New York City Marathon
New York Marathon
The first New York City marathon was held in 1970. Only 127 runners participated with 55 actually finishing the race. It was held by participants running around Central Park’s Park Drive. In 1976 the course was redrawn to include all five boroughs of the city. Only two years later the women’s world record was broken at the New York City marathon by Grete Waitz. Much later in the year 2000 a wheelchair and handcycle division was introduced. Then in 2002 a 35 minute head start was introduced for the elite women’s division with the elite men following and then the rest of the participants. The New York marathon has become one of the largest in the United States, along with Boston and Chicago. Each year nearly two million spectators come to watch the event in person while NBC broadcasts the event live to more than 315 million viewers worldwide. This is where the other half of the Rosie Ruiz scandal also took place. It is reported that this female winner of the Boston marathon, who soon after was stripped of her title, rode the subway during the New York marathon to gain a qualifying time for the Boston. Since this time many race organizers have done their best to implement measures to prevent racers from cheating. The most common are electronic chips that record a person’s presence at certain points in the race. Spotters also help, looking to see if particular people check in and if a person was seen at aid stations. Another is video of the event, which can be incredibly helpful as it proved in the Ruiz scandal. It was found at the Boston event that there was no video evidence or recollection of her crossing at any aid stations. Luckily there are better measures to prevent such problems with aid of modern technology.
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New York Half Marathon
There are a few different races reported to be half marathons in New York City. One is held by the New York Road Runners and sponsored by Nike. The one sponsored by Nike has a route that starts near the Central park area and hits a few well recognized landmarks to its finish at Battery Park. The half marathon is not as well known because it is considered a more accessible and less prestigious event. But with a route that travels to Times Square and along the waterfront of the Hudson River any participant would be glad they took the time for this smaller event. Another half marathon is the Brooklyn half marathon.
New York Marathon Logo
The New York marathon is sponsored by ING and shares part of its logo with them. The lion logo is instantly recognizable to those who are familiar with the company. There are many pieces of athletic clothing and equipment available through the Web site. Each are geared toward a specific demographic. Whether it’s the athletes, kids or just the normal fan the store has it all.
