theNYCphysio

There are three events hosted by USATF in the NYC area that I try to help cover if available. Two are indoors up at the Armory in Washington Heights and one at Icahn Stadium on Randalls Island. 

Generally all three are run similarly in which we stay at a hotel in Midtown. When not at the track, we treat the USATF tiered athletes in one of the conference rooms. Sign up for treatments are made via a specific mobile app. 

The smallest of the three events is the Dr. Sander Invitational. We do get some of our top athletes, but many use this event to qualify for the second and much larger indoor event, the Millrose Games. The Millrose Games is one of the oldest Indoor events in the world and is most known for the Wanamaker Mile.

As the Dr Sander Invitational is small, we usually only have up to two providers. Likewise, for Millrose we have three or more providers. Both events are held in Washington Heights, literally next door to my PT school Alma Mater at the Columbia University Medical Center. The Armory is not a large venue which makes it great for spectators to watch their favorite athletes compete up close. As with most indoor tracks, the turns are severely banked and the track is shorter than an outdoor track. 

Upstairs and hidden from prying spectator eyes is where we are usually stationed. Since we only treat USATF tiered athletes, there are a few other medical providers in the same space treating athletes for their clubs. It tends to be pretty chaotic as we are directly next to the practice track. All treatments at the Armory are done on a first-come first-served basis. Regardless of the chaos, things tend to go pretty smoothly and the time usually goes by fairly fast.

As opposed to the indoor chaos, the NYC Grand Prix at Icahn Stadium is a little more chill even though there are much more athletes. Although we prioritize our tiered athletes, we may be available to treat any of the athletes competing, including those from other countries. Usually there are up to 8 providers working directly with USATF. But sometimes, they have a couple of us help cover the track when there are multiple events competing simultaneously. 

On practice days we are set up directly next to the track. However, on event day, we are set far away from the track across a practice field. The NYC Grand Prix is a World Athletics Gold Level event and is televised on NBC/Peacock. So we have to be hidden from sight. All treatments at the track are first-come first-serve as well. At the Grand Prix, athletes tend to come in waves depending on the schedule. Although the biggest rush usually comes towards the end of the meet. This is unfortunately when we have to prioritize who we treat.

As fun as it is to visit countries around the world, staying home is so much less stressful. It really is nice to be home within minutes as opposed to a long travel day through airports. Also, it’s fun to explore my home town during our downtime with the other providers!