New York City Marathon Quotes

Every year, on the first Sunday in November, more than 50,000 runners participate in one of the most spectacular sporting events in the world: the New York City Marathon. From the elite runners to the back-of-the-packers, runners from across the globe inspire the more than 2 million spectators cheering them on through New York City’s five boroughs.

Here are some quotes about this epic and awe-inspiring 26.2 mile race.

1. “Running defines me. It is a euphoric feeling I look forward to every day. It keeps me connected to life. And every November I get to witness the outpouring of compassion and spirit that this city gives to thousands of runners who tackle our marathon.”
-Allan Steinfeld, former race director, New York City Marathon

2. “Everyone wins the marathon. We all have the same feeling at the start—nervous, anxious, excited. It is a broader, richer, and even with twenty-seven thousand people—more intimate experience than I found when racing in track. New York is the marathon that all the biggest stars want to win, but has also been the stage for an array of human stories more vast than any other sporting event. ”
-Grete Waitz, winner of 9 NYC marathons

3. “Why do people run the marathon? Most of us won’t perform on a stage. But whether a person is a world-class athlete or a four-hour runner, the marathon gives us a stage, where we perform and be proud, while millions of people applaud. In an unequal world, in this one endeavor, people of vastly different abilities share something in common: the act of going the distance.”
-Fred Lebow, New York City Marathon co-founder

4. “I had dreamed of a moment like that since I was a little girl. I imagined what it would feel like, but it exceeded my expectations and dream! It felt incredible, pure joy and validation for persevering through all the lows to achieve my goal.”
-Shalane Flanagan, after winning the 2017 NYC Marathon, the first American woman to win it since 1977

5. “New York is the one you have to win.”
-Rob Dixon, winner of the 1983 New York City Marathon

6. “But most of all I was inspired by the stirring examples of all the other runners. In some pictures they would seem like tiny dots in a mosaic, but each had a separate narrative starting a few months or a lifetime earlier and finishing that day in the New York City Marathon, the race with 37,000 stories.”
-Mark Sutcliffe

7. “When you first run up First Avenue in New York, if you don’t get goose bumps, there’s something wrong with you.”
– Frank Shorter, on the New York City Marathon

8. “The New York Marathon: a fantastic event.”
-Pope John Paul II, 1982

9. “In 1971, the New York City Marathon was no bigger than a grade-school field day. It was the race’s second year, and a shivering cult of 245 runners gathered in Central Park to run laps around the walking paths.”
-Edward McClelland, author and journalist

10. “The marathon is a charismatic event. It has everything. It has drama. It has competition. It has camaraderie. It has heroism. Every jogger can’t dream of being an Olympic champion, but he can dream of finishing a marathon.”
-Fred Lebow

11. “I’ll never do that again!”
-Grete Waitz, after winning the first of nine consecutive New York City Marathons

12. “Never in my life have I ever experienced anything as crazy as this.”
-Sean “P. Diddy” Combs, on finishing the 2009 New York City Marathon

13. “Racing once more in the TCS New York City Marathon means so much to me. It is my favorite race, and although thousands of miles separate my training base in Kaptagat, Kenya to New York, the event feels like home. I say that because of the friendly nature of the event, the terrific organization and also because of the warmth I feel from the many thousands of supporters lining the route.”
-Geoffrey Kamworor, Kenyan distance runner, winner of 2017 New York City Marathon

14. “Today was not about times, it was about getting in there, enjoying the race, and enjoying the atmosphere.”
-Paula Radcliffe, on winning the New York City Marathon

15. “When I think about returning to race in New York City, I’m flooded with magical memories. My heart skips a beat, I get butterflies in my stomach, and my palms get sweaty. New York City is incredibly special to me. It’s where I ran my first marathon in 2010, placing second, and of course, my dream come true moment in 2017 when I won the TCS New York City Marathon.”
-Shalane Flanagan

16. “The starting line of the New York City Marathon is kind of a giant time bomb behind you about to go off. It is the most spectacular start in sport.”
-Bill Rodgers, four-time winner of the New York City Marathon

17. “I think I bit off more than I could chew, I thought the marathon would be easier. For the level of condition that I have now, that was without a doubt the hardest physical thing I have ever done.”
-Lance Armstrong, after finishing the New York City Marathon