Finishing the 26.2-mile ING New York City Marathon is a major accomplishment that requires support from family, friends, volunteers – and even strangers. A year after the storm canceled the race, about 40,000 runners laced up and took off Sunday, with countless others cheering them on. Here’s a look at some folks who made an impact from the sidelines:
Cheering the ‘Regular People’
As the runners approached the 4-mile mark in Brooklyn, they were greeted by the Bill Flynn’s booming voice.
“Go Michael! You can do it! Way to go!”
“Come on, Erica! Come on!
Flynn, a resident of Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, doesn’t know Michael, or Erica, or any of the other hundreds of runners he cheered on. But he respects their efforts.
FLYNN TO WIN: Brooklyn resident Bill Flynn cheers on runners at the 4-mile mark near Bay Ridge. (Photo by: Nesh Pillay)
“The elite athletes go blowing by and it’s just a privilege to see them and their abilities,” he said. “But when all of the regular people go by, you know it’s about their heart. That and finishing, of course.”
This year, he noted, is especially significant, after Sandy canceled the 2012 race and the fatal bombings at the Boston Marathon in April.
“That’s what America is about – our heart and our strength,” he said. “These people represent America no matter where in the world they come from. They’re here in America and they’re demonstrating their heart and their strength.”
– Nesh Pillay
Being Part of The Show
Jane McAndry took her spectator spot near Mile 5 along the marathon route on Fourth Avenue in Brooklyn before the runners started the race. She didn’t want to miss the show.
McAndry, 37, loves making the runners feel good, even for a moment, and comes every year with a new sign.
This year, her pink handmade sign read: “You are amazing.” The other side declared, “Go front runners! Dig deep, push hard, and be fabulous!”
“Go Janet! Go Henri! Go… Canada!” she screamed, as grateful runners flashed smiles.
SIGN OF TIMES: Jane McAndry arrived armed with a hand-made sign. (Photo by: Bruna Fernandez)
This year, she also cheered on her friends, Jeffrey and Joe.
“They married last summer, so I was glad to see them here together,” she said.
– Bruna Fernandez
Fans on the Run
Monique Iris is no athlete, but she ran during the marathon.
She hopped off the subway and into the crowds of spectators on the Upper East Side, looking for her sister, 34-year-old Nafeesah Shakir, a first-time marathoner.
“She should be here any minute soon,” said Iris, who wouldn’t take her eyes off the street packed with runners. “She is doing great, she has done 12.4 miles in two hours and four minutes,” Iris said.
Iris and countless other family members were racing up and down the ING New York City Marathon route to catch up with runners at multiple spots, using mobile tracking apps, charted estimates and old-fashioned guesswork.
Iris, from Bermuda, downloaded an app and was tracking her sister online. But Lori Kennedy of New Jersey doesn’t trust technology, and created a chart with her husband Bart to estimate where he’d be.
“Bart did this for me: It says approximately where he will be at based on his running history and the time it usually takes him to get from one place to another.”
FAMILY FLIGHT: Lori Kennedy of New Jersey and her daughters Lauren and Peyton chased the girls’ father, Bart. (Photo by: Mariana Marcaletti)
But he was running ahead of schedule, so his wife had to pick up the pace.
“I am glad I brought my car,” Kennedy said, telling her daughters to hurry up so they could make it to the next meet-up on time.
– Mariana Marcaletti
Spouse Roots and Trains
Sophie Denecker stood at the sidelines near 59th Street and First Avenue near Mile 16, the colors of the French flag painted on her cheeks.
The 39-year-old finance worker from the small town of Sautron in western France was waiting for her husband, Karl Denecker, who was running his first New York City Marathon.
Karl Denecker is not new to the sport: He has run four other marathons, including the Paris race, and has been training for about 10 weeks, running about 18 miles a week.
“Today he is trying to win his record, which is running more than three hours and eight minutes,” Sophie Denecker said.
FRENCH CONNECTION: Sophie Denecker of France cheered on her husband, Karl. (Photo by : Valentina Cordero)
She started running two years ago, but said she’s not quite ready for a marathon yet.
“I only run in short distance races … half of the distance that he usually runs,” she said.
But her dream is to soon run side-by-side with her husband at a future marathon.
– Valentina Cordero
A Fluid Family
Mines Jackson has never run the New York City marathon. But for the past 28 years, he’s awoken well before dawn on race day to prepare.
Jackson oversees the water and Gatorade stations at Mile 7 in Brooklyn, where he meets the tables, gallons of water and cups that arrive between 4 a.m. and 5 a.m. on Forth Avenue in Park Slope.
“The seventh mile is always ready,” said Jackson, 50, as he scanned the sidewalks, dotted with nearly a hundred volunteers filling green paper cups with water and Gatorade and handing them to the runners.
Handing out water is a Jackson family affair that involves his wife Charlotte, his sister Diane, his daughter and two nephews.
There are 23 fluid stations throughout the marathon course, one at each mile after Mile 3. For fluid station veterans like the Jacksons, there are certain tricks to a successful hand-off.
Jackson’s nephew Derrick Jackson, 22, recommends holding the cup by its rim, and with fingertips, so that runners can more easily grab the body of the cup.
Also, cups should only be filled up halfway in order to avoid sloshing water on the volunteers and the runners, he said.
Then, there’s the art of the cheer.
HELPING HAND: Kaliel Jackson, 11, has been handing out water along the marathon route with his family since he was 5. (Photo by: Natalie Fertig)
Kaliel, the youngest of the Jackson clan handing out fluids on Fourth Avenue on Sunday, has three chants and he rotates while handing off cups of water.
“I shout, ‘Don’t stop!,’ ‘Keep going!’ or ‘Come on!’” said Kaliel, 11.
– Audrey McGlinchy
