The New York City Marathon is an annual marathon road race run over a 42,195 m (26.2 mile) course through all five boroughs of New York City. It is the largest marathon race in the world, with 37,866 finishers in 2006. Along with the Boston Marathon and Chicago Marathon, it is among the pre-eminent long-distance annual running events in the United States and is one of the World Marathon Majors.
The 2007 New York City Marathon will be held on Sunday, November 4th. It will be the final race of the 2006-2007 World Marathon Majors, a two-year series of elite marathon racing that also includes the Boston, Chicago, London and Berlin marathons.
However, there will be very few, if any, elite American marathoners participating in 2007 because they will have competed the day before at the 2008 USA Men's Olympic Marathon Trials. The Trials, which will also take place in New York and be organized by New York Road Runners, will not follow the five-borough NYC Marathon course but will rather be a series of five-mile laps around Central Park, very similar to the first NYC Marathon in 1970.
Assumed to be leaders in the women's elite race are England's Paula Radcliffe, 33, the world record-holder and 2004 New York winner competing in her first marathon since the birth of her daughter in January; Ethiopia's Gete Wami, 32, who won the Berlin Marathon five weeks ago; two-time defending New York champ Jelena Prokopcuka of Latvia, 31, and four-time Boston champion Catherine Ndereba, 35, of Kenya.
The top men are 29-year-old Martin Lel of Kenya, reigning Boston champion; defending New York winner Marilson Gomes dos Santos of Brazil, 30, and 2004 Olympic gold medalist Stefano Baldini of Italy, 36.
Race officials expect between 38,000 and 39,000 at the starting line, a barely manageable number winnowed from the record 100,000 entry applicants.
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