NNew York is a city built on detours. Even the simplest journey can quickly turn into a lengthy, often painful expedition, whether it’s an unexpected road closure, an unreliable subway, or a taxi driver’s unorthodox navigation.
The city marathon is no exception.
When the sun rises on Sunday, more than 50,000 runners will descend on Staten Island with their sights set on reaching Central Park. While the most direct route to the finish would cover just over 26 miles, a 26.2 mile journey through the city’s five boroughs, over five bridges and a host of rolling hills lie ahead for the runners.
The New York Marathon is broadly considered the heaviest world most important for a reason.
Ethiopia’s Tamirat Tola and Kenya’s Hellen Obiri, who each won a year ago, are back to defend their titles. They will face stiff competition: other previous winners returning to contention include Evans Chebet, Albert Korir and Geoffrey Kamworor in the men’s; and Sharon Lokedi and Edna Kiplagat among the women.
A A string of American hopefuls are also in the mix, with Olympians Conner Mantz, Clayton Young and Dakotah Popehn back from Paris; CJ Albertson competed just a few weeks after one strong performance in Chicago; and 2018 Boston Marathon winner Des Linden return for the fifth time.
But the peloton of the largest marathon in the world is as wide as it is deep. The former champions and Olympians completing this course will also lead a legion of runners – including first-timers, fundraisers and octogenarian veterans – on this complicated tour.
The Guardian spoke to four athletes as they prepared for Sunday’s race.
MAs the elite group climbs the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge and the highest point of the course, Linden allows herself a brief look to the left. “I always take a moment to enjoy the view into the city,” she said. “It’s just spectacular.”
As you walk through each neighborhood and experience each unique community, “the roads are closed so you can be downtown, have a parade and tour the city,” says Linden, a two-time Olympian.
The bridges are steep, but the chance to run across them – and enjoy the view – is “pretty special,” she adds. New York “is the center of the universe, especially during marathon weekend.”
Linden, 41, represented Team USA at the London 2012 and Rio 2016 Olympic Games. She has run Boston 11 times and New York four times. This time the goal is a “same day finish,” she says with a grin.
The big favorites, including some of the dominant artists in Paris this summer, may be “a little too rich for me at this point in my career,” she admits. “I still enjoy racing, but I don’t necessarily have anything to prove at the moment.”
But you never know how the race will unfold. “Anything can happen,” says Linden. “We’ll see how it turns out.”
Connie Brown, 80, has run this race more than any other woman: 44 times. She trained for months for the 45th.
She remembers the first time she ended up in tears, as her hope that she could do it gave way to the realization she had. She remembers the live bands, funny signs and kind words that have helped her get to Central Park so many times since.
And she remembers celebrating the early years by dancing the night away, including a post-race party at a Broadway nightclub.
Brown has led New York through heat waves and rainstorms, under sunshine and lightning – the latter more likely to strike a building than a person, she told herself as it burst overhead – and past crowds of cheering spectators.
Days before she was scheduled to take off for this weekend’s race, personal circumstances forced Brown to stay home. in Sarasota, Florida. She still plans to run a marathon on Sunday, hitting the road around 3 a.m. to beat the heat.
At this stage, the pursuit is “part of who I think I am,” she says. “I’m the person who runs at least one marathon a year.”
Running has “given me self-confidence” over the decades, Brown says. “Anything you feel like doing – setting a goal, making a plan, executing it – you can do. If you can do this, you can do anything.”
Thousands of runners travel around the world to compete against New York. Nate Kahaiali’i, 33, has flown nearly 5,000 miles from Hawaii.
When the teacher and his neighbors were evacuated when wildfires ravaged Maui last summer, he thought he would return soon enough. Kahaiali’i picked up a few bits and pieces, not realizing that what he chose would become all he had left of his home.
Like so many others, he lost his home.
Among the small collection he rescued was his trusty pair of bright orange Nike Vaporfly running shoes. For him, they have become “in a way symbolic” of his hometown Lahainā.
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For me, wearing it, as he will on Sunday, is “a way to honor the community, but also to represent it,” says Kahaiali’i, who has raised nearly $7,000 (and to count) for the reconstruction by selling T-shirts with the words “Lāhainā Strong”.
“The main hope – whether they buy the shirt or not – is to keep Maui in people’s minds,” he says. “It’s been a year, but there is still a lot of work for many families here in Lāhainā.”
Kahaiali’i, who teaches health, also hopes his marathons will inspire his students, who call him Mr. K. “Every time I come back they say, ‘Did you win? Did you win?’” he says. “I’m like, ‘No, I’m not That quickly’.”
He plans to wear his Vaporflys at all six major marathons in the world. With four to go, “they’re still in pretty good shape.”
Concepcion Gonzalez, 65, had not run a “mile” before this summer. She is about to run her first marathon.
Gonzalez – who has lived in New York for more than thirty years – has been in the stands cheering on her daughter Teresita and son Luis for years.
She watched as hundreds of people, of all levels and walks of life, crossed the finish line. “I saw people who looked like me, and one day I thought I could do it.”
Gonzalez is under no illusions that it will be easy. “Everyone goes through tough times,” she says. “People fall. They can get up. I too can start this journey.”
For many who tackle it, this course is less a race than a feat of resilience; more a test of perseverance than pace. But she is prepared.
Gonzalez, who will run alongside Teresita, 29, and Luis, 32, on Sunday, is excited to see her city from a new angle. “I feel proud because I’m from New York City,” she says, “because I can represent New York City.”
bRown, who first ran New York in 1978, has plenty of advice for beginners. First things first: “Don’t eat anything you haven’t eaten before” the night before. Don’t worry too much about getting a good night’s sleep either. And if one of your knees starts to become unreliable, “think about your other knee.”
Linden recommends treating the first two kilometers—a steep uphill climb on the Verrazzano, a sharp downhill descent—as a warm-up, and not worrying too much about pace. “Really, it’s great,” she says, “because New York is just a 24-mile marathon when you take those two out.”
Conversely, once you reach Manhattan in the second half, try not to push too hard. The crowd is “just excited,” Linden says, “and you’re going to feel like I have to win because they’re going so crazy.” But you still have a long way to go.”
Just enjoy it, Brown adds. “Don’t miss things,” she says. “Don’t be so into yourself and focused on your running that you don’t see the neighborhoods, that you don’t see the people that are there.”
Some people run New York to show it to the world. Others are out to show themselves.
As marathon times for the elite keep getting faster, those at the very front are running against the clock. But the majority of runners get through it the five districts are active for something.
For some, this marathon comes down to a grueling physical test. Others will face the mental challenges that arise when your body is pushed to its limits. Many, if not most, will be forced to struggle with both.
Regardless of the journey that led them here; whether it’s the first time, or the 45th; whether they are a few thousand kilometers or a stone’s throw from home; some 50,000 people will gather in the early hours of Sunday for the same basic purpose.
Central Park awaits.