The New York City Marathon

AN EDITED VERSION OF THIS POST APPEARS IN THE NEW YORK TIMES IN THE LETTERS TO THE SPORTS EDITOR ON NOVEMBER 10,2013

("At Marathon, Security Wins")

This was my first time attending the NYC Marathon and I expected the kind of police presence that your article suggests. What I found was totally different.

Arriving at 106th Street and Fifth Avenue more than 2 hours and 30 minutes after the last of the runners began their journey, I witnessed an endless wave of people coming my way. I walked up to 117th Street and then reversed my route, cheering the runners on all the way to 150 yards from the finish line in Central Park.

The path that my wife, son and I took often had us within inches of those who were straining to finish their task. We traveled with a backpack and walking poles, items that might have caused concern. Yet, apart from the security line that we had to go through within the last quarter mile of the finish, we were left to enjoy the day without interference.

There was unfettered intimacy in this experience. I am certainly not blind to 21st century realities, but I was very happily surprised at how much this felt like what I imagined the marathon route was in the days before the awful occurrence in Boston.