The New York City Marathon might be a headache for those who want to get across town (or even cross the street) on Sunday, but it is a serious windfall for the city. And not just because of all the cash being spent on carbo-loading and tree cutting. According to Mayor Bloomberg the 26.2 mile race (and its 47,000 runners from all 50 states and 135 countries) generates more than $10 million in tax revenue. "It’s one of those events that really does set us apart," Bloomberg said yesterday before painting the orange and blue finish line in Central Park. "The race is a major boon to our economy." more ›

The MTA has posted a time lapse (they're so into time lapses these days) from the marathon, which begins with the first wave of runners over the Verrazano-Narrows bridge around 9:45 a.m. yesterday. The whole things looks pretty neat, especially that hovering helicopter in the beginning! more ›

Tonight we turn back the clocks for Daylight Savings Time, and get to sleep in two hours later than normal (that's how this works right?), and tomorrow we will awaken to the start of the 41st ING NYC Marathon! More than 43,000 people, including Chilean miner Edison Pena, are expected to run in the race, which starts at the Verrazano Narrows Bridge in Staten Island and takes runners all the way through the four other boroughs, ending in Central Park near West 67th Street. more ›

Edison Pena, one of the Chilean miners who spent over two months trapped underground, arrived at JFK today. Although exhausted, Pena said he "always wanted to be here" in NYC. Pena is in town to run in the ING NYC Marathon this Sunday. During a press conference in Cenral Park, he told reporters, "It's a dream come true. The first dream come true was seeing the light of day again, and I had to go through all of this to be here today. And I did!” They gave him his bib, AND he got to meet former NY Giant star Amani Toomer! more ›

The ING New York City Marathon is this Sunday, and they've got you covered. In previous years we'd grown accustomed to the usual live broadcast on NBC, but this year there'll be complete media saturation, starting tomorrow. more ›

Meet Tim Sweeney: When he was two years old his parents found out he had cystic fibrosis, a genetic disorder in which the body produces a thick mucous that clogs the lungs. But they didn't tell him because they wanted him to have a normal life. He actually didn't find out until he was 26, when his girlfriend "heard something in his chest" and made him go to the doctor. Last year his condition deteriorated so badly that he could barely walk without wearing an oxygen mask. But now, after a double lung transplant, CBS2 reports that he's running the NYC marathon! more ›

Veto-palooza is over—for now. Yesterday, Governor David Paterson completed his marathon of vetoing 6,709 line items that the Assembly and Senate added to his budget. The madness began on Thursday, with Paterson offering his initials to veto over 4,000 porky items; yesterday's session was at the Governor's Mansion, with Paterson knocking out about 2,000 items. According to the Daily Politics, "That's more than $500 million in additional spending he slashed as well as nearly $200 milliion more in member items approved in previous years but still not paid by the state." more ›

If the Bodega Diet hasn't been keeping the pounds off, maybe this innovative new weight-loss technique from trainer Melissa Delancey will. She suggests countering the caloric intake of big meals by walking to and from the restaurant. Delancey got her inspiration when she and her husband decided to walk to Dinosaur Bar-B-Que in Harlem from their East Village apartment, and are now leading walks to all sorts of places. Exercise: who knew? more ›

If you stop by Professor Thom's on 2nd Avenue right now, or anytime through Sunday night, you'll find three former college pals on the balcony watching Lost. Every episode, from beginning to Sunday night's series finale. All in all that's 96 hours of being on (and sometimes off) the island, and we're guessing by now they've already lost any ability to keep up with plotlines we can barely understand when we've gotten 8 hours of sleep. Because... why else would they be totally ignoring the television?! more ›

Yesterday it was announced that David Blaine would be setting up shop in Times Square for 72 hours of street magic, all in the name of raising money for Haiti. And before you hate, one commenter who saw him in action today pointed out that a man in the crowd told Blaine that his Mom is currently in Haiti, and he hasn't heard from her yet. He continued, "David truly cared and took the man's contact information to get in touch with people on the ground." more ›

Reader Sherri Jackson took this picture during the NYC Marathon yesterday and wonders if someone could help identify the people in it:

