A Race Like No Other: 26.2 Miles Through the Streets of New York

by Liz Robbins

“Gets closer to this marathon than an avenue railbird, and it leaves impressions not fleeting, but lasting.” — Sports Illustrated

The New York City Marathon is considered one of the nation’s—and the world's—premier sporting events. A reporter for the New York Times, Liz Robbins brings the color, the history, the electricity of this remarkable annual competition alive in A Race Like No Other . Centering her narrative around the fabled 2007 running, Robbins captures all the intensity of the grand event, following the runners—both professional and amateur—along 26.2 grueling miles through the streets of New York, from the starting line at the Verrazano Narrows Bridge to the finish line in Central Park, and offering fascinating portraits of marathon legends like the race's charismatic founder, the late Fred Lebow, and nine-time champion Grete Waitz. The Wall Street Journal raves: “Robbins nails the race, painting a broad, impressionistic portrait of what I consider New York’s greatest day.” No other book captures the excitement of the New York City Marathon like A Race Like No Other .

Genres: Nonfiction, Sports, Fitness, Audiobook, Health, New York

336 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2008

Reviews

[Selina Young · Rating 3 out of 5]

More like 3.5 stars. I really appreciated hearing about the race as I’m about to run it. Great set up - each chapter is a mile. While I liked reading about the elite runners I felt there was too much. I liked the stories of the amateur ‘regular’ runners much more compelling.

[CatReader · Rating 4 out of 5]

In A Race Like No Other, sports journalist Liz Robbins profiles around over a dozen runners and key figures in the November 4, 2007 New York City marathon. I really appreciated that, while the majority of her subjects were prominent figures (the top 3 men and top 3 women's finishes, a few athletes who use wheelchairs, pre-controversy Alberto Salazar and Lance Armstrong, and, randomly, actress Katie Holmes), she also takes takes time to profile a handful of ordinary people who were running for meaningful life milestones, like beating cancer or achieving and maintaining sobriety. I found this book interesting and well-paced (pun intended), and enjoyable from start to finish (pun also intended).

My stats:
Book 133 for 2024
Boo 1736 cumulatively

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book about the New York City Marathon. Unlike "Born to Run," I'm not sure how much this book would appeal to non-runners, but as a runner I couldn't put it down. It was one of those nonfiction books that is the perfect blend of personal anecdotes and history of the race, which really kept me engaged.

The author follows personal stories everywhere from the top elite athletes to people who finished in over 6 hours, and everybody in between. I liked how it was structured, how there was essentially a chapter for each mile, and each mile described both the actual geography at that location plus things that happened to the various runners at that location (such as the street entertainers that were at certain points, elite runners strategically passing each other, or how the crowds were at that point, etc.). Thoroughly entertaining read.

[Deanna · Rating 1 out of 5]

I have a very large collection of books about running. I love books about running. This is the least compelling specimen of the genre that I've come across in a while, though maybe less boring to someone who doesn't follow running as closely.

[Brannock · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fantastic and inspiring start that made me want to run the race myself, but similar to how I imagine a marathon must feel like, the author then proceeded to plod through the back half of the course with a heavy dose of monotony and more than a twinge of painful frustration.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved reading the mile-by-mile stories of various ability-leveled runners. This book definitely got me even more excited to run the NYC marathon!

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

No surprise I loved this one! It’s old, so a lot of the athletes and records are outdated, but such a good mile by mile recount of the marathon and some of the amazing stories from that year!

[Katherine Vocelka · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun fun fun

[Samara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beyond excited to run the NYC Marathon in just 1 week! Even more hype after finishing this book!

[Jason Sherman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow.

This book has always been on my bucket list (semi-alongside actually running the marathon) and I picked this up just about a month before this year’s marathon - my first. I had wanted to finish it before race day but in the end, I took too long and finished about 3 weeks after.

I’m glad I️ finished after I️ ran the race, actually, because it allowed me to appreciate the stories in a different way. I was able to flash back to certain moments, especially during the last stretch of the race, and remember exactly how I felt as I read the words describing this part of the course.

