NYC Marathon This Sunday!

This Sunday will welcome one of the most amazing New York City sporting events, the ING NYC Marathon. Covering the five boroughs in 26.2 miles, the NYC Marathon brings together both professional and amateurs runners on what is usually a brisk fall day. Gothamist loves the marathon because we admire the men and women for their nerve and persistence, as well as an opportunity to yell and cheer as loud as we can. The start times are as follows: 8:00AM - Early Start, Athletes With Disabilities; 9:05AM - Wheelchair Division; 9:15AM - Handcycle Category; 9:35AM - Professional Women; 9:53AM - Foot Locker Five Borough Challenge (five teachers are running to win $5,000 for their schools); 10:10AM - Open Field including Professional Men. And between Noon-5PM is Family Reunion time, along Central Park West.

Here's the city's website about the Marathon. New York magazine has a great guide to the marathon, including places to cheer. Traditionally, marathoners have said that the crowds on Fourth Avenue in Brooklyn, miles 5-7, are the most awesome - people have cookouts and hang out all day. P. Diddy isn't running the marathon this year; apparently he's limited to one huge media circus per annum.

And Gothamist Weather's Kevin Porterfield is running in the marathon. He's been blogging about his marathon training at JustRunIt.com. ..go KEVIN!!!

Photo at top from NYC.gov's Marathon site...we ran this photo last year, too, and a reader emailed us asking where we got it. He said he was the man in the burgundy top (second row from the foreground), waving to the camera! We love how the world is small.

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Jen Chung on November 4, 2004 5:02 PM

Comments [rss]

Ali

I was wondering, will the WD-40 leave a greasy stain or anything on the fabric?

TotalHipster

The marathon rocks!

candleblue

People with enough guts to run a marathon are awesome. My best to all who run this Sunday!

Rose

If you can't make it anywhere you can train to run in a marathon and feel some sort of self-delusional satisfaction. Whatever works.

Jen W

I must be the only person on Earth who doesn't give a fuck about the marathon.

jaykayess

nice swedish flag action in the photo there

anon

some of those people look like they have been eating too much dim sum

S.D.

I wonder how many people from Powered By Dim Sum will be running this year??

Ginger

Having read the P. Diddy coverage from last year, I must brag--my dad ran this when he was 46 and came in at 3:51. So he beat P-Diddy with like 10 years on him!

It was 1982, I had just turned 6, and it was freezing cold that day--45 degrees, rainy, dark. I remember all the runners milling around outside Tavern on the Green, in those tin foil capes. My dad was of course exhausted and soaked with sweat and rain, but he'd made his best marathon time so he was satisfied.