POUNDING THE PAVEMENT: Runners strut their way through Brooklyn during the 50th
annual New York City Marathon. Photos by Dean Moses
COURIER LIFE, NOVEMBER 12-18, 2021 3
Beginning at 8 am with
the male and female wheelchair
racers respectfully,
the 50th TCS New York Marathon
launched with the
sound of cannon fi re from the
Veteran Corps of Artillery
Institute (formed on Nov. 25,
1790), which served as the
starting gun. Charging, the
marathoners broke off into
the early morning sun with
the iconic bridge serving as
both their backdrop and initial
goal.
And they had a long way
to go.
The first wave of professional
wheelchair division,
hand cyclists, and
runners slogged across the
bridge and into Brooklyn,
then Queens, crossing the
Ed Koch-Queensboro Bridge
into Manhattan, looping
around Wills Avenue in the
Bronx, and then back down
in Manhattan toward Central
Park.
Top athlete Albert Korir
fi nished in two hours and
eight minutes, while Peres
Jepchirchir fi nished two
hours and 22 minutes, both
earning fi rst place. Additionally,
in the top three women’s
wheelchair division was
Madison de Rozario, Tatyana
McFadden, and Manuela
Schär. While in the men’s
wheelchair division Marcel
Hug, Daniel Romanchuk, and
David Weir were the top of
their section.
Johnny Shay could barely
hold in his exhilaration when
describing how great it felt
to be back participating in
the marathon after the hiatus.
Shay proudly showed off
his gold medal, awarded for
completing the race in under
three hours.
“The energy in the crowd
was amazing. Everybody
turned out today and I fed
off that energy and felt really
good. I got my gold time under
three hours,” Shay said.
“I was home for the whole
pandemic so you can feel the
electricity out on the streets
today. I saw one sign that
said, ‘Triumph of the human
spirit’ and it’s such a good
day to celebrate everybody
pushing their limits, trying
to prove to themselves they
can do something tough, you
know, so it’s really inspiring
to be part of it.”
As the world’s largest marathon,
several professional
runners felt its immensity as
they collapsed at the fi nish
line. Grimacing in pain or
clutching their head as they
were wheeled away, the immeasurable
undertaking was
apparent through their pain.
Still, they pushed forward,
despite a few even lacking experience.
Darren Tomasso is from
New York City and shares
that this was the second
time he ever participated
in a marathon. Initially, Tomasso
was just a trainer for
runners since 2018; however,
when the world went on lockdown
due to the pandemic, he
picked up running shoes for
himself.
“I’m a trainer myself. I’ve
trained runners for so long
since 2018. But I’ve never actually
put myself in the ring.”
Tomasso said. “It was really
during COVID-19 I realized
like, what am I working towards?
Why can’t I throw
myself into the ring and do
this myself? So I committed
myself to doing this and I ran
my fi rst marathon in October
in Chicago and wanted to
do it again in the home court
in New York City with a 301
time, and I just learned so
much from this process.”
Aside from exhaustion,
the fi rst thing on Tomasso’s
mind after fi nishing the race
was food.
“I’m really hungry. But I
feel so, so good,” he said. “It’s
just to be able to come back
after everything that this
world has gone through.”