The style of writing isn’t what I’m typically drawn to and is what took me longer to plow through but it’s undeniable how impactful and moving the individual runners are, and it’s all the more intensified when juxtaposed with the elite athlete competitions recounted here as well. I️ found myself becoming emotional at certain points, especially before race day, as I️ related to many of the feelings these runners felt. I️ also enjoyed using this book as a course preview, though sadly I wasn’t great at remembering details while I was on the course myself.

Ultimately this was an amazing companion as race day approached, an immensely meaningful moment for me. I️t was incredible to see that I wasn’t close to being alone in that feeling, as hundreds of runners felt the same way. This race is bigger than me, bigger than the elites, and bigger than any single individual. And it’s that enormity that helps make it so incredibly special to so many people. This book helped capture that feeling and elevated my already heightened emotions surrounding this special day.

Even though non-(Marathon) runners may not feel as strongly as I did or relate to this book in the same way, I would still recommend this to anyone who is an athlete, has overcome large obstacles in their life, or who simply needs a reminder of the will of humans. I️t WILL move you.

[Kimberly Prytherch · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved every minute of it, it makes me want to run the race even more!

[Totochelamouche · Rating 3 out of 5]

Weber explained that paying attention to running or engaging in strenuous exercise is a distraction from studying the Torah. Still, two seminal Jewish scholars, Rabbi Akiba in the second century and Moses Maimonides, the twelfth-century philosopher, advocated taking care of one's body.

In a quarter century of marathons, this dramatic change in gender trends was made possible and inspired by three women, each a former winner of the New York City Marathon, each a pioneer of the sport: Nina Kuscsik, Kathrine Switzer and Grete Waitz.

It is as if the runners today, having passed through nearly nine miles of exuberant fans, blaring music and colorful signs, travel on Bedford Avenue into the nineteenth century. The community of the ultra-Orthodox Satmar sect lives along Bedford Avenue. Children peek out of the windows of overcrowded apartments or stand on the stoops to see the Marathon traipse by their block. Men wear black hats, long beards with hanging sidelocks (peius) and tzitzit (prayer shawl fringes that serve as symbolic reminders of faith) from their belt loops. The women have children at their long skirts. Children do not cheer or hold signs, though a few young boys and girls offer cups of water.

The New York Road Runners chief, Mary Wittenberg, is aware of the implication that charity entries are creating a pay-to-run image, which is one reason she struggled with the idea for a long time.

Powering their chairs solely with their arms and hands, these athlete compete around the world as often as two, even three races a month just to earn a living.

New York becomes the world's largest medal stand as people preen around the city, or in airports, showing off their prize. It is the key to an exclusive club, an instant status symbol, license to walk slowly, eat plentifully, gloat, groan and grin.

The Virginia Beach Marathon, in a sense, will seem almost "too normal," she will report. "No lottery, no four-plus-hour wait at Fort Wadsworth, no eavesdropping on animated conversations in other languages, no cannon, no people shamelessly peeing off a bridge, no five boroughs, no Olympic trials, no super-elites, no crowds that almost scare you with their cheering, no Stanley Rygor, no Central Park, and, they only hand you your medal, no put it around your sweaty, deserving neck!"

Although Radcliffe's success affords her and her husband a comfortable lifestyle in tax-free Monaco, when her feet hit the New York pavement and her head starts nodding, it is business as usual for her.

Why - and how - does a professional athlete, out of the running for the only two real prizes, keep running? She finds someone to pass.

Jelena: "It was a very difficult moment because, thirty seconds before, I felt so good feelings. I was so strong and then - irk! - I felt my liver spasm."

In 1969, Fred Lebow ran his first road race in the Bronx, a 5-miler, which consisted of eleven laps around Yankee Stadium. He also ran his first marathon in the Bronx, the 1970 Cherry Tree Marathon. While dodging cars and children who were throwing stones, he decided it was time to put on a marathon in Central Park, where the roads at least could be closed.

Jelena Prokopcuka (right), carrying a vial of anti-inflammatory liquid for precaution against a stitch in her side [...]

Since 1993, the London Marathon has always had the highest number of runners participating for charity among all international marathons - close to 78 percent in 2007.

She feels the same way whether she's running in the foothills of the Sandia Mountains in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on the soaring trails of the Pyrenees or with her father in the Delamere Forest behind her family home in Cheshire, England.

