Spectating The New York City Marathon

*I’m not sure how to classify this as a “sports venue” - especially since I’ve been to New York City so many times in the past.

I have a somewhat weird affinity for the Boston Marathon. Yes, a lot of that came from the aftermath of the 2013 bombing, but even as a kid in the Boston suburbs, the marathon had this pull on just about everyone in the area - part of that stemming from its status as the oldest marathon in the modern world. For example, I remember going out to get lunch on Marathon day as a kid (as it’s a holiday in Massachusetts), and seeing a guy with what a "wrap" on his shoulders; my dad told me it was a recovery thing runners sometimes do (as it was fairly cold that day IIRC - April in the Northeast is rather volatile for outdoor sports¹).

Anyway, this post has not quite so much to do with Boston - it’s about New York. The New York City Marathon was established in 1970, making it the second oldest marathon in the United States (after Boston), and one of the longest running marathons in the world (there weren’t a ton of marathons established between 1897 and 1970). Both Boston and New York are members of what are known as the “World Marathon Majors” - a group of seven (originally five) marathons considered the most prestigious in the world. Technically, there’s a system where elite runners score points to determine a “series winner” (a la Formula 1 or NASCAR), but that’s not really that important here (also, it’s been largely dominated by Kenyans since its inception).

I won’t get too deep into the “venue” here: it’s a 26.2 mile journey around the five boroughs of New York City, and you can’t exactly “see” the entire route as parts of the course are not open to spectators on marathon day. In order to include Staten Island in the route (as it is still one of the five boroughs), the marathon starts just off the Verrazzano Narrows Bridge, then weaves its way around Brooklyn and Queens, crosses the Ed Koch Queensboro 59th Street Bridge into Manhattan, heads straight up to the Bronx, and then comes back down to Manhattan before ending in Central Park. Because the entire route is public spaces, “admission” is free for MOST of the course - the exception being a set of stands pretty much right at the finish line (which I will NOT be going over for various reasons).

A lot of what makes marathons more appealing than your average sporting event is the fact that the field for a marathon is much, MUCH bigger than any other sporting event. Yes, you have the professional "elite runners" who are trying to actually win a race, but there's also thousands of other runners who are NOT professional athletes; they're more or less in it for personal reasons. Thanks to this, the focus for a lot of people who go out to watch the marathon isn’t these elite runners (unlike pretty much ANY post on this blog that isn't about college sports) - it’s their friends who qualify. For myself personally, one of my friends who I play pickleball with qualified (I don't remember the exact details, but it involved finishing a certain amount of other runs), and I felt it was a good opportunity to check it out despite having been in the city not even 24 hours prior.

One of the SUPER NICE things about modern marathons is that they offer tracking technology for runners. Of course, based on your runner's average pace and their start time, you can extrapolate where they'll be and when they'll be there if you want to try to catch them - and resources such as this site help you plan around that. However, based on my friend's timings (he started in one of the very early groups), I didn't specifically plan on trying to catch him; instead, I decided to try and see what things were like at the finish line in general (as he gave me a place to meet after the marathon). As I said earlier, tickets are required if you want to see runners ACTUALLY finish, but a few hundred feet away, you can watch runners approach the finish for free:

I'd heard from others that spectating marathons is a very different experience from your "normal" sporting event, and I gotta say...they're right. When you're at a team sports event (or even other forms of racing), you typically have a team you cheer for; when they do well, you're happy, and when they don't, you're sad. Here, you're cheering for EVERYONE because they're not famous athletes or up and coming guys (like in high level college sports) - they're just "normal people like you". Being at the finish line, as they're nearing the end of the grueling 26.2 mile journey seems to do something to the spectators - I was at the finish line for about half an hour, and it was fairly loud throughout. For example, some people behind me were cheering out the names of runners who they could spot (on their bibs/clothes); they asked who I was tracking, and cheered for him as he ran past us. This celebration of the common man extends outside of the marathon itself, as runners are pretty easy to spot around the city with their bright orange "wraps"; often, they would be cheered and congratulated as they walk by.

I can safely say that I would definitely consider watching the marathon near the finish line again; there is truly nothing I've been to like it where there are no losers - only winners. Running it, however, is almost certainly a no from me: I can barely run .2 miles - how do you expect me to run the other 26?

MARATHON MERCHANDISE

I have a small(ish) collection of Boston Marathon jackets. I mostly did it as I kinda like jackets in general (see: me collecting baseball jerseys), but I must admit that it may not have been my greatest idea...

As for New York, there's no "dedicated" merchandise area in Central Park, but the association behind the marathon has a store a few blocks from Columbus Circle (i.e. the nearest subway station to the access point to the finishing area). Here, there is a selection of jackets and shirts (as well as a few other things); also, in what I can only describe as INSANE dramatic irony, New York Marathon merch is produced by Boston-based New Balance while Boston Marathon merch is...Adidas.

Also, this technically has nothing to do with the marathon itself (as it's not something you're likely to be able to get), but my friend's fiance made custom beanies for him and gave me one.

ON DECK

The Big Sport of the Big East.