The hardest thing about training for the TCS New York City Marathon, Caroline Wozniacki said on Wednesday, was learning to run while drinking liquids at the same time.
“It’s been a challenge,” the Danish tennis star said. “It goes all over the place.”
Nonetheless, Wozniacki will run, hydrate and wave to the crowd on Sunday as the eighth-ranked player in the world attacks 26.2 miles throughout five boroughs.
She is aware of the possible embarrassments. The race has humbled the most fearsome celebrity competitors, including Mark Messier. Wozniacki, 24, has tackled a maximum of 13 miles in a single training session and recently had a nightmare in which she was pushed across the finish line in a wheelchair.
“Normally, I should be training more, but most people don’t play tennis 31/2, 4 hours a day,” said the U.S. Open finalist. “I’m going to be OK. I’m not going to push too hard. I don’t want to get injured.”
It is no secret that Wozniacki committed to running long distances as a form of therapy after she was cruelly dumped last spring by Rory McIlroy in a three-minute telephone conversation, just before wedding invitations were mailed out. The training runs quickly lightened Wozniacki’s frame and moods. They also revived her tennis game.
She has received advice about this race Sunday from Kimiko Date-Krumm, another player on tour who ran a 3:27 in the 2004 London Marathon. Wozniacki reportedly told Date-Krumm she was aiming for a sub-3:30 marathon but would be happy with anything under four hours. Date-Krumm mostly warned Wozniacki to take care of her knees.
Wozniacki already has earned more than $50,000 from this race for the charity Team for Kids. She will stay away from tennis for two more weeks away the race in order to recover, before returning to the tour in Auckland, New Zealand.
“Everybody told me I’m crazy, but life is too short,” Wozniacki said. “You need to be a little crazy, but in a good way.”
