On Sunday morning, waves of runners started their 26.2-mile journey through the five boroughs for the TCS New York City Marathon on the Verrazzano-Narrows bridge.

In Staten Island’s Fort Wadsworth Park, around 55,000 runners warmed up and stretched, ready to push their bodies to the limits. Each runner was there for a different reason.

What You Need To Know

  • Around 55,000 people participated in the TCS New York City Marathon on Sunday

  • The race began on Staten Island. More than 150 countries were represented

  • The marathon travels through all five boroughs of the city

“Because it’s the greatest one — it’s one where you can see everyone coming from all over the world. And then, it’s crazy, the energy, you can feel it,” said one runner from France named Zied.

“Because I’m crazy. I love to feel the freedom, the wind on my face, the pain in my legs, so it’s like, I can do anything I want, just because my body can. It makes me feel alive,” added Francisco Nanez, of Mexico.

Runners represented more than 150 countries.

“It’s the best marathon. Very beautiful city, many, many people, and I love New York,” said Tanya, of China. 

Others dream of finishing all seven major marathons around the world.

“Running the majors [has been] one of my biggest dreams, so this is the first one, and being in New York is like a dream come true,” Nanez said.

This was Liz Healy’s fourth New York City Marathon. This year, she started a team called “Check Your Colon,” part of Fred’s Team to raise money for the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.

“One hundred percent of all the funds we are raising today go directly to cancer research, which my life depends on. I’m fighting stage four colorectal cancer,” Healy said.

She said running the marathon helps her fight her own cancer battle.

“I call it part of my secret weapon. Movement is my medicine, and movement for a cause is my medicine,” she added.

That energy pushing everyone to the finish line.

“Being a lifelong New Yorker, this is the best day in the best city. I cry about what beauty comes out on this day, and bringing out the best in every borough in every New Yorker,” she said.

For more information about the marathon and how you can get involved in it next year, you can go to the New York Road Runner website.