RUN in … Ours in New York and Amsterdam: stories about the biggest marathons of the world

Artyom Yakupov: «There were a lot of people next to me but I still could not stop, though I had covered 50 km. I felt tired only after getting to bed. Dovlatov was right. For me, New York was an event, a concert, a spectacle and it became a city only after a month. New York is a firework of emotions».  

On November 4, 2018, Artyom, a member of the Almaty marathon team and an experienced runner, ran the annual marathon in New York. One of the biggest races in the world TCS New York City Marathon along with the American Boston and Chicago marathons is part of the World Marathon Majors series. It set a record for the most finishers of any marathon worldwide – 52 812. Nearly 2 million spectators watched the race.

The most exciting thing in New York was…

…the emotions of the fans. I was so excited by the fans, they were all over the route, except for the bridges. Their support was tremendous! Cheering, shouting, motivating and funny banners, rhythmic music, people encourage you and everybody gets into the spirit of holiday. After all, all the fans are the residents of the city, relatives and friends of the participants who want to show their support».   

About the road closure…

The marathon starts at the Staten Island, and then the participants run on the Verrazano Bridge, which is completely closed to all traffic during the competition. The marathon course runs through all boroughs of New York (the Bronx, Queens, Brooklyn, Staten Island and Manhattan) before crossing the finish line near the famous Tavern on the Green restaurant in Manhattan.

As the organizer of the Almaty Marathon for three years, I immediately notice all the nuances that our team have to face. From the very beginning of the race until late at night, the streets of all five boroughs of New York were closed and surprisingly, there were no negative comments from the residents of neighbourhood. Everyone is happy, some people run, someone just passes by.  All the people were on the same wavelength and supported each other. Seeing such an attitude of the people for me was the same as the discovery of the quantum physics for Einstein. It was incredible! I was delighted and motivated by the mentality of the people and their love of mass sports.

Of course, this did not happen immediately. In the early years, residents of New York were against the closure of the main roads of the city, but over time they changed their attitude. Today the marathon is a city-wide holiday! 

Safety of tens of thousands of participants and millions of fans…

 Despite the scale and number of participants and fans, the security measures are stepped up during the marathon. One can leave his belongings in the storage facility only in their specially issued transparent bags, and everybody passes through metal detectors under the supervision of the security services. This year, the organisers doubled the number of employees who provide security: they are uniformed officers stationed along the route, also rooftop observation and sniper teams. And these guys actively support and encourage the runners. 

« I was inspired by the trip. I do not know if I can feel the same in any other city of the world. New York, you were incredible! » says Artyom.

 _______________________________________________________________________________ 

The Amsterdam Marathon is among the prestigious and the brightest races of Europe. This year, on October 21, our colleagues –Operational Director of the “Courage to be the  first” Fund  Kuralay Yermekbayeva and Marketing Manager Nikita Kozhemyako took part in the annual race.

Sports City Amsterdam…

Kuralay: For me Аmsterdam has always been a beautiful historic city with its own secrets and myths, but during this trip I opened the sports side of the city. The Amsterdam Marathon this year gathered 45 thousand runners from around the world.  As a new runner, I decided to choose a distance of 8 km. The start and finish of the race was traditionally located inside the Olympic Stadium, where participants could change clothes after the route was completed, have a snack and chat.  It looks like a small sports party for everyone. 

The most convenient and useful thing in the Amsterdam Marathon is …

Nikita: Course map for runners helped me a lot in covering the distance. I and Kuralay run at different times: I ran a distance of 21 km in the afternoon and Kuralay in the morning. During the running the distance, it was the map that became my guide, my best friend and guide to the city, it even helped me find food stations. With its help one can find ambulance points, water, food and music stations, the metro and attractions. It is a great idea for foreigners.   

Attracting attention…

Branded trams with marathon banners drove around the city, there were information desks, indicating the direction to the start and where to go further and how many kilometers left. The Expo with its separate exhibition halls was organized not far from the stadium. 

The thing that surprised me most was…

a wall at the sports exhibition where everyone could write and leave a wish. We could not help but write «hello» from our Almaty Marathon :)

At that sports exhibition everyone could take photos with three various backgrounds. Everyone had a chance to imagine himself as a superhero.  

This is only a small part of the interesting things from two marathons. Follow us on social networks, we will tell you a lot more interesting things! Get inspired by new competitions and cities!

Soon on April 21st, there will be annual Almaty Marathon,  register for it, enjoy and get ready for the brightest starts of 2019.