“To finish New York is an achievement in itself,” he said. “And to finish in the top five is even better.”

van Dyk, a marathon veteran, was congratulated by a cheering crowd of volunteers, spectators, and police officers as he changed into a different wheelchair. He said it felt good to be back this year since the marathon was cancelled last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The New York City Marathon, to him, is a different kind of marathon.

“It’s a really tough road surface, and thank heavens we got here [to the finish line],” he said.

While running the marathon is challenging for all, wheelchair racers are also faced with the hurdle of shipping their wheelchair to the location of the marathon. 

“I get the most anxiety about whether my wheelchair will even make it from South Africa to here,” van Dyk said. “You can’t just run to the store to get new sneakers and then race.”

There was a time when van Dyk was not able to race in a past New York City Marathon because his wheelchair did not make it. 

“I remember I sat and watched the marathon on tv instead,” he said. “It’s frustrating because you work so hard for it and then that happens, and you can’t do anything about it.”

He is no stranger to competing in wheelchair marathons. van Dyk is a ten-time winner of the Boston Marathon , a two-time winner of the New York City Marathon, and a bronze medalist at Beijing in 2008.  

“My first paralympics was track in 1992,” he said. “I was a young king just starting out, surrounded by seasoned athletes. I just fell in love with it. Then I realized I was more of an endurance athlete, so I was competing in marathons.”

Paralympian Ernst van Dyk, 48 of Cape Town, South Africa poses for a portrait following his 5th place finish in the 2021 NYC Marathon. November 7, 2021. Photo by Nathan Morris

Van Dyk said training for marathons with a wheelchair is very different from those who are not. Since the lockdown during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, van Dyk said sharing roads with traffic has been more stressful and tricky because people seem to be more impatient while travelling. 

“Safety is something we always have to worry about when training,” he said. “We can’t just run on a trail. Instead, we have to share roads with traffic, and it can be a lot.”

He said that being a paralympian, the standard is set pretty high. With training, equipment, travel, and the amount of competition, it can seem like a lot for someone wanting to be like Ernst van Dyk.

“My advice,” he said. “yes there are a lot of pros out there, but you need to start somewhere, right?” 

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Approximately 33,000 runners – 20,000 short of 2019’s total due to pandemic restrictions – flooded the streets for the 50th running of the marathon today. 

  The largest marathon in the world tipped off on Staten Island, spanning 26.2 miles to the finish line at the south end of Central Park. Two million spectators are expected to line the streets to witness the return of the race, which began at 8 a.m. 

Runners enter Brooklyn after completing the first mile of the NYC Marathon at the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge on Sunday, Nov. 7 in Brooklyn, NY.Photo by Julia Bonavita

NYC Marathon runner Pablo Madriz celebrates completing the first mile of the race, passing over the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge on Sunday, Nov. 7 in Brooklyn, NY. Photo by Julia Bonavita

Runners in the 50th Annual NYC Marathon pass over the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge on Sunday, Nov. 7 in Brooklyn, NY.
Photo by Julia Bonavita

Weerapon Noothae gives a thumbs-up while crossing over the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge on Sunday, Nov. 7 in Brooklyn, NY.
Photo by Julia Bonavita

The second wave of runners in the 50th Annual NYC Marathon pass over the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge on Sunday, Nov. 7 in Brooklyn, NY.
Photo by Julia Bonavita

Prateek Shukla poses while passing over the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge during the NYC Marathon on Sunday, Nov. 7 in Brooklyn, NY. Photo by Julia Bonavita

Hannah Gavios greets spectators after completing the first mile of the NYC Marathon by passing over the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge on Sunday, Nov. 7 in Brooklyn, NY.
Photo by Julia Bonavita

Kristen Langston passes over the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge during the NYC Marathon on Sunday, Nov. 7 in Brooklyn, NY.
Photo by Julia Bonavita

Members of security for the NYC Marathon cheer on runners passing over the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge on Sunday, Nov. 7 in Brooklyn, NY.
Photo by Julia Bonavita

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“I ran it twice,” said Melo. “The people push you. All the dancing, the groups, the music, that’s what motivates you. When you’re running and you’re in pain and tired and thinking of giving up, the people just lift you. They help you get through.”

