Ahhhh, what a great way to experience the New York Marathon. Phew, but I am exhausted. Transiting around the city to find the best vantage point is no easy task. And in between I must have covered well over 2 miles on foot.
The marathon started in 1970 with a mere 127 runners. It has grown to become one of the most prestigious marathons in the world, attracting over 40,000 participants this year. Unlike the Boston marathon, most participants in New York enter through a lottery system instead of trying to meet the very high qualifying time. This means NY Marathon is open to anyone willing to take up the 26.2 mile challenge.
My big day started in the early morning hours traveling with marathoners to the marathon start area on Staten Island. Did you know that the ferry to Staten Island is free and provides one of the best views of the elegant lady – the Statue of Libery – that stands infront of New York’s skyline?
Huge waves of runners and supporters pour off the ferry on the island and straight into the awaiting buses to take them to the start area.
At this point, I headed back to Manhattan and my hotel; arriving just in time to catch the start of the elite men and women runners on TV. The top male finished in a time of 2 hours 9 minutes. The average runner in the marathon (of which, all have spent months preparing) would finish in approximately twice that time. The feat of simply finishing this event is no doubt something to be proud of. Here is a brief rundown of the route from the marathon’s website:
The first New York City Marathon, in 1970, was four-plus laps of Central Park. In 1976, in celebration of the U.S. bicentennial, NYRR moved the marathon to the streets of New York’s five boroughs: Staten Island, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, and Manhattan. The course united dozens of culturally and ethnically diverse neighborhoods, crossed five bridges, and finished at Tavern on the Green in world-famous Central Park. The course continues to challenge thousands of athletes every year and has become a model for big-city marathon courses around the world.
But enough about the runners, my day was still unfolding, and my first stop was to be mile 7 in Brooklyn. Getting there proved a challenge, with the city choosing this weekend to do extensive subway maintanence. So mile 7 became mile 15 in Queens and I watched the endless stream of runners make their left turn and start a steady run up the Queensboro Bridge back into Manhattan.
Some time passed, and my next destination was the Bronx. I hopped back on the subway and headed back to Manhattan then north on the number 6 train, getting off at 3rd Ave. and 135th St.
One a side note, most of New York’s streets are set up in an extremely logical grid system. Most streets have numbers, not names, and all the Avenues run North-South, while all the Streets run West-East. It sure makes it easy for visitors to orient themselves.
Up the steps of the subway and directly into the swarm of people and noise of mile 20. I took a quick side trip to grab a snack; a cuban sandwich – roasted chicken on a roll with lots of creamy sauce oozing out. Then it was back to the course to devour my sandwich as the fatiqued runners entered the final 1/4 of their epic run.
With the music pumping, the Bronx was welcoming the runners to a neighbourhood the residents are very proud of. From there, the marathon turns south and heads towards Central Park – a giant grenspace in the very centre of Manahattan and covering an area of 843 acres (over twice the size of High Park in Toronto).
From there it’s a short walk back to the hotel and time to reflect on my big day at the marathon, and perhaps have a nap.
