New York is a city built on detours. Even the simplest trip can turn upside down in no time – whether it’s an unexpected road closure, an unreliable subway, or a taxi driver’s unorthodox navigation – in a long and often painful expedition.
The city marathon is no exception.
As 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 line would cover just over 16 miles, a 26.2-mile course through the city’s five boroughs, across five bridges and a multitude of hills awaits runners.
The New York City Marathon is widely considered the world’s toughest marathon for good reason.
The Ethiopian Tamirat Tola and the Kenyan Hellen Obiri, each victorious a year ago, are back to defend their titles. They will face stiff competition: other previous winners returning to the fray include Evans Chebet, Albert Korir and Geoffrey Kamworor on the men’s side; and Sharon Lokedi and Edna Kiplagat for women.
A host of American hopefuls are also in the mix, with Olympians Conner Mantz, Clayton Young and Dakotah Popehn returning from Paris; CJ Albertson competing just weeks after strong performance in Chicago; and Des Linden, winner of the 2018 Boston Marathon, returns for the fifth time.
But the field for the world’s largest marathon is as wide as it is deep. Former champions and Olympians tackling this course will also lead a legion of runners – among them beginners, fundraisers and octogenarian veterans – on this convoluted course.
Related: Hellah Sidibe: the man who has been running for seven years and who once hated running
The Guardian spoke to four athletes as they prepared for Sunday’s race.
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A few minutes into the race, as the elite peloton climbs the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge and the highest point of the course, Linden allows himself a brief glance to his left. “I always take a moment to appreciate the view of the city,” she said. “It’s just spectacular.”
As you travel through each neighborhood and learn about each unique community, “the roads are closed so you can be in the center and have a parade and take this city tour,” says Linden, a two-time Olympian.
The bridges are steep, but the chance to cross them – and take in the views – is “pretty special,” she adds. New York “is the center of the universe, especially on marathon weekends.”
Linden, 41, represented Team USA at the London 2012 and Rio 2016 Olympics. She captained Boston 11 times and New York four. This time, the goal is “a same-day finish,” she says with a smile.
The favorites, including some of the dominant artists in Paris this summer, are perhaps “a little too rich for me at this stage of my career,” she admits. “I still enjoy and enjoy racing, but I don’t necessarily have anything to prove at this point.”
But you never know how the race will go. “Anything can happen,” says Linden. “We’ll see how it goes.”
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Connie Brown, 80, has run this race more than any other woman: 44 times. For months, she has been training for the 45th.
She remembers ending up in tears for the first time, as her hope that she could do it gave way to the realization she had. She remembers the live bands, witty signs and kind words that helped get her to Central Park so many times since.
And she remembers celebrating her early years by dancing the night away, including at a post-race party at a Broadway nightclub.
Brown traveled through New York through heat waves and downpours, through sunshine and lightning – the latter more likely to hit a building than a person, she thought as they cracked above us – and in front of crowds of enthusiastic spectators.
Days before leaving for this weekend’s race, personal circumstances forced Brown to stay home. in Sarasota, Florida. She still plans to run a marathon on Sunday, starting around 3 a.m. to beat the heat.
At this point, effort is “part of who I think I am,” she says. “I am the person who runs at least one marathon a year.”
Over the decades, running “gave me confidence,” Brown says. “Whatever you do – set a goal, make a plan, follow it – you can do it. If you can do this, you can do anything.
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Thousands of runners travel the world to take on New York. Nate Kahaiali’i, 33, traveled nearly 5,000 miles from Hawaii.
When the teacher and his neighbors were evacuated as wildfires ravaged Maui last summer, he figured he’d return soon enough. Kahaiali’i picked up a few pieces, not realizing that what he had chosen would become all he had left of his home.
Like so many others, he lost his home.
Among the small collection he had collected was his trusty pair of bright orange Nike Vaporfly running shoes. For him, they became “symbolic, in a way,” of his hometown of Lāhainā.
Wearing them, as he will on Sunday, is “a way for me to honor, but also represent, the community,” says Kahaiali’i, who has raised nearly $7,000 (and counting) for the rebuilding effort by selling T-shirts with the words “Lāhainā Strong”.
“The main hope – whether they buy the shirt or not – is just to keep Maui in people’s minds,” he said. “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 said. “I’m like, ‘No, I’m not that fast’.”
He plans to wear his Vaporfly during the world’s six major marathons. Four from the finish, “they are still in pretty good shape”.
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Concepcion Gonzalez, 65, hadn’t run “even a mile” before this summer. She is about to run her first marathon.
For years, Gonzalez — who has lived in New York for more than three decades — has sat in the stands cheering on her daughter, Teresita, and son, Luis.
She saw hundreds of people, of all abilities and backgrounds, cross the finish line. “I saw people who looked like me and thought I could do that one day.”
Gonzalez is under no illusion that it will be easy. “Everyone goes through difficult times,” she said. “People fall. They can get up. I too can embark on this journey.
For many who tackle it, this journey is less of a race and more of a feat of resilience; more a test of perseverance than pace. But she’s ready.
Gonzalez, who will run alongside Teresita, 29, and Luis, 32, on Sunday, is excited to see her city from a new perspective. “I feel a sense of pride, being from New York,” she says, “to be able to represent New York City.”
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Brown, who first managed New York in 1978, has plenty of advice for newbies. “Don’t eat anything you’ve never eaten before” the night before, for starters. Don’t worry about sleeping well either. And if one of your knees starts to become questionable, “think about your other knee.”
Linden recommends treating the first two miles – a steep climb on Verrazzano, then a steep 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 get to Manhattan in the second half, try not to push too hard. The crowd is “just electric,” 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.
Soak it all in, Brown adds. “Don’t miss anything,” she said. “Don’t be so focused on yourself and your race that you don’t see the neighborhoods, you don’t see the people in them.”
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Some people run New York to show it to the world. Others want to show off.
As elite marathon times get faster and faster, those in the lead are racing against the clock. But the majority of runners who travel through the five boroughs run For something.
For some, this marathon is a grueling physical challenge. Others will face the mental challenges that materialize when your body is pushed to its limits. Many, if not most, will be forced to struggle with both.
It doesn’t matter what journey brought them here; whether it’s their first time or their 45th; whether they are a few thousand kilometers or a stone’s throw from home; some 50,000 people will gather Sunday morning with the same basic goal.
Central Park is waiting.