Good Luck With That!

You see, last Sunday more than 50,000 people ran New York’s iconic Marathon – and now that I live in New York, I got to see it up close!

The entire city is transformed for this event – in ways I never expected!

Here’s an example:

I came across this mob of food delivery drivers waiting at “Parm”, a popular Italian restaurant on New York’s Upper West Side. They were no doubt delivering thousands of containers of pasta for those who wanted to carbo-load the night before the race!

There’s a reason they want plenty of energy – check out the race course:

The 26.2 mile course goes through all five of New York’s boroughs, starting on Staten Island, then they run across the Verrazano Bridge into Brooklyn:

The entire race is broadcast live all day long. There was wave after wave after wave of runners leaving Staten Island and heading across the bridge – and this sign greeted them as they began:

OK, that’s funny…and I had no idea that the course was covered with spectators holding up funny signs like these – I left the Instagram handles where I found them and all are worth following – check out these alcohol related signs of support:

For those who follow a certain disgraced Congressman with an alleged penchant for lying, this one made me laugh:

The signs were supportive, but always funny!

The runners really put it all out there, and so do the spectators, but some people holding signs pointed out that some things are even harder than running a marathon:

And, in the spirit of Michael Scott from “The Office”, one person had this to share:

On that note, my wife Alex and I experienced the incredible energy and celebration of the marathon from our apartment – where we could look out our window and see the runners finishing the race in the park – here is video that shows the runners wrapped in orange blankets exiting the course to meet up with friends and family, then it tilts up to show the runners still finishing in the park, obscured a bit by trees:

Two points: these orange-draped runners poured into 63rd street for HOURS AND HOURS – and this street was only for people with the last name of “R” or “S”!

Remember, 50,000 runners and hundreds of thousands of viewers made this a wild and crazy day!

While I’m not a marathon runner, my daughter is – instead of marathon running I enjoy walking – and walking – and walking:

While the marathoners finished in Central Park, I walked the entire length of it once as part of my “Hitch Hiking” series:

Yes, I hiked the park and then watched the Hitchcock classic “Rear Window”, which took place in New York…see my story here:

I also walked 5.5 miles to eat this incredible sandwich:

The “Chop Cheese” Sandwich is iconic and click her to see why:

Finally, when you hike though Central Park, you discover things like this:

The “Ramble” is a serene spot just north of Bethesda Foun Tain – click here to find out more about this idyllic getaway inside the park:

Bravo to all who took part in the 2023 New York Marathon – and to everyone who held up signs of support!

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Categories: Awards, Exotic Travel, Funny Pictures, Memoirs, New York, Pop Culture, Sports, Travel, Travel Adventures, Travel Memoir

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