New York City Marathon is one of the world’s largest and most popular marathons . The annual race has attracted more than 50,000 professional and amateur competitors from throughout the world. The marathon is witnessed by more than 2 million spectators who line the 26.2-mile (42.2-kilometer) course.
The New York City Marathon is held the first Sunday of November. The marathon passes through all five boroughs (districts) of New York City , crossing several bridges. The race’s top awards are given in four categories—men’s open, women’s open, men’s wheelchair, and women’s wheelchair. Because so many individuals apply to compete in the race, most entrants either qualify through previous races or are selected by lottery.
The first New York City Marathon was held in 1970. The race has been held every year except 2012, when it was cancelled because of Hurricane Sandy . The marathon is organized by New York Road Runners (NYRR), a community running organization.
In 2006, the organizers of the Berlin , Boston , Chicago , London , and New York City marathons joined to create the World Marathon Majors. Tokyo joined as the sixth major in 2013. In addition to prize money awarded for the individual marathons, runners compete for an annual $1-million prize. The prize is based on points runners earn for their performance in a major plus the World Championship marathon and the Olympic Games marathon, when held.
