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It seems like early November is a depressing time for most sports fans in New York. The Yankees and Mets both came up short in their bids for a World Series title, the Giants and Jets are struggling through underwhelming seasons, and other than the Knicks and Rangers, there isn’t much hope for basketball and hockey fans to enjoy the early weeks of their respective seasons. Fortunately, early November offers one uplifting spectacle that will have the eyes of sports fans glued to the Big Apple for the weekend, as the TCS New York City Marathon is set to happen on Sunday. It’s the 53rd edition of the race, which has come a long way since it began in 1970 as a few laps done by 127 runners around Central Park. The sprawling 26.2 mile course encompasses roads in all five boroughs and will feature over 50,000 runners.
Rob Simmelkjaer is the CEO of the New York Roadrunners Club, the group that puts together the annual spectacle- which will be covered from beginning to end on the radio for the first time, as WOR will be on the air from 8am-noon at various points along the course. He appeared on 710 WOR’s Len Berman and Michael Riedel in the Morning program to run down a handful of some of the attractions new to the marathon to heighten the experience, starting with the first-ever marathon after-party.
“It’s at a great place called Terminal Five on the west side of Manhattan. We’re going to have thousands of runners from all over the world there,” Simmelkjaer told Berman and Riedel. “In the days before and after the marathon, we’ve also partnered with a bunch of cultural institutions in New York- The Museum of Modern Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, a number of other museums. In a lot of these places, people can show up with their medal and they’ll get in free or they’ll get a discount to the museum… We’re trying to create a true New York experience for people who are coming here to New York City to run a race, or for New Yorkers who just want the chance to do some cool things around the marathon.”
Simmelkjaer said that weather conditions for race time- partly cloudy with temperatures in the mid-50’s- should make it a great day for runners and spectators alike. “We’re fortunate to have good weather. It makes a big difference when the weather is seasonable, It’s not too hot, the forecast for Sunday, and that should help a lot with keeping the runners in good place with their medical health as they take on this challenge.”
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