New York City Marathon

The New York City Marathon is an annual sporting event that is hosted by the City of New York, and organized by the New York Road Runners Club. The 26-mile course is run by 37,000 athletes each November. Many professional athletes choose to run this race. Runners get the chance to not only the chance to shine but a shot at over $600,000 in prize money.http://www.ingnycmarathon.org/about_index.htm

Considered the world’s largest marathon, the race had a small beginning. The first marathon was held in 1970 with 127 runners that paid a $1 entrance fee. The race course was 26.2 miles that looped around Central Park many times. Fifty-five runners made it through the entire course that year.

The course was later reworked to include all five of the New York boroughs. This design of the course effectively drew the city together and made the race a unique one. The year 2000 brought about a wheelchair division to the marathon. This part of the race has become one of the most competitive wheelchair marathons in the world.http://www.ingnycmarathon.org/about/history.htm

The course covers five New York boroughs. These are: Staten Island, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, and Manhattan. The course covers various ethic neighborhoods, crosses five bridges and finishes at Tavern on the Green.

• The marathon begins on the Staten Island Expressway, on the west side of the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge.
• Runners follow the expressway up until 92nd Street, where they northwest to 4th Avenue. The race continues northeast through Brooklyn, reaching the 15-mile mark right before the Queensboro Bridge.
• Crossing over into Manhattan, participants run up 1st Avenue before circling back down 5th avenue to the Central Park finish line.MarathonGuide.com: New York City Marathon Course Guide

In addition to the race itself, the days leading up to the marathon are filled with events and expos. The Jacob Javits Convention Center hosts a health and fitness expo.

The Abebe Bikila Award Ceremony is presented on the day before the race. At this event, an award is presented every year to a person who has made an outstanding contributions to the distance running sport.

Continental Airlines offers the Continental Airlines International Friendship Run to the entrants of the marathon and friends.

Other events include a marathon eve dinner at Tavern on the Green and fireworks above the finish line.http://www.ingnycmarathon.org/schedule.htm