This past Sunday, The Bronx and its denizens cheered on over 50,000 participants of all abilities as they ran through the borough for the 2022 TCS Marathon and onto the final stretches of the world’s most famous race on what was one of the warmest days for the marathon in history.
Throughout the years, many runners have stated that they simply love and appreciate the energy and cheers they get when they arrive in The Bronx and hit mile 20 just over the Willis Avenue Bridge along the 26.2 mile race and mile 21 as they’re exiting the borough and back into Manhattan over the Madison Avenue Bridge.
This is where many runners tend to hit “The Wall”, a mental and physical barrier along their way to the sweet victory of completing the 26.2 mile race and where their energy levels can begin to drop off as well as the sometimes daunting prospect of having another 6.2 miles to go.
In 2003, Marc Bloom wrote of The Wall in the New York Times and said:
“It is said that almost anyone can train to run 20 miles. But 26 miles 385 yards? For many runners, the wall, the 20-mile point when energy tends to sag precipitously, defines the marathon. Beyond the wall is a devilish unpredictability: you might sail through the last six miles one year, and be reduced to an agonizing survival shuffle the next. Sailing through is what brings marathoners back for more.”
At roughly 10:42AM, just one hour and 12 minutes after leaving the starting line for the 51st New York City Marathon on Staten Island and over the Verrazano Bridge, the elite runners arrived in The Bronx with Brazil’s Daniel Do Nascimento in the lead until the fateful moment that he collapsed in the borough just after reaching the 20 mile mark.
Unfortunately, do Nascimento did not finish the race.
Shortly after the elite marathon runners zoomed through The Bronx, slowly but surely, more and more runners began arriving on the streets of the Boogie Down.
At first it was a trickle but by 11:30AM it was as steady wave of thousands of runners trying to get back into Manhattan for that final stretch of the race.
Bronx residents and running clubs like Van Courtlandt Track Club and Boogie Down Bronx Runners lined the streets cheering them on, encouraging them to keep going.
Overall, it was a fun day in The Bronx and along the entire route of the New York City Marathon.
It’s one of those rare moments where all of New York City comes together no matter where you’re from, your religion, the color of your skin, political beliefs, gender expression and identity, or sexual orientation.
In other words, it was a beautiful day in The Bronx.
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