Thaindian News

By Meena Kar
New York, Nov 7, (THAINDIAN NEWS) New York City Marathon 2010, is about to start today. This is regarded as one of the leading and most popular races in the world, which invites the participation of more than 700,000 participants, 2 million spectators to cheer them and 315 million viewers on television.

With the aim of participating in the New York City marathon, runners from different countries and nationalities have gathered in the city, anticipating their victory and the prize money of $600,000. The people who participate in this race may be celebrities, athletes or common people. The starting point of the race will be from Staten Island and its ending point will be at the Central Point in Manhattan, covering places like Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx. The route, therefore, may be regarded as completely north bound until it takes a left turn near the Major Deegan Expressway, making a meandering path back to Fifth Avenue, towards the south. This has been the typical route of the marathon since it started. The starting time of the marathon however differs according to the gender and physical wellbeing. The wheelchair race will start at 8:30 AM, the Lead Women race will start at 9:10 AM, the Lead Man Race and Wave 1 will start at 9:40 AM, the Wave 2 at 10:10 AM and the Wave 3 at 10:40 AM. Yellow kilometer signs and clocks has been incorporated in every 5 kilometers. There will also be video check points where volunteers will be taking a note of race numbers.

New York City Marathon is not just an athletic event. It also has a social and charitable significance as it supports the cause of character development in children living in under-served communities. 50,000 children from about 250 community centers and schools are benefited by this marathon. It also supports other health and fitness related causes.