According to information provided by Latinos Run, more than 120 Hispanics registered to run in the 50th return of the New York Marathon, through that group.
But without a doubt, there were many more Latinos in the race and we identify them by their clothes, written messages, accessories, and the great enthusiasm they had and generated among the audience.
The Latino participants were part of a group of more than thirty thousand runners, a reduced number for prevention, out of the fifty-five thousand participants in 2019, before the pandemic caused the cancellation of the famous marathon in 2020.
Known as the world’s largest marathon or the five-county marathon, this year was capped at 33,000 runners due to health and safety precautions.
The runners started in five groups and within them, there were three starting areas. Runners were required to wear masks while they waited in the crowded starting areas.
Within hours of starting the return of the New York Marathon, the organizers announced the participation of several celebrities in the marathon, including sports, entertainment, music, and fashion figures, such as model Christy Turlington, who returned to the marathon after ten years of their first participation, as well as many others who participated in support of different causes and humanitarian organizations.
FIVE COUNTY MARATHON
The New York Marathon, -founded by George Hirsch who also presides over New York Road Runners-, took place on Sunday, November 7, as planned and took place in an extremely safe environment, on a radiant day with moderately low temperatures, which allowed their return amid the joy of locals and strangers, who enjoyed an unforgettable show.
In the New York marathon, which began in Staten Island, he crossed the Verrazano and reached Brooklyn, passed through Queens, crossed Manhattan towards the Bronx, and then returned to finish in Central Park, which, as Hirsch recalled at the time that the marathon was “affected by rampant vandalism, drugs were openly sold at Bethesda Fountain, and graffiti had damaged most of its buildings.” Participants covered 26.2 miles.
George Hirsch affirms that the one hundred and twenty-seven original participants of the race, established an important theme, the revival and the resistance of New Yorkers, values that were also in the minds of the runners and of the entire city on Sunday the 7th.
Last October, the NYC Marathon held a virtual race that attracted around 16,000 participants from one hundred and eight countries.
PARTICIPATING GROUPS
To reduce the crowding in the first minutes of the walk to the Verrazano Bridge and elsewhere along the 26.2-mile course, the participants were grouped in several waves.
The intervals between their exits were longer than before. The Professional Wheelchair Division race started the marathon at 8:00 AM. There were nine start times on Sunday morning.
It was followed by the Handcycle category and selected athletes with disabilities departing at 8:22, then the Professional Women’s Open Division at 8:40 AM, followed by the Professional Men’s Open Division at 9:05. Five waves of runners followed at 9:10, 9:55, 10:40, 11:20 and the last group departed at 12 noon.
The city’s Historic Monuments Preservation Commission celebrated the fiftieth race of the marathon, creating an interactive map of landmarks along the route.
The marathon was an important moment in the city’s recovery process after the pandemic and demonstrated that New York continues to be the vibrant capital of the world, where Latin Americans are part of its fabric and contribute with their unique diversity and idiosyncrasies.
AFRICAN WINNERS
Finally the winners, both men, and women, in this historic marathon, were two Kenyans. The female champion was professional runner Peres Chepchirchir Ngeno, originally from Kenya, who won the Olympic gold, followed by another athlete from Kenya Viola Cheptoo and the athlete from Ethiopia, Ababel Yeshaneh in third place, were the three women in the professional category who arrived first at the finish line, located on the west side of Central Park, at 62nd Street,
The male winner was Albert Korir, sponsored by Adidas, who is 2019 was in second place, in this return he won first place in the 2021 New York Marathon, whose triumph he dedicated to his parents “for raising a champion”, in second place came Mohamed El Araby, from Morocco and Eyob Faniel, born in Asmara, capital of the former Italian colony of Eritrea, in Africa.
In 2019, Geoffrey Kamworor of Kenya finished first in the men’s division with a time of 2:08:13. It was his second victory in the New York City Marathon. Kenya’s Joyciline Jepkosgei won the women’s division with a time of 2:22:38.
The total value of the prizes from this year’s New York City Marathon was $ 534,000 for the open division. That amount was distributed evenly among the male and female finalists for a prize of $ 267,000 each. In addition, the United States Division has a prize of $ 116,000, the New York Racing Racers Division has one of $ 38,000, the Master’s Division of twelve thousand dollars, and the Wheelchair Division one of $ 155,000. All of those totals were divided in half for men and women.
The Latin American community is extremely proud of all its members participating in the 2021 New York Marathon, athletes, runners, volunteers, members of the press, police, and watchdog groups, as well as the very enthusiastic attendance, among which We found family, friends and the general public, who joined one of the most beautiful sport’s traditions in New York.
