Just a question. Were you one of the lucky ones running this marathon?  If so congratulations for all your work training and working for this goal. Now you may ask why say that? Well, if you have ever run a marathon which is 26.2 miles, you would understand. While I was not able to run this race, I happily watched several You Tube videos and was able to see this race . This distance can be gruiling and can make to strongest runner work to prove their endurance.   Yet the  most outstanding and noticed by me was the large number of bystanders.    Yes , I found it so encouraging to watch the bystanders  who seemed to line practically the whole course with the ringing of the cowbells And families and friends were cheeriing runners, calling out their names as they cheered them on. At times the musical notes were like a trumphet singing and cowbells ringing. Wait that sounds like a Christmas song . But ok , it was amazing to me to  hear the crowds enjoying this sport and encouraging the runners. It was for sure an event that spurned with joy, admiration and good will.

If you have ever run with a pace group you would recognize the timing of feet hitting the ground at the same time. It is like a well orchestrated drummer playing the beat of his song. So I was really glad to see the enormous number of bystanders combined with the near perfect weather to make each runner a day to remember.

It is easy to see that New Yorkers are truely people persons seeking the best for their fellow neighbors. Perfhaps the pandemic brought about  a more compasionate wave of onlookers or it has made our society face life and death in a closer balance than ever before.

    Ok but did you know that the New York City Marathon is the largest Marathon in the world? Yes it is with it’s 53,627 finishers in 2019 and 98,247 applicants for the race in 2017. And the course record has yet to be beat as in 2011 Geoffrey Mutai ran it in 2:05:31 and female Margaret Okayo 2:22:31 in 2003

 Sweep busses will follow the marathon route at a 6 1/2-hour marathon pace which is rougly 15 minutes per mile after the final wave start. And these busses will transport any entrant who wishes to drop out to the post-finish area.

Would you like to know how much does each runner pay to enter the marathon ? Well yes, I was a bit surprised about the cost. If you are a US resident the races will cost you a wopping fee of $295.00 and non US residents pay $ 358.00. Entry fees are charged upon acceptance and are non refundable. Now if I could run fast enough, I would like to do this race but since Im a 10 minute miler for 6 miles, I cant compete with the runner my age running a 5K in less than 27 minutes. That is a 9 minute mile and believe me with a long diatance that makes a huge difference.   So that’s my story about the New York City Marathon. Its enjoyable to view and extremely inspiring to runners everywhere. I hope that you too can see the videos and enjoy this sport, with awe and amazement of the first finishers, down to the last to cross the finish line.