Radcliffe has had almost as many injuries as trophies in her career. From stress fractures to hernias, exercise-induced asthma to anemia to hematomas, she has had it all. Her body is not a temple; it is a hospital.

She ran twice a day through the first five months of her pregnancy - 75 minutes in the morning and 30 to 45 minutes in the evening. Following her doctor's orders, she was careful not to let her heart rate exceed 160 beats per minute, as opposed to her usual maximum heart rate of 190 while training.

Ramaala has placed the exact same pair of orthotics in his racing flats since he began his career in 1995, and they are virtually worn to the foam tread by now. Yellow and white strips of electrical tape bind the torn pieces of phone book pages which serve to pad these once-molded shoe inserts. (Dr. Scholl's meets MacGyver.) Ramaala's left leg is a couple centimeters or so shorter than his right leg, and his physical therapist in Johannesburg - who is as unconventional as Ramaala - constructed his orthotics to compensate.

In Latvia, it is the custom to give candy and flowers for a birthday.

Three months later at the Millrose Games indoor track meet in New York, Goucher wins the women's mile wearing a titanium necklace. Yes, she will admit with a sheepish grin: "I got it because of Paula."

Around Radcliffe's neck is the thin gold chain her mother gave her. It sits under an elastic titanium necklace, a product she endorses that is designed to restore equilibrium and improve blood flow.

[...] Radcliffe is wearing a red ribbon, as per her routine. She has attached one to her racing uniform since 1999 to protest what she believes is the sport's inadequate testing for blood doping, whereby athletes illegally boost the blood's oxygen with erythropoietin (or EPO).

Radcliffe also wears a strip on her nose to aid her breathing; she has exercise-induced asthma.

Hunkeler's first race back after the 2006 accident came on September 5 at the Osaka World Championships, when she finished second in the 1,500 meters to Canada's Chantal Petitclerc (who is also competing in today's race).

A full-time, top-level wheelchair professional can earn enough from prize money and endorsements - just over six figures - to make a living. But unlike an elite runner, who usually runs just two marathons a year, plus a handful of smaller races, wheelchair athletes compete as many as twenty times a year.

One woman, Sister Mary Gladys, a 75-year-old nun from Connecticut, competes in her twenty-fifth New York City Marathon powering a hand crank because she can no longer run or walk due to arthritis.

Noakes used Ramaala as an example during his inspirational speech to the South African rugby team before the Springboks left for the 2007 Rugby World Cup.

Lel lives in the temperate and lush Rift Valley of Kenya, in a secluded area in western Kenya that is a loosely incorporated village named Kimngeru.

Wami grew up in north-central Ethiopia, far from the southern highlands of the Arsi region that spawned the champions Tulu, Gebrselassie and the middle-distance star, Kenenisa Bekele. Her mountainous village of Chacha is about 75 miles northeast of Addis Ababa.

In a country where women are still trying to break out of their traditionally subservient roles, Tulu, who is five years older than Wami, empowered a new generation of Ethiopian runners. Fatuma Roba won the Olympic gold medal in the marathon in the 1996 Atlanta Games; Wami herself won a bronze medal in the 10,000 meters at Atlanta.

Tulu became the first black African woman to win an Olympic gold medal, in the 10,000 meters, at the 1992 Barcelona Games.

By 8 a.m., the volunteers have stirred the powdered Gatorade mix with water. They have poured Gatorade and water into cups, stacked three tiers high, 200 cups in each tier, according to Marathon protocol. Once the inspector from the Road Runners leaves, however, Santoli instructs his volunteers to stack the cups in five tiers, separated by cardboard. "If you do it only three tiers, the water will all be gone," he explains. He will prepare 57,000 cups of water and Gatorade today.

The day actually began at midnight, when the Marathon organizers dropped off seventy-two tables. Santoli went back to sleep until 4 a.m., when the shipment of water and Gatorade arrived. Santoli's first thought was to make sure people would not steal the supplies. Early in the morning, he saw a man who must have been closed to 70 years old walk off with two cases of water, holding six jugs each. Walk might me too strong a word. The man hobbled, sweating profusely, and shoved the cases into his car. When Santoli confronted the man, he denied it.

