Marathon Sunday is the greatest day of all in New York City.
In a city of 8.5 million, the intensity can push you past your comfort zone and into the relative safety of “ear phones in, hoodie up” just to get through the day. As New Yorkers, we learn which blocks to walk, which train cars to avoid and how to ignore some very disturbing things as a regular matter of course. Success and at the very least, daily survival seems predicated on that.
Except for the first Sunday in November. On that day, New York forgets itself entirely and puts on a show. It is as if, for that one day, everyone in the city is part of November Project.
Millions of spectators throng the marathon route, some staking out spots with folding chairs the night before. Strangers become neighbors when they show up in front of their building to cheer together.
Neighbors become friends over huge barbecues and block parties. I once watched an entire group of people buy out the local supermarket’s supply of bananas to hand out to runners; none of them knew each other before that morning. From the youngest kids in Bay Ridge, passing out leftover Halloween candy, to the proud, smartly dressed grandmothers coming straight from church in Harlem, the city is committed to a common purpose:
Making sure 52,000 people get from Staten Island to Central Park with the maximum amount of support possible.
There is nothing else in the world like it and it will change you. Running through the five boroughs on Marathon Sunday is like taking part in the world’s longest NP cheer tunnel. While we will officially be at Mile 14, we (and the entire city) will be with you the whole way. So when the going gets tough during the race, look around at any runner or spectator and ask:
Y’all good?
You already know their answer.
Marathon Week Festivities
Mon. Oct. 30: 6:28am / Yoga in Morningside Park, Harlem
Wed. Nov. 1: 5:28am / 6:28am Blue Line Workout in Carl Schurz Park
6:28am / Mile 8 Workout in Fort Greene Park
7:00pm / Recruitment Run, Times Square
Fri. Nov. 3: 6:28am / Marathon Friday, Bethesda Terrace, Central Park
5:30pm / Poster Party + Happy Hour, Midtown East
Sun. Nov.5: 8:00am / Mile 14 Cheer Zone, Long Island City
3:00pm / Finishers Celebration, Characters Bar, Times Square
Mon. Nov. 6: 6:28am / Medal Monday, Bryant Park, Midtown East
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