Monday, November 3, 2008

NYC Marathon: Spectators This Time

Paul wasn't able to register for the New York City Marathon, but that didn't stop him (or me) from participating in some small way.

The first few miles of the race were through Bay Ridge, and the route came within a block of our apartment. We got up bright and early to cheer on the racers-- both the elite runners who came first, and the rank-and-file that followed.


The sidewalk were pretty crowded with spectators, and (similar to the Columbus Marathon) bands played every few blocks.

The race started in waves-- a group of runners started about every 20 minutes for an hour. The starting line was on the Staten Island side of the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, so Paul and I also walked to the shore to watch some of the racers cross the bridge. We could just barely see hundreds and hundreds of heads bob up and down on both the lower and upper levels of the bridge.

I'm not even sure you can see them in the photo below, which shows just how small they actually looked.


After the race had passed through Bay Ridge, Fourth Avenue was littered with water and Gatorade cups, along with a few gloves and other warm-weather gear the runners had shed.


We were also spectators this weekend at another annual event: the Greenwich Village Halloween Parade. Afterward we went to Chelsea Market, where the following was displayed. How appropriate!

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