Gothamist: More 2008 NYC Marathon Notes

jms611

Mon, 24 Nov 2008 09:20:23 -0500

http://flickr.com/photos/32140330@N03/

MrManhattan

Mon, 03 Nov 2008 23:36:05 -0500

"The NY marathon is an obnoxious event creating frustration and turmoil for drivers in the boroughs. You want to run? Pick a college track and run in a circle." You want to drive? Move to the suburbs. Even we mere walking New Yorkers hate cars. Not just on Marathon day. EVERY DAY. I'm really sick of people who criticize the amazing diversity of things that go on in New York City because they make the city less hospitable to suburbanites then Glen Ridge.

Spiritof76

Mon, 03 Nov 2008 19:20:55 -0500

If you want to make it just a run, go ahead. But don't keep up this pretense of it being a race for many if not most of the participants. Why even bother keeping finishing times for most of the crowd if "very few people are built to compete"? Why not just make it a casual event like the Five Boro Bike Tour? If you think marathons are hard, you should try a double century, a one-day 200 mile bicycle ride. You don't think it takes patience and discipline to prepare for that? I've done a few solo, without encouragement or support. Besides, bicycling is a far better participant sport than distance running. Many people can't run, mainly for medical conditions. Especially bad knees. Uncounted former runners have taken up competitive bicycling because their knees can't stand the pounding anymore. Almost anybody can bicycle, at almost any age. You can't say that about running. No harm to the environment? Look at all those cups on the ground. 40,000 participants. How many water stations? Including spares for cups that might be dropped, we're probably talking a few hundred thousand disposable, non-recyclable cups introduced into the waste stream.

petebfd

Mon, 03 Nov 2008 17:01:40 -0500

jdsx, haha, thats good. frustration and turmoil for drivers. never mind the fact that 40,000 people participate, a couple thousand more watch. that it raises the profile of the city and that most major cities host a marathon. that its a tourist attraction and raises revenue for city merchants (for those of us into capitalist modes of thought). or that its just pretty fucking cool that so many people run that far, and on the streets of a city as big, dense, and diverse as new york. fuck all that. it causes FRUSTRATION and TURMOIL for poor drivers. how will they get to old navy? its not like nyc has a mass transit system. you want to drive a car? pick a suburb and move there, you stupid twat.

rdsizzle

Mon, 03 Nov 2008 15:16:31 -0500

Running a marathon is great training to acquire both patience and discipline while getting in shape. Training for it pretty much forces you to eat healthier and drink a little less – it does promote a healthy lifestyle. It also makes you feel great, therefore a great alternative to antidepressants and alcohol! Furthermore, it hardly costs anything (some running gear and a marathon entry fee) and doesn’t cause any harm to the environment. Running a marathon is an unbelievably difficult challenge for an average individual. I have run a few and undoubtedly the hardest thing I have done. Very few people are built to compete, for most others it’s a personal challenge. People who are suggesting that runners should just run a marathon distance around a track rather then shutting down a city obviously have never run long distances. A marathon provides a great venue with encouragement (which helps a lot), water stations, paramedics and running through the best parts of the city without worrying about traffic. NYC should consider itself blessed in hosting one of the best marathons in the world. In this day of fat asses, antidepressants, over consumption and pollution, we should truly embrace and support distance running rather then complain about the fact that you cant use your car for one Sunday a year…

Vdiggs

Mon, 03 Nov 2008 14:28:46 -0500

I love the NYC marathon. It promotes a sense of community and it's so wonderful to see how many runners have raised money for various charities. No matter how you cross the finish line--sprinting, limping, crawling--it's a remarkable feat to complete a marathon. Congrats to all!

JDSX

Mon, 03 Nov 2008 14:09:55 -0500

The NY marathon is an obnoxious event creating frustration and turmoil for drivers in the boroughs. You want to run? Pick a college track and run in a circle.

Spiritof76

Mon, 03 Nov 2008 13:21:56 -0500

Looking at all those cups makes me sick. Why can't they run this marathon like auto races? You carry your fluid with you. If you underestimate how much you need, you won't finish. If you overestimate, you'll carry too much weight and slow down. It becomes more of a mental, strategic race that way, rather than just a test of endurance. And yes, maybe they should have some kind of qualification races. What's the point of entering a "race" if you just want to survive it and will finish hours behind the leaders? You can run 26 miles any time you want, it doesn't have to be at the marathon.

r1b2

Mon, 03 Nov 2008 13:02:45 -0500

And proper kudos to Beth Ostrosky. With all the animal abuse we read about in the Gothamist, way to raise money for North Shore Animal League.

r1b2

Mon, 03 Nov 2008 13:01:49 -0500

It's a shame about the folks who had so much trouble with the course. I was at mile 8 handing out drinks, and it's amazing how many are already walking, shuffling their feet that early in the race. Listen, I know it's a huge achievement, kudos and all, but maybe you're not a marathoner, eh? How many people were unable to gain entry so you could do this? C'mon, pick some other way to try to hang on to some optimism from you glory days.