More than 39,000 runners from all over the world will be coming to the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge Sunday morning, at the starting line of the annual ING New York City Marathon.
Around 2 million people are expected to line the route, cheering on the athletes as they tackle the 26.2 miles winding through all five boroughs and across five bridges.
The course starts at the Verrazano Bridge, goes over to Brooklyn, on to Queens, across the Queensboro Bridge, up to the Bronx, and finally back down to the finish line in Central Park.
The 38,000 runners will be hydrating themselves with 63,000 bottles of water and 32,000 gallons of Gatorade.
The 41 medical stations on the course will be stocked with 11,000 pounds of ice.
It takes 68 UPS trucks to deliver the runners’ belongings from the start on Staten Island to the finish line in Central Park.
When it’s over, workers will pick up 130 tons of trash.
Nobody will be crossing the bridge to Brooklyn for several hours, unless they’re wearing running shoes and a number on their chest.
This year, the closures will begin even earlier than usual, due in part to the size and scope of the event, which will include a staggered starting line that sends runners off in waves, which is a different approach than in years past.
Staten Island Expressway ramps and local roads closest to the bridge and Fort Wadsworth will be closed as early as 11 p.m. Saturday night, and the entire bridge will be shut down to traffic from 7 a.m. Sunday in preparation for the race.
The closures will leave Brooklyn-bound motorists with the options of leaving earlier in the morning to beat the closures, or after 3 p.m. when the bridge reopens. They can also take the Staten Island Ferry into Manhattan and the subway to Brooklyn, or make a circuitous road trip through New Jersey and the Holland or Lincoln tunnels to Manhattan.
Prior to Sept. 11, 2001, the Brooklyn-bound lower level had always remained open to traffic during the race, but safety concerns, and the growing crowd of athletes led to the full closure of the span on race day.
Here is the official bridge closure information, from MTA Bridges & Tunnels:
UPPER LEVEL:
Both directions: On Saturday, November 1, the entire upper level of the bridge (Staten Island- and Brooklyn-bound) will close at 11 PM, to allow for roadway preparation in advance of the race. In addition, all vehicles containing hazardous materials (HAZMAT) will not be permitted to cross the bridge in either direction beginning at this time on Saturday. Upper level closures will remain in effect until approximately 3 PM on Sunday, November 2, when both directions are expected to re-open to traffic.
LOWER LEVEL:
Staten Island-bound: On Sunday, November 2 the Bay Street and Lily Pond Avenue exits in Staten Island will close at 5 AM.
Also on Sunday morning, the entire lower level westbound to Staten Island will close at 7 AM. The closure will remain in effect until approximately 3 PM when the Staten Island-bound lower level is expected to re-open to traffic.
Brooklyn-bound: On Sunday, November 2 the entire lower level eastbound to Brooklyn will close at 7 AM. The closure will remain in effect until approximately 3 PM, when the Brooklyn-bound lower level is expected to re-open to traffic.
(Source: MTA / 1010WINS / Staten Island Advance)
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One Response
How silly of all these runners. A car, train or even a rented helicopter would get them to central park much quicker than by foot. There are just SOME things which I do not get.