Lifting people up is part of Melo’s daily work with Nick Ferraiolli and Christian Vargas, both named in bold on his sign. The three men work together at FDNY EMS Station 8, a Kips Bay location of Bellevue EMS. Melo seemed to cheer so hard that he lost his balance when they passed by, but marathon encouragement isn’t the only way he supports his coworkers. Melo has served for 31 years and mentored countless young folks in the FDNY.

“They are great guys. I want to come out and support them,” he said, smiling toothily.

Melo lives just around the corner from his 13th Street and 4th Ave cheering outpost, but he hails from Bogotá, Colombia. The marathon is a favorite slice of NYC culture for Melo, and whether or not his friends are running, he and his wife come out every year. 

“A couple of years it has been very cold,” Melo said, before a toddler in pigtails and a pink puffer wrapped her arms around his legs. “We still come,” he finished, “it’s the community.”

In fact, neighbors surrounded Melo, often roping him into their cheers and throwing their arms around his neck. He joined in chanting “Ben!” over and over for a friend of a friend, and his sign swayed in the bright sky as he turned to watch the runner pass. The community aspect of the NYC marathon is what brings Melo back year after year, to stand out in the sun or bluster.

 “Go New York, Go New York, Go New York, Go!” he shouted, cheering on the whole city.

“We don’t do it for the elite people,” Melo said, looking at his wife. “We like the fact that there are people with struggles in their lives, and they triumph in this. They achieve this.”

Whether they are battling hunger or cancer, says Melo, trouble at work or with the family, folks come out to the marathon to do something. To run the marathon, he implies, is to be good at it, and that is the magic of the day.

Melo chuckled, “They’re doing it; it’s great,” he said. “They’re doing it for whatever cause they can.”

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With tears streaming down her face, Jessica Duran fulfilled a life-long dream by crossing the 2016 TCS New York City Marathon’s finish line. She completed the event with the closest time to exactly 10 hours, coming in at 10:00:12.

But race time mattered little to Duran or her husband and three daughters, all locking into a group hug the moment both her feet stayed planted on the ground.

“I didn’t have any expectation but I knew I had to finish,” Duran said. “I needed to show my little daughters that if I can do this, they can do this. I did it because of them. I didn’t think I was able to fulfill this dream until God and my heart took me to the finish line.”

Duran, 35, was born and raised in the Bronx but lives in Staten Island now. Completing her first marathon in New York City elevated this experience even higher for her, especially since it began in Staten Island.

“Your first marathon has to be in New York City,” she said. “There’s nothing like it. I cross the Verrazano Bridge (connecting Staten Island to Brooklyn) every day to go to work and now I’ve ran it. My husband’s from Brooklyn and the vibe there today was fantastic. And when I got to Queens I saw my dad, and I had a moment. He just told me, ‘Keep going. Keep going.’”

And she did. But she almost didn’t.

Thirteen miles in, at an emotional low point in her run, Duran noticed a “sweep bus” picking up runners who decided not to continue. These buses follow the marathon at a pace meant for the slower runners, so it hurt her self-esteem to be in the presence of one. Cold and hungry, she seriously debated quitting.

“But I had to accomplish what I’ve wanted to accomplish for a very long time.”

Duran pressed on.

“I doubted myself for a split second but seeing my family and friends – their support for my crazy idea I could do this – a girl who never finished college, a stay at home mom whose priorities are her kids – this is her and her children’s moment.”

She plans to run another marathon in July.

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Taidé de DeLeon watched the sweaty runners come through Downtown Brooklyn in shorts and tank tops. She was bundled in layers of dark sweaters, a scarf covering up to her nose and a beanie pulled down to her eyebrows.

This is DeLeon’s first time watching the marathon. She came from Panama to accompany and support her friend, Belinda Ricketts, 59, who was photographing the runners. The two are longtime friends and travel partners.

Downtown Brooklyn was closed off for the marathon on Atlantic Avenue. Blue police tape sectioned the sidewalk for the spectators, but many spectators were not fazed it and stood on either side. The shops were mostly empty or closed and not much attention was on anything but the runners.

