Courtesy Photo | Enjoying the cheers from the crowds, Husun Davis runs in his first ever marathon in NYC.... read more read more
Settling into his couch to watch the New York City Marathon, Husun Davis, transportation assistant, New York MEPS, experienced a moment of profound clarity. Being unable to get across the bridge that morning from New Jersey to Brooklyn due to the bridge closure for the marathon, Davis found himself alone at home, unlike the years past when he lived in NYC and he stood on the street shaking and ringing his cowbell, cheering on runners as they ran throughout the city. Moving to Jersey from NYC excited Davis, although as the marathon approached, the idea that the bridge closure would mean he would have to stay in Jersey didn’t cross his mind until it was too late. The hotels in NYC had filled, spectators and traffic built up as the starting time approached closer with each hour.
As he watched the race, the elites runners crossed the finish line and then, the coverage ended.
“What happened to the other 5,000 people?” recalled Davis. “So I just went on Instagram, and I was just scrolling … looking for NYC Marathon hashtag, just trying to find all of the different people.”
He found them and to his surprise, runners crossed the finish line at various time between 4:00-8:00 PM. That is when his moment of clarity hit as he sat on his couch.
“If they’re going to keep the finish line open that long, and I’ve never really done anything like this insane before, you know what – let’s do it! And from that point, I was like you know what I could do this and I just told myself, hey 2023, that’s going to be you crossing the finish line,”
With no previous running experience, Davis vowed to sign up for the next year’s NYC Marathon.
“The only type of running or any type of sports that I did growing up was field day and maybe some shooting basketball with some friends, but I was horrible at that too,” laughed Davis as he explained his background in sports. “I’d never run before, maybe red light, green light, but that was all the running I ever did in my childhood.”
Just two weeks later, Davis pulled up the online registration form for the marathon, although his options were limited.
“November 17th was the day that the charity spots opened, because everything else was not optional for me [as a way to sign up],” he said. “No qualifying time, [no] 9+1 where you run nine races and volunteer at one, that was not an option because it was already the end of the year, so the only option that I had was charity.”
The charity he would match with, a nonprofit, provided youth and adults with free running programs. Using his previous experience working with kids for ten years at the Brooklyn Children’s Museum, Davis found the charity spot that would allow him to run in the marathon, raise money for youth and allow him to become a mentor to the kids.
“The best charity is something you can align with,” said Davis.
Just two days later, Davis put his determination to the first real test as he was running in his first ever 5k, a race he signed up for only 48 hours before. Intimidation pulsed through his body as he walked to the starting line, wearing a pair of comfortable shoes and sweatshirt.
“I didn’t even know that you’re supposed to have running shoes,” said Davis. “I was underprepared but hey, I finished.”
As he crossed the line, he was awarded the finisher medal, which only deepened to his resolve, as he aimed to get more medals. It was the start of a surprising passion for an activity he had never been a part of until that 5k. One year later he stood once again on the starting line, this time for the NYC Marathon.
“The night before the marathon, I was petrified,” he said. “Everybody can say trust your training, rely on what you had, but the nerves the night before will get you.”
As the race started, nerves turned to excitement. “When you’re there, walking to the start line, it’s like a real moment because I drive [this] every single day, and now I’m about to run through where I work, run through where I used to hang out as a kid, run throughout downtown Brooklyn … running through the streets of New York City was the most insane experience I’ve ever witnessed in my life,” said Davis.
Three miles into the race he turned onto 4th Avenue and the race atmosphere changed. He was greeted by the cheers, bells, and hollers from thousands upon thousands of onlookers and supporters.
“They’re screaming at the top of their lungs, there’s cowbells, music, if you have your name on your shirt, they’re cheering your name, and that’s three miles in and [the for the next] twenty-three miles, it’s that pure energy,” said Davis of the support he felt while running.
Since deciding to run the marathon, Davis has found a new passion within himself, a new, supportive community centered around running and made new friends. Davis’ positive influence for running has grown at the MEPS too. U.S. Army Sgt. Karla Melendrez, testing NCOIC working alongside Davis at NYC MEPS, ran the RBC Brooklyn Half Marathon, her first, together with Davis. Previously, Melendrez ran only for her required Army physical fitness standards but after watching Davis train and learning about his newfound passion, she began her own training, culminating in their joint marathon run. “She absolutely crushed it!,” said Davis of Melendrez’s run.
Davis shows no signs of slowing down, or staying local only as his next marathon is in Berlin in the fall of 2024. With his training and inspiration guiding him, Davis has one goal for when he hits the pavement in Berlin. “My goal is to break 6 hours,” says Davis.
Husun’ Top Three Tips to Start Running – because you can!
1. Find your why – and keep this in the front of your mind, always.
2. Get shoes fitted professionally – not online, go to a local running store.
3. Get a running coach – they have the knowledge to help you.
| Date Taken: | 10.04.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 10.04.2024 12:54 |
| Story ID: | 482546 |
| Location: | NEW YORK, NEW YORK, US |
| Web Views: | 24 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Off the Couch and Onto the Pavement: One Man’s Story of Transformation, by Tyechia Price, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
