39,000 runners from more than 100 countries and all 50 states are expected to participate in this year's 39th running of the ING New York City Marathon. This famous race will feature many of running's premier athletes including Olympian Kara Goucher who will make her marathon debut after representing the USA in the 5,000 and 10,000-meter events in Beijing. The ING New York City Marathon offers a prize purse of more than $700,000 with the men's and women's open division champions taking home $130,000 each.
New in 2008, there will be three wave starts to alleviate congestion on the course and enhance the overall race experience for runners. The Professional Women's field will start at 9:10am while the Professional Men will head the Wave 1 start at 9:40am.
The ING NYC Marathon will be the last event in the World Marathon Majors Series which kicked off in April with the running of the Boston Marathon and also includes Flora London, real,- BERLIN and Bank of America Chicago. The series showcases the sport's top athletes and awards a prize purse of $1 million to be divided between the male and female point leaders at the end of the series (determined by finishing times at each of the five races).
The ING New York City Marathon will officially begin at 7:30am with the Early Start for Athletes with Disabilities, followed by the 8:35am start for the Wheelchair Division and the 8:55am start for the Handcycle Division.
Paralympic gold medalists and defending wheelchair champions Kurt Fearnley of Australia and Edith Hunkeler of Switzerland will return to headline a loaded Wheelchair Division that is expected to include all of the past ING New York City Marathon male and female winners since the first official race in 2000. The wheelchair division prize money purse totals $40,000 plus time bonuses, with the male and female winners taking home $7,500 apiece.
An estimated two million spectators will watch the event from the streets of New York City, while a worldwide audience of over 315 million is expected to watch the televised broadcast.
The first marathon was held in 1970 with only a few hundred runners participating in the 26.2-mile competition in Central Park. Slowly expanding in size and scope, the 1976 marathon saw 2,090 racers complete a race that encompassed all five boroughs. Runners now enjoy a scenic course that stretches across the Verrazano Bridge from Staten Island to Brooklyn, north through Queens and the Bronx, and concludes in Manhattan for a spectacular finish in Central Park.
Course
The course covers all five boroughs of the City of New York. It begins on Staten Island near the approach to the Verrazano Narrows Bridge. The bridge, which normally carries only vehicular traffic, is closed for the event. In the opening minutes of the race, the bridge is filled with runners, creating a dramatic spectacle that is closely associated with the event.
After descending the bridge, the course winds through Brooklyn for approximately the next twelve miles. Runners pass through an enormous variety of neighborhoods, including: Bay Ridge, Sunset Park, Bedford-Stuyvesant, Williamsburg, and Greenpoint. At 13.1 miles, runners cross the Pulaski Bridge, marking the halfway point of the race and the entrance into Queens. After about two and a half miles in Queens, runners cross the East River on the dreaded Queensboro Bridge into Manhattan. It is at this point in the race when many runners begin to tire, as the climb up the bridge is considered one of the most difficult points in the marathon.
Finally reaching Manhattan after about 16 miles, the race proceeds north on First Avenue, then crosses briefly into the Bronx for a mile before returning to Manhattan. It then proceeds south through Harlem down Fifth Avenue and into Central Park. At the southern end of the park, the race proceeds across Central Park South, where thousands of spectators cheer runners on during the last mile. At Columbus Circle, the race re-enters the park and finishes outside Tavern on the Green. The time limit for this course is eight and half hours from the 10:10 a.m. start.
2008 Volunteer Opportunities
For medical volunteer opportunities, contact: nysportsmd@aol.com.
To serve as a guide for an athlete with disabilities, contact: info@achillestrackclub.org.
If you have any questions contact the NYRR Volunteer Office at 212.423.2205 or volunteers@nyrr.org.
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Interactive Bronx map
