People from all over the world will lace up their running shoes and pin on their racing bibs for the 44th running of the TCS New York City marathon on Sunday.
“I always say it is as close to an Olympic experience as a casual, everyday runner can experience,” Bart Yasso, the chief running officer of Runner’s World, told the Guardian.
More than 45,000 people are expected to compete on Sunday, up from the 55 people who finished in 1970, the marathon’s inaugural year. The race has occurred every year since then, except for 2012, when it was cancelled because of Superstorm Sandy.
Forecasters have projected a sunny but windy day for the run, which kicks off from Staten Island and continues through the city’s other four boroughs. “It’s the friendliest day in the city – and I visit New York City a lot,” said Yasso, who has run the race four times and attended it at least 30.
Mary Keitany, Edna Kiplagat and Jemima Sumgong are among the favorites in the women’s race, which is stacked with contenders for the top title, including last year’s winner Priscah Jeptoo and 2011 winner Firehiwot Dado. Runner’s World said the women’s race: “is one of the least predictable New York City marathons in a long while”.
On the men’s side, Geoffrey Mutai is going for his third consecutive win on Sunday. If the Kenyan runner can complete the threepeat, he would be the first person to do so since the legendary Alberto Salazar did so in the 1980s. Mutai and three other men in the race have completed a sub-2:05 marathon, including Mutai’s training partner Wilson Kipsang, a former world record holder.
The race will also be filled with runners carrying inspirational stories, like the blind runner Simon Wheatcroft who is running from Boston to New York in the days leading up to the marathon.
“That’s the beauty of running – people that have to overcome so much just to get to the starting line get to run the exact same course and race as the greatest runners in the world and that doesn’t happen in any other sport,” said Yasso. “We are very lucky.”
The night before the race, a marathon eve dinner is being held for 15,000 runners and their guests. The meal is set to include a multitude of carb-heavy items including: 9,000 cans of beer, 5,000 pounds of whole-wheat pasta and 2,000 pounds of “local farm-fresh” ricotta cheese.
This is the first year the race will be sponsored by Tata Consultancy Services – an IT services company largely unknown to most Americans. Race organizers New York Road Runners entered an eight-year deal with the consultancy company, which took over the title from the financial services company ING.
Lower down on the sponsorship list is Airbnb, which is one of the race’s major sponsors. The company has been embroiled in legal battles with New York state and this month, the state attorney general, Eric Schneiderman, released a report that said 72% of its listings are illegal.
