Thousands hit the streets for New York City Marathon

CENTRAL PARK, Manhattan (PIX11) — Thousands of runners took over the streets of New York City on Sunday for the 2025 TCS New York City Marathon, one of the world’s largest and most popular road races.

Among the more than 55,000 participants were elite athletes, community champions and many marathon first-timers, all sharing stories of determination and triumph.

One emotional highlight came when a female runner broke down in tears upon crossing the finish line, embraced by volunteers and fellow runners.

Runner Armando celebrated completing his seventh marathon, saying, “Today was a very nice experience for me. From start to finish, the crowd was awesome. If I were to do another one, it would be this one.”

New York Road Runners CEO Rob Simmelkjaer praised the unmatched energy of the city and the race. “There’s nowhere in the world that brings the kind of energy and excitement to this race like New York does… the energy, the party, music,” he said.

Grand Marshal CC Sabathia, a former Yankees ace and longtime supporter of the marathon, reflected on the event’s scale and spirit. “I just found out that 55,000 runners with over 2 million spectators watch this event here to just have fun and see what it’s all about,” Sabathia said.

Among the thousands of inspiring stories was that of Hardee Bhavsar, a cancer survivor running her first marathon. “Running kind of became my outlet for anxiety, my way to get control of my body again after everything chemo, radiation, surgery my body has put me through,” Bhavsar shared.

Runner and TV personality Matt James added some humor about the race day snacks, saying, “People had pizza and donuts out there… I had banana bread, watermelon, pizza, even a beer — I didn’t hold back.”

From Staten Island to Central Park, this year’s marathon ended with tired legs and full hearts.