9 Interesting Numbers About NYC Marathon History
The 2017 New York City Marathon ran for the 47th time Sunday, as over 50,000 long-distance runners set out to run through New York City’s five boroughs in just a few hours.
We thought it would be fun to look back at some of the more interesting numbers that surround this landmark event that now runs on the first Sunday of every November. It starts on the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge on Staten Island and finishes in Manhattan near the Tavern on the Green restaurant.
9 Interesting Numbers About NYC Marathon History
8 – Number of Times Meb Keflezighi Placed in the Top 10 Among Men’s Runners
Keflezighi is the last American male to win the race in 2009, and he noted that Sunday’s race would be his last run as a professional, marking the end of one of the best long distance runners the sport has ever seen. He finished Sunday’s race 11th, just missing adding to his NYC Marathon top-10 finishes. Keflezighi is a great American story in that his family were refugees from Eritrea, leaving his native country for America in 1987, when he was just 12 years old.
8 – Races That Are Part of the World Marathon Majors
While the New York City Marathon joins the Boston Marathon and the Chicago Marathon as the three biggest long-distance races in the United States, all three of those are also part of the eight World Marathon Majors. The other five include the Tokyo Marathon, London Marathon, Berlin Marathon, IAAF World Championships in Athletics (odd-numbered years) and the Olympic Games (every four years, in leap years).
10 – Years It Took For Shalane Flanagan’s 2008 Olympic Bronze Medal To Turn Silver
After finishing third in the 10,000-meter race in Beijing, China, during the 2008 Summer Olympics. But the runner that placed just ahead of her had her medal stripped in March of 2017, after retroactively failing a doping test on a sample taken from 2007. That meant Flanagan moved up and became a silver-medal winner. Then on Sunday, she became the first American woman to win the New York City Marathon in 40 years.
41.2 – Average Age of Registered NYC Marathon Runners in 2017
Runners don’t get old – they get better!
$255 – Entry Fee for U.S. Runners Who Are New York Road Runners (NYRR) Members
That entry fee is exactly $254 more expensive than the cost to run the first New York City Marathon back in 1970. Foreign runners must pay $358 to enter the race.
2011 – Three Fastest NYC Marathon Finish Times Ever Were Set This Year
What was in the Hudson River water that year? Kenyan Geoffrey Mutai was the male runner who set the course record of 2:05:06 that year.
9,200 – Percent More NYC Marathon Runners In 2017 Than In 1970
There were expected to be over 51,000 NYC Marathon runners in this year’s race, which dwarfs the initial number of entrants from back in 1970, when just 55 participants ran.
$100,000 — Amount of Prize Money For Winners of the Men’s and Women’s Races
Come in second place? That’s still a nice $60,000 check waiting for you!
$825,000 — 2017 NYC Marathon Prize Purse
While there are some potential time bonuses that can be paid to some participants, this is the guaranteed prize money for the entire 2017 NYC Marathon field.
We’re sure to learn more great facts about NYC Marathon history, especially as the 50th race comes up in a couple years.