The ING New York City Marathon: The World's Largest Marathon
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by ActiveSports
26.2 miles through five boroughs and over five bridgesBy Mark Behan For Active.com
More than half of the 98,000 applicants were selected to run the world’s largest marathon via lottery. Why did so many people have their hearts set on running this particular marathon? Because it’s the 2007 ING New York City Marathon--a global event staged in one of the world’s most famous cities. The 38 th ING New York City Marathon is scheduled for Nov. 4.
He pounded the pavement for 26.2 miles through five boroughs and over five bridges in front of two million screaming spectators. He traced the steps of legends like Rodgers, Salazar, Waitz and Loroupe, all multiple-time winners of this world’s largest marathon, and hundreds of thousands of others who are all part of the ING New York City Marathon’s rich history.
Ryan Spinney tackled the hills of Central Park and crossed the finish line at Tavern on the Green--blocks behind race winners Marilson Gomes dos Santos and Jelena Prokopcuka but ahead of the world’s greatest cyclist Lance Armstrong--in 247th place among 37,869 finishers in the 2006 ING New York City Marathon.
And then in a New York minute, Spinney, who had just run a personal-best time of 2:46:09, put a cherry on his ice cream sundae of a day in New York City.
"We want everyone to walk away from the ING New York City Marathon with lasting memories of their day in New York City,” said Richard Finn, the event's director of media relations. “For many, the marathon is like a milestone event in their life, like getting married."
Or getting engaged.
About 45 minutes after finishing the marathon, reuniting with friends and family members, and retrieving the engagement ring from his dad, Spinney--on the outskirts of Central Park, with thousands of runners still streaming across the park's finish line--asked his very surprised then-girlfriend/now wife Kristin, to marry him.
"I got down on one knee, too," said Spinney with a laugh, not an easy task after running 26.2 miles. "I am proud of that."
And why pop the question after running the ING New York City Marathon?
"We thought it would be a cool idea to have everyone get together for the marathon and make it a celebration. It's such an amazing race and special day in New York City," said Spinney, a high school teacher from Massachusetts who was married this summer of 2007. "And we wanted to make it (the engagement) an event."
Anyone who has ever run the ING New York City Marathon will have a story, perhaps not one involving "popping the question," but an unforgettable personal tale of the journey with the masses through this world-class city.
"The ING New York City Marathon is one of the races that everyone should do at least once in their lives," said John "The Penguin" Bingham, noted author and Runner's World magazine contributor, who ran the race in 2003. "It's a true global, international race. It's a great day to show off the city's boroughs. And you run through parts of the city that tourists may never get to see. I remember running through Harlem and little kids were handing me Halloween candy. It's a special event."
The 38 th ING New York City Marathon, which had 98,000 race applicants and is part of the World Marathon Majors with Boston, Chicago, London and Berlin, will take place on Nov. 4. About 38,300 runners are expected to gather on Staten Island for the start near the Verrazano Narrows Bridge.
Minutes after the cannon fires to signal "Go!" both levels of the bridge are flooded with runners, a sea of humanity and one of the most spectacular images in all of sports.
"At the start, Frank Sinatra’s 'New York, New York' is playing; tug boats in the river below are shooting red-white-and-blue water from them, and the view of the Manhattan sky-line from the start is incredible. It’s an amazing feeling being part of it all," said Scott Mosenthal, the principal at Irvington High School in New Jersey, who has run the race 10 times. "The ING New York City Marathon is a great celebratory day for New York City. I have run the Boston Marathon several times, but everything is on a grand scale at New York. It's a badge of honor for the city, and a happening."
For information on the ING New York City Marathon’s race-week schedule, including the Health and Fitness Expo and the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team men’s marathon trials held on Sat. Nov. 3, 2007 in New York City, visit: http://newyorkcitymarathon.org/schedule/index.php
From Central Park to the City
The first New York City Marathon was held in 1970. Athletes ran several loops around the Park Drive of Central Park, staying in the park for the entire 26.2-mile route, in front of a crowd of about 100. Gary Muhrcke captured the race in 2:31:38 and less than half the race's 127 starters finished. A humble beginning indeed.
But the country was on the cusp of the running boom, and in subsequent years the New York City Marathon grew in popularity, prompting race co-founder Fred Lebow to move the race from Central Park to the city's streets in 1976.
"Fred had a vision for a peoples' race," said Gordon Bakoulis, editorial director of the New York Road Runners Club, which directs the ING New York City Marathon. "He was a tennis player who discovered running in the 1960s. Running made him feel good and he believed everyone should have that feeling. He saw the marathon as a way of spreading that feeling."
Tom Derderian, author of Boston Marathon: The History of the World’s Premier Running Event, finished fourth in the marathon's second year (2:37:13) in 1971. Derderian recalled a conversation with Lebow during the years when the New York City Marathon was run only in Central Park.
"When he (Lebow) told me of his plan to run the race through all five boroughs, I said the city that never sleeps would never shut down for a bunch of scrawny marathoners,” Derderian said. "But as much as Fred brought the marathon to the masses, the masses themselves were ready."
For a detailed course description of the 2007 ING New York City Marathon, which runs through Staten Island, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx and Manhattan, visit: http://newyorkcitymarathon.org/about/course.php
The Masses Flock to the Big Apple
"The race has an amazing history and people want to be part of that history," said Bakoulis, commenting on the ING New York City Marathon's world-wide popularity. Bakoulis has run the ING New York City Marathon seven times, twice finishing in the women’s top 10, and clocked a personal-best 2:33:01 in 1989 when she placed eighth.
The 2006 edition of the ING New York City Marathon had 38,368 starters and 37,869 finishers from 107 countries, two million spectators, a worldwide television audience of 300 million, about 12,000 volunteers and 30 sponsors, making it the world’s largest marathon. Runners from 26 charities raised $11.5 million, and the elite vied for a $600,000 prize purse. In addition, the 2006 ING New York City Marathon, under the leadership of Race Director Mary Wittenburg, had an estimated race-day total economic impact of $200 million on New York City.
“We don’t stand pat and each year we want to put on a greater race than the year before,” Finn said, noting additions of music and entertainment along the course, race-day amenities for runners, and anything else to ensure a memorable experience for runners in the ING New York City Marathon. “Like the NBA, WNBA and NFL, we want to jazz up our product. For us, our stadium is the city streets, and the New York City experience cannot be duplicated anywhere else in the world. The atmosphere and energy of the ING New York City Marathon are unmatched.”
Lasting Memories
James "Ace" Laprel echoes Finn’s sentiments. The 53-year-old from Haverhill, Massachusetts, ran his first New York City Marathon in 1978, and has completed every one since. The 2007 event marks Laprel’s 30th straight ING New York City Marathon.
"New York City might have 30,000 to 40,000 runners but the race officials treat everyone special. Everything is done on a big scale," said Laprel, who has finished 34 consecutive Boston Marathons as well. “I love going to New York City. It's a great city with so much to offer and there is a real feeling of excitement in the air the entire weekend.”
Laprel said the finish in Central Park is "a beautiful scene framed by the colors of late autumn."
In this home to the Empire State Building, Rockefeller Center, Wall Street, the Yankees, and the world’s finest restaurants and biggest celebrities, there are many stories from everyday folks running this big event.
"The ING New York City Marathon is our postcard sent to the rest of the world, it's our love letter from the world's greatest city," Finn said. "We don't have a red carpet, but we have a blue line for 26.2 miles through the city's five boroughs, and we want you to walk away with memories for a lifetime."
