The History of the New York City Marathon

The New York City Marathon, which is organized byShockingly, many runners finish the race in under
the New York Road Runners, has been an annualthree hours, despite the 8.5 hour time limit. These
event in New York City since 1970. It is held on thepeople are usually super-elite runners, and have spent
first Sunday of November, and has a participant capmany years training for this, the world's biggest stage
of 37,000 runners. The vast majority of thefor runners.
participants are chosen by lottery, as the demand farOver the years, the race has come to be known as
exceeds the number of runners the course canone of the most prestigious races to compete in,
accommodate.finish, and especially, win. The record for fastest
Beyond the lottery system, officially recognizedfemale win is held by Paula Radcliffe of England, who
running clubs are each given two spots for membersfinished the race in 2 hours and 23 minutes. The male
who do not win a spot in the race via lottery.record holder is Paul Tergat, who finished in 2 hours
Members of the New York Road Runners who meetand nine minutes. In 2000, two new divisions were
the official qualifications are also allowed to participateadded - the wheelchair division and the hardcycle
in the marathon. As you can see, membership has itsdivision. These were some of the biggest changes
privileges.made to the race over its lifespan.
To complete the race, runners must be in extremelyWhile it is a difficult race for even seasoned runners,
good condition concerning their strength, endurance,the event attracts the world's finest runners, as well
and aerobic abilities. The New York City Marathon is aas celebrities. Some of the most well-known people
26.2 mile course that covers all five boroughs of NYC.to run the marathon include cyclist Lance Armstrong
The race starts in Staten Island, which closes theas well as Governor Mike Huckabee. Both finished the
Verrazano Bridge for the event. The runners thenrace, though they did not win.
head through Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan, theThe New York Marathon is something that many
Bronx, and then back to Manhattan for the big finishrunners train for years, or even their whole lives, to
in Central Park. Many runners find the most gruelingenter and win. Despite the competition for a mere
part of the race to be the stretch leading betweenspot in the race, much less the competition once the
Queens and Manhattan, with the climb to therunner is in the race, many people set different goals
Queensboro Bridge considered to be almostfor themselves when competing. Many enter with
universally the most difficult part of the race. Despitenothing more than a goal of "to finish the race," as
the length and complexity of the race, it also has athe 26-mile race is nothing to shrug off. It is a
time limit: 8.5 hours.grueling course, and November weather in New York
In the earliest days of the marathon, it onlyCity can be unpredictable - even cold - for the
attracted a few hundred people and was run aroundrunners.
Central Park. As is the case with many events, overAs you can see, the New York City Marathon is a
the years, it grew both in terms of participants, asprestigious event with a long, rich history. It is safe
well as the actual distance of the race itself. The raceto say that this marathon will be around for quite
is officially the largest marathon in the world, and issome time to come, and it should be interesting to
broadcast on television. It is estimated that over 300see what the future holds for this race and those
million people watch the race every year, as it is thewho participate in it.
most elite running event in the world.