DeLeon’s friend, Ricketts, had been photographing the TCS New York City Marathon as a hobby since she came to New York at 18. This is the first time she invited DeLeon.

“I’ve always loved sports, especially the marathon,” Ricketts said in Spanish.

The runners came in waves and one woman stopped in front of the two friends to catch her breath. Ricketts learned her name and cheered her on to keep running while snapping pictures on her Canon camera. DeLeon clapped encouragingly.

In Panama, DeLeon, 67, was a history teacher with no plans for traveling because it wasn’t in her budget. Even with her husband as an economist, money was tight.

Now that her daughter’s graduated from college, she and Ricketts have plans to travel the world.

“I’ve always wanted to come to the United States with someone who spoke English,” DeLeon said in Spanish. “My husband wasn’t as desperate to travel as me. Neither was my daughter.”

Ricketts and DeLeon met in Panama, in 2008, while Ricketts was there to settle some property issues. The two quickly became friends and planned numerous trips together.

But in 2014, Ricketts was diagnosed with breast cancer. The two postponed all their travel plans for Ricketts to go through treatment in Panama and DeLeon to help her through it. Now they stood on the sidelines as runners passed by, Ricketts photographing them and DeLeon supporting her still.

Barely done with her treatment, Ricketts clapped, cheered and filmed the runners as she stood in the sun with an open neon green jacket. She could have easily been mistaken for a volunteer.

“I wasn’t too worried to lose material things,” said Ricketts of her life before being diagnosed with cancer. “Money only lasts a short time. [DeLeon] said money calms the nerves but that calm is temporary.”

Another wave of runners passed by and DeLeon turned to clap for them as the music roared. Ricketts pulled out her phone to film the runners since she wasn’t quick enough to snap any pictures with her camera.

“If it were not for [Ricketts], I would have only done [few] things in my life,” said DeLeon. “She’s mobilized me.”

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“Top of the fifth” is usually a phrase tossed around by baseball fans, but for a neighborhood in Spanish Harlem, it’s the nickname of their little two block community at the top of 5th Avenue. Today a crowd of New York City Marathon supporters lined the “s-curve” route which comes at mile 22.

Even at the earlier hour of 11:00 am, before the first few runners passed, residents sat on their porches and held up signs of encouragement.

“We are proud of our community, but we also know that our community is proud of us,” said Wilbert “Wild Thing” Grier, 55, who lives in the area. “It’s a beautiful little two blocks.”

Grier, came bundled up and ready to show his support with coffee in hand and a small black and white whistle dangling around his neck. Even though cheers and applause erupted from nearby supporters, little compared to the sharp piercing sound of Grier’s whistle.

“The last few years I’ve been leaving the race a little hoarse, so this year, I decided to bring my whistle I got from the Puerto Rican Day Parade,” he said.

Today at the race Grier stood along the sidewalk as a spectator, but he was no stranger to being on the course. Having run marathons and Iron Man races before, he knew all the mental strength needed to finish.

“When you’re running a race, you are always running for your life. It’s a great thing,” he said.

But Grier connected his own mental strength with other life experiences. Having been around the military since he was nine-years-old, and watching his father serve as a merchant marine, Grier proudly wore his “U.S. Army” hat.

“Being an Army pilot veteran, and now being out here on the ground cheering for people that I flew for, for their right to do this and have fun, it makes it all very rewarding to see people enjoying themselves,” he said. “It’s a great thing to be a part of a great event.”

Grier grew up as a curious child, constantly reading the Encyclopedia Britannica. He even used to be bullied at school for being the nerdy kid. After serving in the army, earning several degrees, and mentoring others, he continues to face the negativity of others.

“I am always getting stereotyped as not too bright or not too smart, you know, me being an African American,” he said. “I get a sense of edge. I often get stereotyped because of age, race, creed, or gender.”

But watching the marathon, Grier was reminded of the humbling affect a race can have on the community.

“When you come out and watch these races you don’t know who that person is standing next to you, but one thing is for sure, being at the New York marathon brings the community closer together and that’s how you know people are proud of their neig

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Hitting the 22-mile marker next to Marcus Garvey park in Harlem, today marathon runners were greeted with cheers of “you can do it”, signs reading “22 miles and you still look sexy”, and the smells of cooking hot dogs and hamburgers.

