New York is a city built on detours. Even the simplest journey can quickly turn into a long, often painful expedition, whether it’s an unexpected road closure, an unreliable subway system, 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 the goal of reaching Central Park. While the most direct route to the finish would be just over 26 miles, a 26.2-mile journey through the five boroughs, over five bridges, and a host of rolling hills awaits the runners.
The New York Marathon is widely considered the world’s toughest for good reason.
Ethiopia’s Tamirat Tola and Kenya’s Hellen Obiri, who both won a year ago, are back to defend their titles. They face stiff competition: other previous winners returning to the fray include Evans Chebet, Albert Korir and Geoffrey Kamworor in the men’s race; and Sharon Lokedi and Edna Kiplagat in the women’s race.
A host of American contenders are also in the running, with Olympians Conner Mantz, Clayton Young and Dakotah Popehn back from Paris; CJ Albertson competing just a few weeks after a strong performance in Chicago; and 2018 Boston Marathon winner Des Linden returning for the fifth time.
But the pack for the world’s biggest marathon is as broad as it is deep. The former champions and Olympians completing the course will also lead a legion of runners – including novices, fundraisers and octogenarian veterans – on this intricate tour.
The Guardian spoke to four athletes as they prepared for Sunday’s race.
As the elite group climbs the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge and the highest point of the course, Linden allows herself a quick glance to the left. “I always take a moment to enjoy the view of 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’s run Boston 11 times and New York four times. This time, the goal is to “finish on the same day,” she says with a grin.
The big favorites, including some of the dominant performers 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 right now.”
But you never know how the race will unfold. “Anything can happen,” Linden says. “We’ll see how it goes.”
Connie Brown, 80, has run this race more times than any other woman: 44 times. She trained for months for the 45th.
She remembers the first time she burst into tears, as her hope that she could do it gave way to the realization that she had it. 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 run New York through heat waves and rainstorms, sunshine and lightning—the latter more likely to strike a building than a person, she told herself as it cracked above her head—and past crowds of cheering spectators.
A few days before she was scheduled to leave this weekend, 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 point, the chase 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 confidence” over the decades, Brown says. “Anything you put your mind to—setting a goal, making a plan, doing it—you can do. If you can do this, you can do anything.”
Thousands of runners travel the world to compete in New York. Nate Kahaiali’i, 33, flew nearly 5,000 miles from Hawaii.
When the teacher and his neighbors were evacuated when wildfires ravaged Maui last summer, he thought he would be back soon enough. Kahaiali’i picked up a few belongings, not realizing that what he picked would become all he had left of his home.
Like so many others, he lost his home.
Among the small collection he saved was his trusty pair of bright orange Nike Vaporfly running shoes. For him, they have become “symbolic in a way” of his hometown of Lahainā.
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For me, wearing them, as he will Sunday, is “a way to honor the community, but also to represent it,” says Kahaiali‘i, who has raised nearly $7,000 (and counting) for the rebuilding effort by selling T-shirts emblazoned with the words “Lāhainā Strong.”
“The main hope—whether they buy the shirt or not—is to keep Maui on people’s minds,” he says. “It’s been a year, but there’s still a lot of work to be done for a lot of 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’re like, ‘Did you win? Did you win?’” he says. “I’m like, ‘No, I’m not that fast.’”
He plans to wear his Vaporflys to all six major marathons around the world. With four to go, “they’re still in pretty good shape.”
Concepcion Gonzalez, 65, hadn’t run a “mile” until this summer. She’s about to run her first marathon.
Gonzalez, who has lived in New York for more than 30 years, has spent years in the stands cheering on her daughter, Teresita, and son, Luis.
She’s watched hundreds of people, from all levels and walks of life, cross the finish line. “I saw people who looked like me, and one day I thought, ‘I can do it.’”
Gonzalez has no illusions that it will be easy. “Everyone goes through hard times,” she says. “People fall. They can get up. I can start this journey, too.”
For many who dare, this course is less a race than a test of resilience; more a test of perseverance than pace. But she’s prepared.
Gonzalez, who will be running with Teresita, 29, and Luis, 32, on Sunday, is excited to see her city from a new perspective. “I’m proud to be from New York City,” she says, “to be able to represent New York City.”
brown, who first ran in 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. Also, don’t worry too much about getting a good night’s sleep. And if one of your knees starts to act up, “think about the other knee.”
Linden recommends treating the first mile or two—a steep uphill climb on the Verrazzano, a sharp downhill run—as a warm-up and not worrying too much about pacing. “It’s really great,” she says, “because New York is a 24-mile marathon once you take those two out of it.”
On the other hand, when you reach Manhattan in the second half, don’t push too hard. The crowd is “just excited,” says Linden, “and you’re going to feel like I have to win because they’re being so crazy.” But you still have a long way to go.”
Just enjoy it, Brown adds. “Don’t miss anything,” she says. “Don’t be so wrapped up in yourself and focused on your running that you don’t see the neighborhoods, that you don’t see the people who are there.”
Some people run through New York to show the world. Others want to show themselves.
As marathon times for the elite get faster, those at the very front are racing against the clock. But the majority of runners make it through, the five boroughs are active for something.
For some, this marathon will be a grueling physical test. Others will face the mental challenges that come with pushing your body to its limits. Many, if not most, will have to grapple with both.
No matter the journey that brought them here; whether it’s their first time or their 45th; whether they’re a few thousand miles from home or a stone’s throw away; some 50,000 people will be here in the early hours of Sunday gathering for the same basic goal.