The New York City Marathon, one of the biggest events staged in the city every year, will return on November 7, with a reduced but still sizable field of participants.
The race will be conducted on its usual date, the first Sunday in November, with about 33,000 runners set to participate instead of the typical 55,000 as a Covid 19 control measure.
The 26.2-mile race , months after the returns of teams and fans to baseball stadiums and indoor arenas, is expected to be a milestone in New York’s recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.
For months now, stakeholders including city officials and health experts have been brainstorming with leaders of New York Road Runners, the organization that owns and operates the marathon, about the scale of this year’s race and how it would be conducted.
To participate, the athletes will be required to test negative for the coronavirus in the days before the race is held or show proof of full vaccination, though organizers must still determine policies about when tests will take place, and the consequences for someone who tests positive for the virus.
In the last edition of the NYC Marathon that was held on November 3 2019, Kenyans left a mark at the event after Joyciline Jepkosgei and Geoffrey Kamworor won the New York City Marathon.
In the women's race, Jepkosgei powered away from four-time winner Mary Keitany in her first race ever in New York.
Kamworor crossed the finish line in Central Park at 2 hours, 8 minutes and 13 seconds in 2019 after pulling away from fellow countryman Albert Korir in the 24th mile which later saw Korir finish second, and Ethiopian non-elite runner Girma Bekele Gebre in third position.