My Incredible Journey

In keeping with the history of the first marathon, running groups from all over the world organize races that are similar to the one Pheidippides ran. One of the top five marathons to compete in is the New York City Marathon. This race debuted in 1970, and is sponsored by New York Road Runners Club. The first running of the New York City marathon consisted of four loops around Central Park. Today the race course consists of all five boroughs. The race begins on the first Sunday in November. The starting line is in Staten Island at the base of the Verrazzano Narrows Bridge. After crossing the bridge and completeing the first two miles of the race, the course runs eleven miles through neighborhoods in Brooklyn.

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New York Road Runners Club was founded in 1958 with 47 members, has grown into the foremost running organization, with a membership of 40,000. NYRR conducts more than 100 events each year, including races, classes, clinics, and lectures.

Central Park is 843 acres large and is located in the center of Manhattan. Its design was created by Fredrick Law Olmsted in 1857. The park has several lakes, theaters, ice rinks, fountains, tennis courts, baseball fields, many playgrounds and other facilities. It is also home to the Central Park Zoo and the Metropolitan museum of Art.

The Verrazzano Narrows Bridge is named for Italian explorer Giovanni da Verrazzano, the first known European navigator to enter New York Harbor and the Hudson River. It has a center span of 4,260 feet and was the largest suspension bridge in the world at the time of its completion in 1964.

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