Fans Cheer as Over 51,000 Runners Pound Pavement in World’s Largest Marathon

Stride by stride, for 26 miles and 385 yards, more than 51,000 athletes from around the world traversed the five boroughs in the TCS New York City Marathon Nov. 5. Conditions were nearly ideal for the event’s 52nd running, with sunny skies, temperatures in the 50s, and little significant wind. Spectators too appreciated the autumn weather, with the streets of Manhattan lined with cheering from mid-morning well until the early afternoon.

In the elite women’s race, which began at 8:40 AM, Hellen Obiri, 33, of Kenya with an explosive kick over the final 400 yards, was the victor in the relatively slow, tactically determined time of 2:27:23—the slowest winning woman’s time since 2010.

By contrast, the elite men’s race, which began at 9:05 AM, was blazing fast with Tamirat Tola, 32, of Ethiopia setting a new course record of 2:04:58, breaking the former standard of 2:05:06, set by Geoffrey Mutai in 2011.

Preceding these results, the women’s and men’s wheelchair race also saw new course records set by Catherine Debrunner, 37, and Marcel Huig, 28, both of Switzerland.

The race began on the Verrazano Bridge, descended into Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, and after thirteen, mostly flat miles, exited the borough from Greenpoint. Crossing the Pulaski Bridge to Long Island City, Queens, the course zig-zagged to the 59th Street Bridge, a 1.5 mile-long span that challenged many with both its lung busting climb and its quadriceps straining descent before the adrenalin rush when runners encounter the cheering crowds that line 1st Avenue. The lift from the crowd is needed because by the then, the runners had covered more than 16 miles.

Reflecting the tensions of the day, police were omnipresent, including some heavily-armed members of the NYPD Strategic Response Group, while a disc jockey played classic soul and rock music, spectators cheered the steady flow of wheelchair racers with their bicycle riding course escorts.

While awaiting the arrival of the elite women—whose general progress could be seen on a nearby big screen showing the official race broadcast—residents of a nearby building draped a combined Israel-United States flag over their balcony, as well as a cardboard sign reading, “Stand With Israel!!” With a television boom camera set up across the street, their message was certain to get airtime. Other than this gesture, attentions here were focused on running not politics.

After crossing into the Bronx over the Willis Avenue Bridge and winding their way to East 138th Street, the racers came back to Manhattan over the Madison Avenue Bridge and turned down 5th Avenue. What followed was one of the course’s most scenic sections through the historic Mount Morris section of Harlem, including a half loop around Marcus Garvey Park and the massive schist outcropping on its southern border.

Seen around the park’s perimeter were the pride flag festooned cheering section for Front Runners New York, a LGBTQ+ running club, and a sizable number of Japanese spectators, including one woman amplifying her voice—“Go! Go! Go!”—with a small megaphone, and another acting as color guard waving large flag of Japan. Nearby, a trio of powerful conga players—one woman and two men—set the tone for the race’s turn back down 5th Avenue though East Harlem.

Here the mood was both celebratory and akin to a summer street fair, as various local community service groups and street vendors comingled with race watchers, local residents, and the large number of race personnel staffing the numerous food, drink and medical stations. Aside from two persons bearing a Palestinian flag and a homemade sign reading “Defund Israel,” the crowds’ attention appeared focused on itself and the runners.

At the northeast corner of 5th Avenue and 110th Street, a brass band performed under the iconic Duke Ellington statue. On the opposite corner—also known as Tito Puente Way—a DJ played Latin music just outside the Africa Center museum. Together, these sounds set a rousing signal for the runners’ looming, two-miles long battle with the rolling hills of Central Park before the finish line on West Drive, near 67th Street and Tavern on the Green.

At 5th Avenue and 92nd Street, across from the Jewish Museum and two blocks from where the race turns into the Park, the scene, while quieter than it had been in Harlem, was still electric, especially as the elite racers approached.

In the women’s race, a group of five, having shaken off the field’s prior lethargy at around the 21 miles mark, further increased their pace inside the Park and, with one mile to go, only three remained. Although the graceful Letesbet Gidey, 30, of Ethiopia, appeared the most comfortable of the trio, with just over 400 meters to go, Hellen Obiri, her arms pumping furiously, unleashed an explosive kick that saw her break the tape six seconds clear of Gidey. Four seconds back, Sharon Lokedi, 32, of Kenya placed third. All three podium finishers shared a rounded pace of 5:38 per mile.

Alosha Southern, 28 of Brooklyn—a former cross country runner at Grinnell College in Iowa— was the first New York City women’s finisher in 2:48:17, placing 23rd among the women.

“Sometimes when you come into a race, you say ‘anything can happen,’” Obiri explained afterwards. “But for me, I train so well, so when I came to this race, I said, ‘I’m strong, I believe in what I’ve done in my training.’”

In the men’s race, Tamirat Tola was magisterial. Having broken away from a small group in the Bronx, the Ethiopian didn’t falter. Tola’s winning pace was an awe-inspiring 4:46 per mile. Nearly two minutes behind, Albert Korir, 29, of Kenya, finished second, with Shura Kitata, 27, of Ethiopia, placing third.

Scott Nelson, 27, was the first New Yorker to finish in an age appropriate 27th place.

“The people of New York are amazing to give me moral support every kilometer. Thank you to all the people,” a jubilant Tola said. “It was a few long kilometers to run alone, but I work hard in training, so I’m happy.”