before the beautiful finish in Central Park. I don’t have any pics from those pre-digital days, but here’s some proof that I was there…
My “by sea” route was SEA Paddle NYC. Also known as The Marathon on the Water, it’s a 26-mile circumnavigation of Manhattan on stand-up paddleboard that starts on the East River under the Brooklyn Bridge…
and proceeds counter-clockwise to the Harlem River…
which, in turn, empties into the Hudson River where paddlers face weird winds, tricky currents, and periods of extreme loneliness…
Before making that final push…
… to a sweet finish.
I’ve done Sea Paddle NYC twice, finishing once (2016) after 5 hours and 45 minutes. My second attempt (2019) ended with an ambulance ride to NYU Langone Hospital after I passed out due to heat stroke in the 95-degree heat. Technically speaking, it actually ended with me walking up 5th Avenue in the early evening, complete with paddle and life jacket. Hey, I fit right in with the locals!
TFC & Onward, Malcolm Gauld