This runner stopped along the NYC Marathon course, right after mile 16 (coming off the 59th St. Bridge into Manhattan) and proposed to his girl. He pulled a ring out of his pocket (I'm assuming it was a ring box - it was something black and square) and they had a few moments. I didn't think to get a shot of his bib number to identify him, so I'm hoping that people might link to this pic on facebook or twitter in hopes that it'll get to this couple. I'm sure they'd love to have it. :-) I have a couple more photos, so if they find me, they can email me: sherri [at] sherrijackson.com (Plus, they might need a wedding photographer)

Yesterday's 40th running of the ING NYC Marathon saw over 40,000 people traveling across the five boroughs to clock in 26.2 miles of running, walking, handcycling, and more. Besides the men's and women's race winners Meb Kelflizighi and Derartu Tulu, there were other champs: more ›

And they're off! Over 40,000 runners are on their way to finishing the 2009 New York City Marathon, which snakes across all five boroughs before its dramatic — and surprisingly hilly — finish in Central Park. All eyes are on three-time winner Paula Radcliffe, the British champ who this summer won the NYC Half Marathon. On the men's side, the Brazilian runner Marílson Gomes dos Santos is fighting for his third NYC Marathon victory against a field of formidable contenders including Kenyans James Kwambai and Robert Cheruiyot. more ›

Having to cram into a crowded subway car has been one thing these past few weekends as the MTA got to work on station and track renovations decreasing service on 18 of its 20 subway lines. But this weekend should be interesting, what with Halloween and the NYC Marathon in the mix. more ›

This Sunday, not only is it time to fall back for Daylight Savings Time, it's the 40th ING NYC Marathon. An expected 40,000 runners will be ready to hit the roads from the start at the Verrazano Narrows Bridge in Staten Island and through the four other boroughs with about a million people cheering them on from the sidelines. more ›

Things are heating up in marathon running circles, or should we say slowing down? The New York Times reported that by allowing slower runners on the New York City Marathon route, the intensity of the debate over how quickly an able-bodied runner should finish the once-elite event is increasing. more ›

As the New York City Marathon approaches (November 1st), the NY Times looks back at the first one in 1970 through the eyes of Steve Pusztay, who says on that day he was “just trying not to die,” He told them, “After I finished. I swore I would never run another marathon again.” And then he went on to run 47 more (but never returned to the one in Central Park). more ›

Runner's World has an interview with Governor David Paterson this month, discussing how running have given his confidence, which he probably needs these days. (The Post is in a tizzy over the photo of running-shorted Paterson in his office.) Paterson, who is on the Achilles Track Club's board and ran the '99 NYC Marathon, said, "Running gave me the chance to be athletic, and to be good at something, which I think everybody wants to have. As a teenager it was particularly frustrating; all my friends would play these sports that I couldn't play." Paterson prefers to run with a guide and for distance (he has an 11-minute mile). On how his success in running has helped his political career: "Whenever they mention in my introduction that I ran the marathon, the audience just starts cheering, and I think that it did help me to believe in myself. I never thought I'd be Lieutenant Governor, and I never thought I'd be Governor. But I will run for reelection, and I'll be running while I'm running." Related: Former Governor Spitzer, also a runner, recorded a podcast to accompany a 3-mile run at a 9-minute pace back in 2006. more ›

Today is the ING NYC Marathon, and you can check out the action by cheering alongside the route (see spectator guide here) or watching it on NBC 4 or on the Internet, via Universal Sports, which lets you choose between three feeds (men's, women's and main). There are also a few road closures. more ›

Photo of marathon runners last year by sgoralnick on flickr more ›

From a forecasting perspective this has been a rare week where the weather has behaved as expected. The good behavior shows no sign of stopping and there's no reason to believe it will start acting erratically over the weekend. In addition to not pulling any tricks, it looks like ok Mother Nature will give us a fall treat. more ›

