The ING New York Marathon
Information on the Race, Registration, Expo, and Celebrity Runners
The ING New York Marathon was started in 1970 by the New York Road Runners club, with fewer than 125 participants paying a registration fee of $1. Forty years later, registration has grown to more than 37,000 runners, including elite athletes and charity fundraising team members.
Registration and Pre-Race Information for the New York Marathon
The New York Marathon has so many applicants for entry (more than 100,000) that runners are chosen by lottery. Lottery applications are accepted each year for U.S.-based and non-U.S.-based athletes, with a processing fee of $11. The New York Road Runners organization holds the lottery drawing in early June and runners are notified at that time. Entry can be guaranteed if the runner is participating in an approved charity program. Race fees (accurate as of 2009) are $138 for U.S. runners who are members of the New York Road Runners, $171 for U.S. runners who are not NYRR members, and $231 for Non-U.S. citizens.
The New York Marathon Health and Fitness Expo begins on the Thursday before race day and continues until Saturday. The expo, held at the Jacob Javits Convention Center, has had 100 exhibitors in recent years, showing and selling the latest in running shoes, gear, apparel, nutrition, and gadgets. A Marathon store is on site for runners wishing to purchase race souvenirs.
The Expo also serves as the packet pick-up location. Packets include the runner’s bib number, timing chip, and shirt.
On Saturday morning, a fun run is held for marathoners and friends. Saturday evening, New York Marathon participants can attend the pre-race pasta dinner at Tavern on the Green. Fireworks over the Marathon finish line provide a fabulous finish to the evening, before the marathon begins on Sunday morning.
Race Day at the New York Marathon
The ING New York Marathon has a 9:40 a.m. start time, with the race beginning in three “waves”. Subsequent waves of runners start at 10:00 a.m. and 10:20 a.m. This is new for 2009, designed to reduce the initial starting line congestion. The event course covers the marathon standard 26.2 miles, moving through the five New York boroughs: Staten Island, Brooklyn, Queens, The Bronx, and Manhattan. A complete course map can be downloaded.
Course records (current as of 2009) are 2:07:43 for the men, held by Tesfaye Jifar of Ethiopia and set in 2001, and 2:22:31, set in 2003 by Margaret Okayo of Kenya.
Celebrities Who Have Completed the New York Marathon
Lance Armstrong has completed the New York Marathon twice (2:59 in 2006), P. Diddy (4:15 in 2003) and Katie Holmes (5:30 in 2007) have run the event, and so has Mike Huckabee, who completed the 2006 marathon in 5:33. Ryan Reynolds, Bobby Flay, Natalie Morales, Tom Cavanaugh, Meredith Baxter, David Lee Roth are among others who have taken to the streets of New York (sources: New York Daily News and Universal Sports).
The 2009 ING New York Marathon, the 40th running of the event, will be held on Sunday, November 1st. With its four decades of history and the support of the New York Road Runners organization, the New York Marathon should be going strong for many years to come.
Verrazano Bridge During New York Marathon
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