The members of 5th Ave. Church of God, located right along the route on 5th Avenue and 120th street, came out at 9:30 a.m. to offer free food, music, words of encouragement and prayers.

“We’re out here today because we realized that New York City has one day that it comes together, that it’s absolutely diverse and unified and that’s on this day: the marathon,” said church member Diana Branch. “So we figured we’d come out and join in with all of the diversity and beautiful love of unity and also give out free food and tell people the love of Jesus just by showing it, because sometimes people don’t want to come into church and I get it. We’re too churched out in this nation. So instead of doing all of that we wanted to come out and pray for people, give them food and bless people.”

Members of the church attend the race every year cheering runners on and offering them prayers and inspiring words, but this year they wanted to do something different.

“Last year when we came out we were just talking and cheering people on, but this year is the first year that we’ve done the food and the music,” Branch said. “We’re giving out hamburgers and hot dogs and water and we’re also sending the kids out to encourage the runners with waters and high-fives.”

First lady of the church, Juanita Daniels, wanted to make sure that the church supported and encouraged the runners and everyone at the race without compromising themselves.

“To be relevant without compromise,” said Daniels on why the church was supporting the race. “Our music is Christian music. It’s Christian rap, Christian salsa, Christian R&B and it’s a tool of Evangelism. It would draw those who normally wouldn’t come. If you watch for a little while you will see people walk by and they’re dancing and they don’t even realize its Christian music and it draws them in and then we have that chance to spread the love of Jesus with them.”

Branch also felt that it was important to support the race and runners because it was a great time to come together.

“It’s a beautiful day for diversity,” she said. “I admire this day so much because with everything that’s going on with the world this is the one place right now that nobody’s angry. It’s awesome.”

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Former track runner Arthur Warren Scullin posted up at the intersection of East 138th Street and Alexander Avenue in the South Bronx early Sunday afternoon to cheer on his sister in the New York City Marathon.

“It was always a family thing,” said Scullin of running, a Queens native who now resides in Nassau County. “I was a track runner. My brother was a track runner. [My sister] was a track runner in high school and my father was a track runner.”

As the marathon runners ran toward the 20 mile mark, church bells tolled and families with children in their Sunday best made their way through the crowds. The course runs right in front of the New York Police Department’s 40th Precinct where officers from several departments, including canine and counter terrorism, stood alongside cheering fans. Though traditionally a quieter part of New York City, those exiting the 3rd Avenue – 138 Street subway station were met with the sound of live jazz and cheering as loud as the bright green uniforms worn by volunteers passing out water and bananas to runners.

Like many onlookers, Scullin stood with his wife and son and brought signs: one for his sister, one for his cousin, and one for his wife’s coworker, all of whom were running in the marathon. In previous years Scullin has made his way to Brooklyn and the East Side and West Side to watch. This year, the South Bronx suited him since he works down the street and it provided a different perspective on the race.

“This is a unique point because this is where the runners start hitting the wall,” explained Scullin as a group of male runners jogged past. “The wall is after 18 miles the body starts to break down. The training is not for the first eight miles, it’s for the last eight miles.”

The South Bronx is a difficult part of the marathon because a significant amount of time has elapsed for runners, but the end is not quite in sight yet.

The intersection of East 138 Street and Alexander Avenue in the South Bronx was busy with participants in the 2015 New York City Marathon who ran through on their way towards Central Park and the finish line. Photo by Elizabeth Arakelian

“This is a tough part because you’re far north and you mentally want to get to the Central Park and finish it up,” said Scullin. “The crowd keeps you going through here.”

Scullin is familiar with being part of that cheering crowd since he’s been attending the marathon for years.

“This was always a family tradition,” said Scullin of watching the marathon. “My father always did this. He was always into track because he called it the purest sport.”

Scullin’s father was one of the executive directors of the Catholic Youth Organization in the Brooklyn Dioceses where sports programs are administered and a race has been named after him. Scullin’s father perished in the World Trade Center in the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, but each year his love of running lives on in his children who see the New York City Marathon not only a family tradition, but an homage to their father.

“My sister dedicates this to him,” said Scullin.

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