Last year Katie Holmes ran (or pretended to run) the NYC Marathon, and this year the sweating, panting herd of runners will be graced with the presence of soon-to-be now official Mr. Scarlett Johansson. Joining Team Fox in support of Parkinson's disease (his dad is afflicted), Ryan Reynolds invites one and all to come watch him on November 2nd, adding: "Feel free to bring a smile, automated defibrillator, or a fresh set of nipples." He also writes on the Huffington Post about seeing the marathon in Central Park a few years ago, saying, "I saw an incredible spectacle of people pushed to the very brink of collapse. The pain was etched into their faces so deeply ... I saw guys coming in to finish with bleeding nipples. Why in the hell were their nipples bleeding? People were crying. People were limping, hobbling, screaming, crawling." Good Luck, Ryan! more ›

To kick off the weekend, Richard Simmons visited the team of folks participating in the movie-watching marathon (check out Crazy Legs Conti!). Simmons served up some "heart-healthy energy foods" and taught them how to do exercises while seated in their lounge chairs. Since Thursday the eight contestants have been slackin' off and watching flicks in an attempt to break a world record, and take home some cash. more ›

Today in Times Square the world's laziest competition began: the Movie-Watching World Championship. For five days, 'round the clock, these eight folks will be in a world of celluloid. Each competitor is attempting to spend the full five days in the arena "where they’ll watch movie after movie in the hopes of breaking the movie watching world record of 120 hours and 23 minutes. The event champion will win a $10,000 cash prize, a lifetime membership to Netflix and the coveted Netflix Popcorn Bowl trophy." Mmm...popcorn bowl trophy. more ›

• Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a pedestrian struck on Broadway and 231st St. in the Bronx, an aircraft alert at JFK at Queens, and a person fatally struck by a train at 57th St. and 8th Ave. in Manhattan.
• Entries for the NYC Half-Marathon will start being accepted at 11:59pm on May 29th. Details.
• And the Design Trust for Public Space is accepting submissions for its Grand Army Plaza redesign competition.
• An Internal Affairs Bureau Lt. has been reassigned to a surveillance booth in a housing project after his friend allegedly raped a young woman in the apartment of the cop's girlfriend as she begged him to stop.
• The body of Rabbi Zev Segal, missing since yesterday morning, was found in his car, which apparently slid into the Hackensack River in NJ.
• The memorial for promoter-gossip Baird Jones is being held at Plumm, a venue he wasn't a huge fan of.
• A Gawker employee was shackled and thrown into the Tombs after drinking a beer-in-a-bag in the subway system.
• The carjacker of Mayor Bloomberg's personal car, which was in the possession of one of his aides, faces 15 years in the slammer for the crime.
• A lovely castle-like house in Flushing, Queens - turrets and Tudor details!
• Former Gov. George Pataki underwent emergency surgery this morning to relieve an intestinal blockage (he's had problems with this before!).
• And former Project Runway contestants Jeffrey Sebelia, Santino Rice and Kit Pistol watched Project Runway finale in LA amidst their young, adoring fans.

• Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a construction accident on East 33rd St. and Madison Ave. in Manhattan, a pedestrian struck on 50th Ave. and 45th St. in Queens, and a shooting on Schenectady Ave. and Lincoln Pl. in Brooklyn.
• In three separate incidents yesterday, individuals were struck by subway trains. Two men were killed and the third was taken to Bellevue Hospital.
• Insurance fraud isn't brain surgery, until it is. A Staten Island man was sentenced yesterday to taking part in a scam where he was reimbursed for his-and-hers brain surgeries for himself and his wife.
• Two Queens detectives responding to a robbery call were hit by another car that sent their vehicle careening into the dining room of a family off Marathon Parkway.
• Advertise your New York nature on your chest with a t-shirt that shows others how to correctly eat a piece of pizza.
• A Long Island man infatuated with a co-worker at Wal-Mart and who learned that she had a boyfriend, let himself in to her Mastic home early in the morning and stabbed her sleeping boyfriend to death with a large hunting knife.
• First Canal Jeans, then Starbucks...now Target: The evolution of Flatbush Junction.

• Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: shots fired on 103rd Rd. in Queens, a double stabbing on Amsterdam Ave. in Manhattan, and an armed robbery on 94th St. in Queens.
• Get paranoid!: Not only is your nanny not nurturing your kid to the best of his or her abilities, she's probably beating her mercilessly. Not really, most babysitters love your kids and take good care of them.
• Set your watch by it: the Williambsurg Savings Bank clock tower is accurate.