ON THE ROAD AGAIN
Crowds savor return of New York City Marathon after pandemic pause
BY KEVIN DUGGAN
At the halfway point of
the 2021 TCS New York City
Marathon on Sunday, Nov.
7, New Yorkers were in full
gear cheering on thousands
of runners striding once
again after a one-year pandemic
hiatus.
Hundreds of spectators
flocked to cheer on the runners
coming off the Pulaski
Bridge between Brooklyn
and Queens on the cool and
sunny fall day, with many
overjoyed to see the sports
mega-event back on the road.
“I feel like this is a historical
marathon,” said Astoria
resident Ariane Lovell
as she watched from the
sidelines at 11th Street and
Jackson Avenue in Long Island
City with her husband
Lawrence and their 1-yearold
son Miles.
“I love the view of everyone
coming over the
bridge,” she added. “It is just
so invigorating and it is really
great to see people of
all backgrounds and ability
running.”
The bridge with Manhattan
skyline views marks
mile 13 of the 26.2-mile
Crowds cheer runners in the 2021 New York City Marathon passing through Long Island City on Nov. 7. Photos by Kevin Duggan
TIMESLEDGER | QNS.10 COM | NOV. 12 - NOV. 18, 2021
course through the city’s
five boroughs, and early
frontrunners started trickling
through just before 10
a.m., followed by a stream
of contestants about an hour
later.
People waved handmade
signs and a band played upbeat
tunes to lift the runners’
spirits and feet as they
headed into the second half
of their cross-city journey.
“It is the halfway mark.
You need that extra boost,”
Lovell said.
The first pro runners
took off at the Verrazzano-
Narrows Bridge, before jogging
the length of Brooklyn,
over the Pulaski Bridge for
a short stopover in Queens,
then traversed the Ed Koch-
Queensboro Bridge to Manhattan,
up First Avenue to
the Bronx and back downtown
to the finish line in
Central Park.
Regulars were delighted
to see the iconic happening
come back in full swing.
“Look at this; look at New
York,” said Laura Dempsey,
who traveled from Long Island
to cheer on her 27-yearold
nephew, first-time participant
Dan Boley. “The
excitement, the adrenaline
of everybody running — I
love it. I used to come every
year since I was in my
teens.”
Many more waited patiently
to support friends or
family, such as local mom
Judy, whose kids Gavin and
Juliana crafted a sign with
the encouraging words,
“Who runs this town?
You.”
“The kids were so excited
to make a sign,” said Judy,
who declined to give her last
name. “It is nice to go back
to normal.”
Another couple of locals
came to boost their friends,
too.“
It is nice to see the community
come together,”
said Fernando Vergara,
who watched the spectacle
with his wife Catalina. “It’s
like seeing the ball drop in
Times Square; it is such a
New York thing.”
“I feel like this is a historical marathon,” said Astoria resident Ariane Lovell, who watched with
husband Lawrence and 1-year-old son Miles.