New York City Marathon



New York Marathon
What a delightful Sunday. I joined the throngs lining the sidewalk on 4th Avenue around Union Street in Brooklyn to watch the marathon as it came through the lower section of Park Slope. As I came up to the race, the women's lead pack had already passed, but there were several racers in wheelchairs, or on crutches or in leg braces coming along the street. The crowd let out thunderous whoops as each racer approached. It was marvelous. My eyes welled up with tears and I recognized the feeling as the same one I got out at Point Thank You on the West Side Highway after 9/11, where volunteers stood on the traffic island and cheered on the rescue workers/clean-up crews as they drove to and from the site for months afterward.

There were plenty of great things to witness on Sunday that just made you feel good about humanity. First, the runners, of course, doing this difficult thing. Then you had loads of people on the sidewalks cheering on strangers and cheering on friends. It was especially cool when a runner recognized friends in the crowd. Some stopped and hugged or posed for pictures. One guy, who was actually pretty much near the front, stopped and planted a kiss on a woman in the crowd and kept going. Everyone nearby saw and you could hear the giddy exchanges about the woman who got kissed.

Other runners ran close to the crowd with a hand-up seeking high-fives -- a special treat for the kids. OK, and for the grown-ups. There were people with shirts stating the cause they were running for, or that they were cancer survivors, Vietnam Vets, WWII vets, NYPD and NYFD. There was a couple holding a little towel so they could stay close to each other, and only when they passed could I see the shirt of the guy running immediately behind them -- "blind runners guide."

At times, standing on the curb was like standing at the edge of the ocean with your feet getting wet. Occasionally, the mash of runners got so thick, and so suddenly, the spectators were literally swooshed back like an incoming wave was unexpectedly smashing down.

Many runners wore crazy, crowd-pleasing costumes - silly hats, crinoline skirts, a Pinkachu costume and one guy was in full Storm Trooper regalia.

Some runners had "no mandate" stickers on. Others had the name of their country or city across their shirts -- which of course elicited excited screams along the way. One woman near me would yelp wildly for all the Norway runners. Later, I was near a woman cheering for all the Canadians.

The best cheering section were a bunch of crazy kids - in their 20s I guess -- all wearing silly hats, bearing a kazoo and a light saber, I think. They yelled like crazy for all the runners. Silly stuff that made the runners smile. Some stopped to pose for pictures with them (many runners had their own cameras and cell phones.) At least two runners had on shirts saying it was their birthday, so each time these crazy kids led the crowd in singing the birthday song. After noon most of the runners were gone; only the stragglers who were mostly walking. But these kids were still there, calling out each runner by name (if their shirt said so,) cheering them on as if they were in the front of the pack. Some walkers started running again at this point, but generally all of them ended up smiling and continuing on toward the end of the race. Gotta love New York.
- posted by Amy @ 11/08/2004 08:26:00 AM