2013 New York City Marathon
Earlier this month I covered the 2013 ING New York City Marathon for the NY Times. It was nice to cover the official race again as last year it was cancelled due to Hurricane Sandy. This year I was assigned to cover the 1-mile stretch of the course in The Bronx at about Mile-20 as runners crossed the Willis Avenue Bridge from 1st Avenue in Manhattan and back over the Madison Ave Bridge into Manhattan.
It was clear security was much heavier this year as the course was guarded from blocks away from the actual course. Luckily, I was on a scooter and was able to snake through the snarled NYC traffic. I parked my scooter near the Madison Avenue Bridge and walked across the bridge into The Bronx. As it turned out I’d arrived quite early as I had to wait about an hour for the leaders to pass.
It was fun to chat with and see all the various supporters from local cheerleaders, a Japanese drumming team, bands, firefighters, and local residents cheer on the runners as they passed.
I made my way to the Willis Avenue Bridge and eventually spotted a building that gave me a great vantage point to make an overall shot and transmit my photos to the paper. It was worth the hike to the roof as the photo quickly made it to the NYTimes.com homepage!
I made my way back to my scooter over the first bridge and got back home to the Upper West Side where I transmitted once more before hitting Central Park as evening approached. I entered the park around 90th Street and walked toward the finish line at around 67th Street. As I made my way closer I was swarmed by Marathon finishers attempting to find their belongings and way out of the park.
One of my favorite parts of covering the Marathon is seeing the runners cross the finish line as it’s a very emotional moment for them. Overall, I had a great time covering this year’s race!
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