(post by Dee) The ING NYC Marathon 2008 is now over but along its route numerous neighborhoods welcomed runners from all over the world. From Staten Island through Brooklyn, Queens, then Bronx and finally Manhattan’s Central Park (the finish line), this massive annual event draws cheerleaders and casual observers from every neighborhood it intersects. This year I have been lucky to observe the NYC Marathon 2008 from LIC’s (Long Island City) Vernon Boulevard. What a scene it was! So glad I stopped doing business and spent some time among locals, tourists and some of the runners’ families, just taking in this colorful, international, noisy, cheerful and exciting event that makes even the most dreadful runner of them all (your truly!) want to jump in and run!

The NYC Marathon route is mostly the same as it has been for years. Runners come out of Greenpoint, Brooklyn and get across the Pulaski Bridge, which marks half-point of the race, then enter Queens. As soon as they step off the bridge, they are in LIC’s Hunters Point. Cross left next to Café Henri, past One Hunters Point condo building on Borden Ave, past Tournesol restaurant and onto Vernon Boulevard for a run through the heart of Long Island City. I took some pictures (see below) of the runners, some zooming, some jogging, and some walking, right 48^th Avenue, past Bella Via Pizza restaurant (and Hunters Point condo sales office posters above). The marathon route goes north on Vernon, and in its wake thousands of empty cups end up on the street, as runners hydrating needs exceed the ability of the marathon’s crews to clean up right away. It’s quite a scene! ING cheering zone was set up right off 48^th Ave on Vernon, where they gave away free hats and sun glasses, and music, blasting from speakers in one spot, and played by a live band in another, kept everyone in a cheering frenzy. As the morning’s top athletes were replaced with amateurs and eventually those just aiming to complete the race, I noticed bystanders grabbing food together, warming up with coffee or jumping into LIC Bar for some beers. Visitors from elsewhere mixed in with the locals who have been watching NYC Marathon in LIC for years, all united by the same party scene, despite weather turning chillier with every hour. At the peak of it all, I had a hard time crossing Vernon Blvd as I headed for business to 5SL. All business owners came out as their businesses picked up some once-a-year business. As the last of the runners hit Queens Plaza, the clean-up crews took care of business quickly, thank goodness.

Gotta love NYC Marathon, especially when it passes through your neighborhood!

Here are some pictures from November 2, 2008 NYC Marathon: