English Teacher Runs the New York Marathon

By Nick Byrne '11

Since its inception in 1970, the New York City Marathon has grown to become one of the biggest in the world, with 50,235 runners competing last Sunday. Among the 49,617 finishers was Xavier’s own Bill Martino, who sat down with the Xavier E-News to share his experience running the 26.2-mile course.

Xavier E-News: Why did you start running?
Mr. Martino: I started running when I first moved to New York because gym memberships were so expensive. Then I got involved with the New York Road Runners and started running races. Eventually my half marathon times started becoming competitive, so I decided to run the New York City Marathon in 2013.

Xavier E-News: How did it go?
Mr. Martino: It didn’t go as well as I would have liked it to go. In 2013, I crossed the finish line in 3 hours and 45 minutes. This year, my intended time was to be between 3:30 and 3:40, which is aggressive, but I trained hard for this. Unfortunately, I hit a wall around mile 16. At that point, I was so far past what my goal time was that I decided to slow down and enjoy the race.

Xavier E-News: What do you mean by “slow down to enjoy the race?”
Mr. Martino: At that point, I didn’t care that I wasn’t going to meet my goal; I just wanted to take in the sights. If that meant that I had to walk through the Gatorade stations, then I was going to walk through the Gatorade stations. If that meant I needed to stop and stretch—then I was going to stop and stretch, because that's what I had to do to keep going.

Xavier E-News: What happens to your body when you run a marathon?
Mr. Martino: Well, the pain starts when you’re at mile 16 or 17. It starts off like a little numbing pain in every muscle in your legs. So your quads, your hamstrings, your calves, everything. Then it starts to get a little bit louder and louder. The pain starts to take over. It consumes your body. But—it’s all mental. You have to fight through the pain.

Xavier E-News: What was your favorite moment of the New York City Marathon?
Mr. Martino: The best part was seeing all of my family and friends. Like I said before, I was so far past my goal time that I decided to stop and say hi to people. Seeing members of the Xavier track team at mile 25 pushed me through that last mile.

Xavier E-News: Is there anything you want to say to the Xavier community?
Mr. Martino: Thank you! The Xavier community has been incredible. Students, parents, and colleagues have all been cheering me on in some form, and that is greater than the race itself. I also encourage everyone to start running. If you had asked me five years ago if I would ever run a marathon, I would have said no way. But, it really is one of the most rewarding things I have done. Even if you don’t think you can run a marathon, you would be amazed by what your body is capable of.