New York City Marathon

Sunday, November 6, 2011

The Famous New York City Marathon

New York City boasts one of the world’s greatest marathons, not just because of the high number of participants, but also for the unique atmosphere and outstanding crowd support.

This is community spirit at it’s best - over 2 million spectators line the streets to enthusiastically cheer for runners they have never met.

The wide range of participants – from world-class professional athletes to first time marathoners – run 26.2 miles through all five New York City boroughs.

There is a definite sense of solidarity at this annual event as people come together to participate in and support an impressive athletic endeavor. There is an infectious spirit of fun and camaraderie.

Plenty of pride is displayed at the marathon, for NYC and beyond. International runners wear the colors of their home countries.

It is common for participants to wear their names on the front of their shirts, which spectators yell out in support as the runners pass by.

For non-elite runners, entry into this popular annual road race is not automatic.

A lottery system is used to select a field of about 38,000 participants from over 100,000 applications.

Spectating the New York City Marathon

The race starts in Staten Island and immediately enters Brooklyn by way of the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge. It continues into Queens, crosses the East River to go up the east side of Manhattan and into the Bronx. The course then returns to Manhattan and ends in Central Park.

Two great spots for viewing the marathon:

• The Upper East Side is an excellent viewing location. Because the marathon route goes north along First Avenue and then south along Fifth Avenue, you can see the runners twice by taking a short walk across the Upper East Side. The runners enter Central Park at 90th Street.

  If you are south of 90th Street, you can walk to the west past the Met Museum and into Central Park to see the runners as they get closer to the finish.

• Central Park is a good place to be and has the backdrop of fall foliage. It is also where the finish is located, so runners are nearing the very end of the race. Beware that moving around inside the park can be difficult because the course winds through it.

The best runners start around 9 a.m. and everyone else follows within the next two hours. The top runners finish in just over two hours but runners will be on the city streets until well into the afternoon.

TV and Internet Viewing

In the New York metro area, the marathon will broadcast live on NBC4 New York from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m.

NBC Sports will show a two-hour highlight show from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. nationwide. Highlights from the race will also air in 125 countries around the world. Check your local listings for details.

Watch the race streamed live online at www.UniversalSports.com from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. eastern standard time.

Official Website

For more information, go to the ING New York City Marathon website.

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