‘New York City Marathon will unite us’

“At the end of a marathon, it's going to hurt whether you're speeding up or slowing down. You may as well push.”
--Summer Sanders

By Alex P. Vidal

NEW YORK CITY -- Having covered the New York City Marathon for three consecutive years now, I believe New York City (NYC) Parks Commissioner Mitchell Silver when he declared recently that the “2018 New York City Marathon will unite us all.”
Despite the recent news about incidents of terrorism that threatened to strike fear in the hearts of outdoor sports fans, race organizers are confident fans will go out to cheer and watch the marathon which has been blessed with a good weather on Sunday.

All eyes will be on Silver, 58, who will be running his first-ever New York City Marathon this Sunday.
Silver said: “On and off for most of my life. I ran in elementary school, high school and college. We called it middle distance, not sprinting but fast running. About a year ago, I was at the marathon and I decided this was it.”
He added: “One of the reasons I started running again, besides my health, is that my brother, Sam, who was a runner, passed away very tragically about 10 years ago. When I started running, not only did it have health benefits but it was my way of dealing with his passing. We ran together in Prospect Park, so when I am there I definitely feel connected to his spirit.”

DEDICATE

“I’m dedicating this marathon to him. We ran, it was our way of bonding. We ran from our house in Flatbush all the way to Riis Beach. We were hard core. We beat the 41 Bus.”
Some 50,000 runners will line up in Staten Island to begin the 26.2-mile journey through Brooklyn and into Manhattan’s Central Park on Sunday, November 4.
The most prestigious race in the world attracts some of the world’s best runners every year, although the everyday athletes in the crowd are also pretty amazing.
The 2018 edition should be packed with excitement, organizers has predicted.
Reigning women champion and American pride, Shalane Flanagan, returns to defend her title against a stacked field that includes top fellow Americans Desiree Linden, Molly Huddle, and Allie Kieffer, plus Mary Keitany of Kenya, who holds the women-only world record.

RUNNERS

The men’s field features last year’s winner, Geoffrey Kamworor, two-time Boston champ Lelisa Desisa, and five-time Olympic middle-distance runner Bernard Lagat, who will be making his marathon debut.
If we’re not in New York City on race day to watch in person, we can still tune in on our computer or smartphone. Here’s what we need to know.
Live race coverage runs from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. EST. Pre-race coverage starts at 7:00 a.m. The wheelchair division starts at 8:30, followed by hand cyclists and other athletes with disabilities at 8:52. Professional women runners start at 9:20, followed by the first wave (including professional male runners) at 9:50. The following three waves start at 10:15, 10:40, and 11:00.
In the New York tristate area, we can watch the race live on WABC-TV Channel 7 starting at 9:00 a.m. Free livestreaming, including pre-race coverage, is available on the ABC app and ABC7NY.com starting at 7:00 a.m.
We can watch live coverage on ESPN2 across the United States. ESPN subscribers can also follow along on the ESPN app or website. ESPN3 is airing a live feed of the finish line from 9:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., with pre-race and continuing coverage starting at 7:00 a.m.
The first New York City Marathon was held 48 years ago in 1970, organized by New York Road Runners presidents Fred Lebow and Vincent Chiappetta, with 127 competitors running several loops around the Park Drive of Central Park.
Only about 100 spectators watched Gary Muhrcke win the race in 2:31:38.