On Sunday, 1 November, the starting line of the New York City Marathon will welcome about 60 thousand participants — a record for one of the world's most prestigious races. This is not merely a mass event but a mirror reflecting the evolution of running from an elite pastime into a global phenomenon, where personal goals intertwine with commerce and geopolitics.
Fifty years ago, in 1976, the organizers first laid out a course through all five boroughs of the city. Back then, a little more than two thousand people took part, mostly men. Today, nearly half the field is women, and more than 240 thousand people from 160 countries applied. Such popularity is explained not only by New York Road Runners' marketing but also by a cultural shift: running has become an accessible way of coping with stress and a means of self-affirmation in an era of digital isolation.
The defending champions — Kenya's Benson Kipruto and Hellen Obiri — are striving to repeat their success. Kipruto won last year by a margin of three hundredths of a second, and Obiri set a course record. Their dominance raises the question of hidden factors: from the training system in Kenya to sponsorship contracts that turn the marathon into a business with a turnover of hundreds of millions of dollars.
The changes to the route in the Bronx — reducing the turns from seven to five — may seem trivial, but they illustrate how the organizers balance spectacle and logistics. It is like renovating an old house: outwardly imperceptible, but inside it changes the comfort for thousands of participants and spectators, of whom more than two million are expected.
Ultimately, the New York City Marathon shows how big-city sport turns individual effort into a collective ritual, where every finish is a small victory over oneself against the backdrop of global ambitions.
