8 THE QUEENS COURIER • NOVEMBER 11, 2021 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
Crowds savor return of NYC Marathon
BY KEVIN DUGGAN
editorial@qns.com
@QNS
At the halfway point of the 2021 TCS
New York City Marathon on Nov. 7, New
Yorkers were in full gear cheering on
thousands of runners striding once again
aft er a one-year pandemic hiatus.
Hundreds of spectators fl ocked 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-year-old 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.”
Th e bridge with Manhattan skyline views
marks mile 13 of the 26.2-mile course
through the city’s fi ve 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
Photos by Kevin Duggan
Crowds cheer runners in the 2021 New York City
Marathon passing through Long Island City.
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.
Th e fi rst 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 fi nish 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-year-old nephew,
fi rst-time participant Dan Boley. “Th e
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 craft ed a
sign with the encouraging words, “Who
runs this town? You.”
“Th e 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.
Runners cross the marathon’s halfway mark coming off the Pulaski Bridge from Brooklyn to Queens.
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