As Pam veers in toward a water station, she tries to slow down long enough to grab a cup, only she feels the force of the runners pushing her from behind her. The momentum sends her sprawling awkwardly toward the table, almost to certain injury.

They might also witness men emptying their bladders in a steady stream off the side of the bridge. Green bib runners on the lower deck beware.

Paula Radcliffe, Gete Wami, Jelena Prokopcuka and Catherine Ndereba are the most decorated in the field today.

Radcliffe and her competitors surge to the peak of the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, the highest elevation on the course today, at 260 feet above sea level and a dizzying 225 feet above shimmering New York Harbor.

Her heart, which will pound out a steady 180 beats per minute, in the next two-plus hours on the course, is revving like an engine from its resting rate of 38 beats per minute.

The items discarded on the bridge, however, will likely not be given to charity. In order for clothes to be donated, they must be washed. The volume of clothing, mixed with trash and even runners' urine, is just too great for the Department of Sanitation trucks to separate before the bridge must reopen in two hours.

When the New York Fire Department boats spray water in three fountains of red, white and blue at the start of the race, it is a sight so awesome that not even a camera lens can capture its scale. Only the runner on the bridge can truly appreciate its grandeur.

Giovanni da Verrazano was the first European to sail through these narrow waters in 1527.

By 9:30 a.m., runners are in line, stretching, laughing, befriending strangers, dancing to music from headphones, trying to stay warm, trying to stay positive, nervously bouncing on the balls of their feet, some even squatting and flushing their bodily fluids right there on the bridge as the minutes tick down to a day of certain torture.

Professional runners, even with their 140-mile training weeks, their tolerance for pain and their extremely regimented schedules, are not so different from the recreational athletes.

Professional runners pound the uneven pavement for more than two hours, taking an average of 190 steps per minute. Elite athletes will strike the ground about 25,000 times during the course of the race.

Since Radcliffe did not run the last two years, Wami's primary competition today for the series prize money is Jelena Prokopcuka (pronounced pro-kup-CHU-ka), the two-time defending New York champion from Latvia.

Flocks of Italian-speaking runners stroll around in disposable heat-retaining polypropylene coveralls sold at the bustling Marathon Expo in the days before the race [...]

Around the corner, a tent ten times the size, with plastic windows lining its walls, offers ecumenical Christian services conducted by clerics who are themselves running the race. Cindy Peterson, who grew up Catholic in Montreal, cannot discern whether there will be a Mass this morning. No matter; she is there anyway to keep warm.

A few feet from the curb of the main street heading into the start village, a small open tent holds some forty men and five women, swaying and praying. Jewish marathoners from around the world spill out of the tent. Many drape prayer shawls over their running outfits and wrap tefillin (black boxes holding biblical inscriptions) on the arm and the forehead. Their mumbling grows to a crescendo at the morning minyan (a prayer gathering that traditionally had to have at least ten men), forming an intimate community within a community.

The long lines will be elsewhere this year - at the parking lot where runners drop off their official clear plastic bags containing belongings not needed during the race; they will be deposited at numbered UPS trucks that correspond to their bib numbers. In the orange drop-off area, there is a gridlock of nearly one hour, as runners waiting to drop bags get caught in the exiting flow of those who have already done so.

Each distinct area of the village has the same characteristics - a massive arc of corral-colored balloons, first aid stations, and kiosks for coffee, tea, bagels and hot water. Runners queue for their prerace sustenance, but no line takes longer than five minutes. Due to complaints from 2006 participants who waited in lengthy lines to use portable toilets, 309 more were added in 2007 to the start village, bringing the total to 1,515.

When the time comes, runners will proceed to corrals that direct them to the starting line on the bridge. Runners with blue and orange bibs will start on the bridge's upper deck, while those with green proceed to the lower deck.

Some runners are overjoyed to be here, having gained automatic entry after not being chosen in the lottery three times in a row. Others were guaranteed entry by the fast qualifying times they ran in a marathon or half-marathon in the previous year.

Staten Island is the most overlooked of New York City's five boroughs, and the most suburban. Yet runners will spend as many (if not more) hours waiting here for the race to begin as they will running through the other four boroughs.

Somnambulant figures step from the shuttle buses that had collected them at the Staten Island Ferry terminal and traipse past him.

