New York City Marathon

Tomorrow, Sunday November 3, New York City will welcome the 43rd running of the NYC Marathon – one of the most popular sporting events in the world. Over four decades, more than 900,000 competitors from around the world have completed this race, which started in 1970 with just 127 local participants. The race has been held every year, with the exception of 2012, when it was cancelled 2 days before after a lot of controversy. In the wake of Super Storm Sandy, both the New York Road Runners Club and Mayor Bloomberg wanted the race to take place. This started a fierce debate on whether to hold the race with thousands of residents still without electricity, public transportation, and other basic needs. The proponents for going ahead with the race said that the event will give an economic and morale boost to the city, while opponents said the resources (such as food, water, and police) are better used elsewhere.

The initial course of 1970 consisted in repeated racing around Central Park. Nowadays the course covers all five boroughs of New York City, starting in Staten Island by crossing the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge in to Brooklyn, then crossing the Queensboro Bridge in to Manhattan, which marks 16 miles, followed by the Bronx via First Avenue, before heading back in to Manhattan for a dash to the finish line in Central Park. The course record for men is 2:05:06 and 2:22:31 for women.

Because of the popularity of the race, participation is chosen largely by a lottery system. Runners who are members of NYRR can gain entry by meeting the qualifications for guaranteed entry or via nomination from an official running club. Besides over 46,000 runners, the City is expecting more than 2 million spectators and 330 million worldwide television viewers. This year’s field will also include thousands of participants, who have elected to run in support of charitable organizations and have committed to raise millions of dollars for their respective causes.

Please join me in congratulating all the participants for undertaking this challenge. These athletes, who have put in countless hours of hard work toward preparing for this race, are a true inspiration to us all.

And for those who still doubt the potential life changing effects of running, I can highly recommend the book “The Long Run: A New York Firefighter’s Triumphant Comeback from Crash Victim to Elite Athlete.”