The Five-Borough Route: The Beating Heart of the NYC Marathon (Gift Article)

Sunday is the 50th anniversary of the NYC marathon as a five-borough race. Before that it was 4+ loops of Central Park. The 1976 race transformed marathoning and running more broadly. I decided to look at all the changes since then.

“It turned out to be such a thing for the people of New York, for New York City,” said Bill Rodgers, who won the men’s race that year. “It was the birth of modern-era marathoning, big-city marathoning.”

"Moving the New York City Marathon out of Central Park and into all five boroughs was imagined as a one-time event to commemorate America’s bicentennial." Lots of interesting factoids included in this fun look at the history of the upcoming New York City Marathon. 🏃‍♂️🏃🏃‍♀️

The Five-Borough Route: The Beating Heart of the New York Marathon www.nytimes.com/2026/10/29/n...

The Five-Borough Route: The Beating Heart of the NYC Marathon

The Five-Borough Route: The Beating Heart of the New York Marathon.