[Kimberly · Rating 3 out of 5]

I started reading this book while training for the 2017 TCS NYC Marathon to help me get in the mindset, build excitement, and mentally prepare for the grueling NYC course. The book follows several runners (some elite professionals and others who are like me - average people looking to finish for one reason or another) as they make their way through the 26.2 mile course. Each chapter covers a mile and tells a bit of the story of each runner. It's an interesting way to detail the marathon, though some of the backstories, especially on the elite runners, went a little long. I would rather have had more stories of the people who are part of the marathon--the regulars who stand on street corners, hold up signs, have run several consecutive NYC marathons, or who were first-timers.

I also was really annoyed by a couple of falsehoods early on in the book. The author perpetuates the urban marathon myth that runners on the lower level of the Verrazano Bridge risk getting sprayed with urine when those on the upper level pee off the top. I've run the top, and I've run the bottom, and I've seen neither pee-ers nor been sprayed. In fact, you risk an early DQ (disqualification) if you're caught peeing on the bridge. Can we please put that one to rest already?!?

I really don't think this book would hold any appeal to anyone who has not/isn't planning to run NYC. I don't even know that it would appeal all that much to the regular runner--it's very NYC focused. But if you are going to tackle the marathon, this is definitely a worthwhile read to help understand the course (even if some of the references are a bit dated) and get yourself mentally ready to conquer it.

[Jenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

I actually listened to this one on audio twice. The first time, it ended and I realized it had gone so fast I must have been distracted and missed some. But in listening again I realized I didn't really miss anything, and, yet, it entertained me all the same. I have always wanted to run this race (long before ever becoming a runner!) I had applied for the lottery this year (didn't get in, unfortunately) and had been reading this to psyche myself up even more. The author breaks each chapter into the number mile of the race. Some chapters focus on the history of the marathon, some on that specific location, some on the volunteers and spectators on the course, some on the lives of the amateur runners, and some on the lives of the professionals. Everyone has a different but awe inspiring experience in running this marathon. I thought it was put together smartly. Some of the personal stories did get a little long whereas most of the people reading this would be more interested in the running aspect of it. However, that might also make this book more relatable and I retesting for in-runners. Overall a very enjoyable read (listen).

[Bryan Hall · Rating 5 out of 5]

As good a book as you could write about the New York City Marathon. Robbins covers the course mile-by-mile, tracking a variety of runners along the way. She goes into detail about the histories and personalities of the male and female elite runners, profiles several amateurs with inspirational stories, and even goes into the crowds to get a behind-the-scenes look at some of the spectators, musicians, and volunteers that line the course. The history of the race is also covered extensively, but in a sort of meandering way that I think makes it more interesting than a simple, straightforward, 30-page block of text would be.

I think this is a must-read for anyone who has run NYC or plans to. Whether you read it first to get an idea of what to expect and to psych yourself up for the race, or read it after finishing to reminisce about your run, I feel this is a valuable addition to the experience. And even if you never want to run a marathon, this is a great New York story.

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a runner of hundreds of half marathons (but only 2 marathons, and not New York, and I'm nowhere near "fast") I thought I would at least enjoy this book but it actually felt like a marathon to get through. This book read a little boring, a little cliche, a little too much metaphorical prose. I was much more compelled to read the stories of the non-elite runners, although of course I understand why a majority of the book was dedicated to the top 3 winners in male and female. I am giving this a 4, however, and feel it could easily be a 5 if a more modern version was written, but as this book discusses the 2007 marathon, and so much has changed in the world of running (and our world in general), it is a bit dated.

I definitely hit The Wall a few times during the course of this book (see what I did there?) and I am actually shocked to find it took me a month to get through, but that says a lot.

[Raahil Modi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having read this book - it makes me want to run the New York City Marathon soon.

The story captures the 2007 race mile by mile, exploring different runners, at different times in their lifes, the level of hardships, the good, the bad and the extraordinaire.

It also gives an interesting insight on New York Road Runners Team and their journey on how NYC Marathon became the Best and the Biggest Marathon in the world.

There is a lot of interesting historical stuff (everything about Marathons, runners background and things about their lives, associations, competitions etc..); boring at times, however, the writing is fluid and the storyline is engaging.

