New York Sports

The first New York City Marathon, in 1970, was four-plus laps of Central Park. In 1976, in celebration of the U.S. bicentennial, NYRR moved the marathon to the streets of New York's five boroughs: Staten Island, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, and Manhattan. The course united dozens of culturally and ethnically diverse neighborhoods, passing over five bridges, and finishing up at Tavern on the Green in world-famous Central Park.

Thirty-one years later, the course continues to challenge thousands of athletes every year and has become a model for big-city marathon courses around the world.