Phily Bowden

The NYC Marathon 2026

I don’t really know how to post this. Sharing anything here feels strange right now, and so does carrying on with work and normal life. I almost feel guilty doing it, but I ran New York for Ciara, so I want to tell you about it.

I finished 17th, in a time of 2:30:45. It wasn’t the New York I’d dreamed of, but I’m proud of how I fought, rallying for 14 miles of solo running and closing the gap on the field in front of me in the last 10km. It’s my first marathon since London 2025 after being injured last year, and it feels good to be back. It’s a big step forward.

I’ll never be able to separate running the New York City Marathon from running it knowing I’d just lost an incredible friend. You can try to put it all in a box, to stay in athlete mode and focus on process over emotion for 26.2 miles and I did my best, but I’m human, and it’s never that simple.

Parts of the race are a blur, and at first I felt numb and indifferent about the result. It’s hard to care about a few seconds here or a few positions there when running a marathon seems so irrelevant right now. But I know that’s not how Ciara would see it. She was a fighter in everything she put her mind to, her sport especially, but also in how she showed up for those lucky enough to have her as a friend. So I fought for her.

Thank you to the women in the pro field who were there to catch me yesterday. I’m so appreciative of you for being there for me in those moments.

Carrying on feels hard and strange when someone has gone, and grief is cruel, but Ciara would want us to find joy amongst it all, to make the absolute most of the time we have and to laugh more than we cry. I’m keeping her with me by doing that as much as I possibly can.

Yesterday held so many emotions that seemed to conflict with one another. Sadness, shock, happiness, pride, love, fear. Its strange that they can all exist at the same time, but that is the reality of living.

This one was for you, Ciara 🤍

📸 @katrinagaisford