The Race Goes On This Sunday
The damage left behind by the “perfect storm” once known as Hurricane Sandy won’t stop New York’s ultimate test of endurance this Sunday, Nov. 4, as thousands of runners from all over the world will take to the streets of Long Island City, Greenpoint and other neighborhoods in the five boroughs for the ING New York City Marathon.
Over 47,000 people are expected to take part in the 43rd edition of the five-borough, 26.2-mile race organized by the New York Road Runners Club, which begins at the toll plaza of the Verrazano Narrows Bridge on Staten Island and concludes in Central Park in Manhattan.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced on Wednesday, Oct. 31, that the race will be run as scheduled this Sunday.
“We may ask the Road Runners to at some point later in the evening on Sunday when some stragglers … at eight or nine o’clock at night, put a limit to how late that is, just because” of limited resources, the mayor said. “I think some people said you shouldn’t run the marathon. There’s an awful lot of small businesses that depend on these people, we have to have an economy. There are lots of people that have come here. It’s a great event for New York, and I think for those who were lost, you know, you’ve got to believe they would want us to have an economy and have a city go on for those that they left behind.”
Some of the world’s elite marathon runners will be seeking cash prizes and world records, but all of the participants will be looking for the satisfaction of conquering a test of will and stamina. Cheering them on along the way will be hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers expected to line the race route this Sunday.
The marathon begins at 8:30 a.m. with the start of the men’s wheelchair race, followed five minutes later by the beginning of the women’s wheelchair marathon. At 8:45 a.m, runners in the Foot Locker Five Borough Challenge will begin their journey, and the Achilles Handcycle and ambulatory athletes will be sent on their way at 8:55 a.m.
Professional female marathoners will take their mark and run at 9:10 a.m., followed by the professional men at 9:45 a.m. At that same time, the first wave of all other participants in the marathon will get going. The thousands of other marathoners will be sent along in three other wave starts at 10:05 a.m., 10:30 a.m. and 10:55 a.m., respectively.
After crossing the Verrazano Bridge, the runners will make their way from southern Brooklyn to Greenpoint, passing through the neighborhoods of Bay Ridge, Sunset Park, Park Slope, Carroll Gardens, Clinton Hill and Williamsburg.
From there, the marathoners will continue through Greenpoint along Bedford Avenue between South Third Street and Manhattan Avenue, then along Manhattan Avenue to Greenpoint Avenue. The race will turn east on Greenpoint Avenue, then turn north onto McGuinness Boulevard to the Pulaski Bridge.
Runners will then cross the Pulaski
Bridge—the halfway point of the marathon—and enter Long Island City.
The course through that neighborhood is scheduled to cover the following streets:
• 11th Street between the Pulaski Bridge and 48th Avenue;
• 48th Avenue between 11th Street and Vernon Boulevard;
• Vernon Boulevard between 48th Avenue and 10th Street;
• 10th Street between Vernon Boulevard and 44th Drive;
• 44th Drive between 10th and Crescent streets; and
• Crescent Street between 44th Drive and Queens Plaza South.
Upon exiting Crescent Street, the marathoner will then turn west onto the Queensboro Bridge and continue their journey through Manhattan and the Bronx, then back into Manhattan again for the finish line.
Drivers are advised to avoid parking on roads along the marathon route on Sunday morning; any vehicles found parked on these streets during the race can and will be towed away.
For more information, visit www.nycmarathon.org.
As a general reminder, daylight savings time concludes at 2 a.m. Sunday. Remember to set your clocks and watches back one hour.
