The New York City Marathon is the largest, most popular marathon in the world, drawing NBA All-Stars, record-setting runners from around the world, charities, and lobbyists that want to make a point this year.
But for average New Yorkers, the marathon is a chance to get in the zone, see their city, and run all five boroughs without having to worry about traffic lights.
“It gets me out of my head,” said Alexander Kok, 32, who will be running in the NYC Marathon for the first time Sunday. “It’s relaxing and energetic, and powerful.”
Central Park, the West Side Highway, and Roosevelt Island typically set the scene for these runs. Kok lives on the Upper East Side where it’s a short walk to the park; convenient since he has been running four to five times a week to prepare for the marathon.
It will be the second marathon he has run.
About three years ago, Kok started running actively to stay fit. Eventually he started doing half-marathons, just to show he could. Then a friend invited him to run the NYC Marathon for charity—to raise money for Standing Tall, a school in Harlem helping children with physical impairments. He happily accepted.
So three months ago, Kok ran a marathon in Alaska as a warm up.
“It was quite a nice temperature, and fairly flat,” Kok said. It just made him that much more excited for the NYC run.
“It’s different because it’s such an important event in the city,” Kok said. It makes him proud to be in New York, proud to run for Standing Tall, and proud to be a part of the event. “It is like one of those things you have to do in your life.”
The Great Outdoors
“New York has such an active running culture here, it’s a good social activity,” said Chet Mancini, who had been offered a spot in the marathon by a friend. “It doesn’t take much planning, and you can enjoy the great outdoors.”
Mancini, 26, a software engineer living in Williamsbur
“It’s relaxing to enjoy the scenery,” said Mancini. While his body focuses on moving along the path, his mind relaxes and takes in the views of Prospect Park, East River Park, Central Harlem, Staten Island, Colonial Williamsburg, and some far-flung trails in corners of the city he would not have ventured to if not to just run.
New York City is the greatest city, but when you live there you just spend all of your time inside an office, said Andrew Keet. He always played sports in the other cities he’s lived in—along with snowboarding, surfing, rock climbing—but it was too much of a hassle to continue in New York City.
“But I needed to get outdoors and exercise,” said Keet. Just being outside, running and people watching, is one of the best experiences, he said.
The only downside, if ever, is having to fight traffic if he’s taking a route with intersections. So the idea of being able to run five boroughs undeterred by traffic lights sounded amazing.
“I’m super, super stoked,” Keet said. “The crowds are going to come out and make it even more amazing. It’s one of the best places to run in the world.”