It is always fascinating to know what motivates different runners to run a Marathon. This is one of the things I will take away from this book.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book for several reasons. The biggest is that if I ever decided I wanted to run a marathon, New York is probably the one I would want to run. (Except I am totally turned off by that 5 hour wait to start.) Also, based on the 2007 race, it was well before my interest in running so I wasn't familiar with most of the elites featured in the book. And obviously all the amateurs were unknown to me. Ms. Robbins did a terrific job of combining the flow of the race with everyone's personal stories. Truly an inspiring look at running and the New York marathon. But, oh, that wait!

[Carianne Carleo-Evangelist · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really really loved this book. I’ve read it before but don’t appear to have reviewed it anywhere. Fun to run into my pre existing highlights on the library kindle copy. When I first read this I wasn’t a runner, and now the elites this book focused on are retired. Something special about reading this on a flight to England though with so much about Paula Radcliffe.
I liked that it focused on the city and the non elite athletes and volunteers as much as telling the stories of how the elites came to be running this marathon Sunday.

[Jelena · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is a complete disappointment and reading it was an agonizing experience. It comprises of an endless row of anecdotes and yawn full stories with no clear narrative line or message. I bought the book while training for NYC marathon hoping to learn about this epic race and the five boroughs, instead the book offered a pig-pile of dull anecdotes that have no value in the NYC marathon context. I give the book zero stars.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A friend book this for a group of us running the 2017 NYC Marathon, some of us, like myself, for our first marathon distance. I loved how the chapters were broken into miles to give you an idea of what to expect as you run the course. After reading this book I found myself equal parts terrified and excited to run 26.2 miles through the streets of NYC. Highly recommended for anyone running the NYC marathon!

[Owen · Rating 4 out of 5]

An enjoyable look at the 2007 New York City marathon. A marathon is run by many types of people. Here you get a story of the elite runners and others runners. If you're a run marathon, or run the NYC marathon, or know the places discussed in the book I think you'll find it more enjoyable. So perhaps only 3 stars for some readers, and five stars for others. About 3.5 stars for me. Glad I read it. Pretty sure I won't read it again.

[Yvette Goldberg · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought it was a great book for anyone that appreciates the effort to being the best you can be at any sport. As someone about to run the marathon I loved the breakdown of miles for each chapter. It was nice to read and the elites, though I too that went on a bit long. Loved the back stories of the different regular runners trying to accomplish something big for themselves or some else, and also the back stories of some of the volunteers. Very original.

[David Jay · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved how the chapters each correlated with the 26.2 miles of the marathon. Very clever.

I loved reading the stories of the 'regular people' runners; the woman who had just been released from prison, the young man who had just finished treatment for cancer. I was less interested in the stories of the professional runners. I wish the book had focused less on them.

[Christine A Columna · Rating 4 out of 5]

What an inspirational book to read to prepare me for the NYC Marathon on Sunday, November 6th. I loved the journeys that were detailed and the adversity that many had overcome to complete the race. The only downfall for this book was the middle where they explained the winner half way through the book!

[Amandanoel · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you are training for or have run the NYC marathon then please read this book. Otherwise it is probably just a fine read but won’t hit the same. I kind of wanted to spend more time with the “regular” runners and less time with the elites, but to be ho eat my very favorite stories were about the neighborhoods and volunteers

[Jaime Kinsley · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book definitely got me even more excited about running the NYC marathon. Unfortunately, there are parts that are not aging well, that I found distracting. For example, calling the husbands of the female elite runners “enlightened” for simply taking care of their children while their wives ran the marathon.

[Topherjaynes · Rating 2 out of 5]

I took a recommendation to listen to this during longer runs. I didn't find any of the stories engaging and had a hard time finishing.... The bite-size stories don't interconnect into a larger narrative other than there is a race in NYC. It might be better as one-off, but it feels choppy and cumbersome.

[Colin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent way to learn about the NYC Marathon course and some neat stories of runners and people along the course. I ready it right before running the marathon in 2018 and it was a great way to get ready to run!

[Stephan · Rating 4 out of 5]

The A to Z about the New York City Marathon, and the back stories of a handful of runners who overcame tragedy or their own demons to run the 2007 New York Marathon. You don't have to be a runner to enjoy this book.