The Marathon is coming this weekend, and there's a lot going on. There will be roads closed, there will be subway delays, and there will be more than 50,000 runners putting themselves through the task of running 26.2 miles around New York City.
Why do they do it?
We can only venture guesses about why people would put themselves through the gruesome, grueling task of running 26.2 miles all throughout the five boroughs.
Most of us would never even walk this far, let alone run it.
So we take our hats off to tens of thousands of runners who will put themselves through the physically taxing and ultimately rewarding task of running this giant, momentous marathon.
The roads will be closed, the city will be packed, and getting anywhere on Sunday will be quite a task. Getting anywhere on Sunday will be more difficult than trying to walk on the sidewalk in Times Square at rush hour, and that's saying something.
Read on to find out everything else you'll need to know about Sunday's marathon.
1. The first American marathon took place in the original Madison Square Garden
melissa.chisholm Good Luck to everyone running the #nycmarathon this weekend!!! #Throwback to that time I ran the #nycmarathon2013 3:56:01 #asics #neon #fitness #runningforlife #hotpinkeverything
When asked about the concept of a "marathon," most people will recite an ancient Greek myth. Others with a more historical background might cite the British Royal Family for whom the 1908 Olympic marathon stretched to its current length.
Not a whole lot of people know, however, that NYC is responsible for the contemporary concept of a marathon where a whole bunch of people show up and cheer all along the course. On November 25th, 1908, Dorando Pietri and Johnny Hayes raced a marathon indoors at the old Madison Square Garden.
They'd both recently competed at the London Olympics where people cheered at the finish line, not along the course, and decided to engage in a fierce rematch across the Atlantic Ocean. Their race was 262 laps, and the race was a sellout.
[anad]
Pietri won the race by forty-three seconds, and the race was so wild that the Times reported that a riot was "narrowly averted."
Before this race at Madison Square Garden, no one had really cared about marathons. After word spread quickly about a debacle at the 1908 Olympics, though, the commercial opportunity could not be missed.
Pietri travelled to Madison Square Garden, and the two athletes split the commission on ticket sales. After that night, "marathon mania," took hold, and the trend quickly spread across America and to Canada and Europe.
For the next two years, races between long-distance runners sold out in New York, London, Berlin, and Montreal.
[via The New Yorker]
2. NYC created the marathon as we know it today
circuitoasics Queda 1 sólo dia para que nuestra representante panameña @alicia122816 se vaya a la #nycmarathon #tcsnycmarathon gracias a @delta y por supuesto a @asics 👏🏻
That wave of marathon mania drowned out eventually, but it was reignited with Frank Shorter's victory at the 1972 Munich Olympics and a recently developed nationwide infatuation with jogging.
Until 1976, the marathon as we know it today, with thousands of participants, headed by professionals and ran citywide, did not exist.
Of course, the Boston Marathon had been running every year since 1897, but it was strictly for serious runners. The 1976 New York City Marathon set the precedent for the future of marathons everywhere.
At the first New York City Marathon in 1970, there were only 127 competitors, and the course took a four-lap four of Central Park. Fred Lebow, the marathon's co-founder, paid for safety pins and soft drinks from his own money. There were less than 100 spectators that first year.
[anad2]
Throughout the next six years, the marathon gained popularity. A civil servant named George Spitz suggested to Lebow that the marathon course should stretch throughout all five boroughs rather than just Central Park.
Lebow agreed, and coaxed favors from officials throughout the city to create the course.
Today's course has been more or less the same ever since. Since that race in 1976, more than a million runners have competed in the New York City marathon. The race now generates $340 million in revenue to the city every year.
[via The New Yorker]
,3. There will be street a lot street closures
fitletic We are soooo excited to be in NY! We can't wait to meet all of you at the expo today! Stop by and check out our new HYDRALOCK - the waterproof armband and many of our hydration options! #NYCMARATHON #fitletic
Now that we've shared with you the tales of how the modern concept of the marathon was essentially born in this city, let's talk about how the city will be affected by the flocks of people streaming into the city this weekend.
According to the Department of Transportation, there will be a lot of streets closed from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday. Hint, there are a lot of them. Like, a lot. So if you were driving, maybe just don't. Or at least, don't try to take the roads that are closed, because it definitely won't work.
The highest volume of street closures for Sunday are in Brooklyn, but of course there are also plenty in Manhattan, the Bronx, and Queens. There are only two streets closed on Staten Island, which is great for Staten Island.
[anad]
Click here to see the full list of streets that will be closed due to the marathon on Sunday.
As for the subway, it will be operating on a normal Sunday schedule, though there will be planned service changes on the 1, A, and C trains.
The MTA was also kind enough to compile a handy list of the best places to watch the marathon, and the subway stops at which you should exit in order to have the best views of the race.
To view this kind and handy map, click here.
4. There are a lot of celebrities running
firstrun #tbt coming down off the Williamsburg bridge in the final mile of the 2012 "Official Unofficial Unsanctioned Half Marathon" we put together with @bridgerunners and @orchardstreetrunners after the powers that be rightly or wrongly cancelled the NYC Marathon that year in the wake of devastation left by Hurricane Sandy. In addition to running wild on the bridges and back alleys of lower Manhattan we organized a food drive as a small way of helping those affected by the storm and even though a lot of things fell apart in those days, the community and the culture came together to create some new ways forward. Foto by yung @fredgoris ("that was like 3-4 iPhones ago, bro"). #runningculture #nycmarathon #marathonmadness #feels
As you may have expected, a lot of celebrities will be running in the marathon, many of whom are doing so for extremely notable causes.
Alicia Keys will be running in the NYC marathon to raise money for Keep a Child Alive. It's a nonprofit she co-founded, and it helps deliver HIV medication to African families in need.
Former professional tennis player James Blake will be running in the marathon to raise money for the James Blake Foundation, which helps fight cancer. Tiki Barber will also be running for his second year in a row, for the PitCChin Foundation.
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Ethan Hawke will be running in the race to raise money for The Doe Fund, which aims to develop programs that meet the needs of a diverse population dedicated toward breaking cycles of homelessness, addiction, and criminal recidivism.
Katrina Bowden (from 30 Rock) is running for her second straight year to benefit the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's Team in Training.
[via Running.competitor]
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[Feature Image Courtesy Run Karla Run]