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For the fifth year in a row, Keith Claxton, 53, of Eastchester Road in the Bronx, stood near the Willis Avenue Bridge encouraging the runners soaked in sweat to finish the race.

“I love the sport and I think it is something awesome that people run 26.2 miles,” Claxton said. “I just come to show my support for them. It is the least I can do.”

Today , 21 miles away from the finish line, Claxton, an accountant originally from the Virgin Islands, was among the thousands of spectators, waving, cheering and pushing the runners to get through the Bronx. Every year Claxton arrives at 8 a.m. and stands by himself, in a red  track jacket, grey sweatpants and Nike sneakers.

While most of the other spectators are in groups and at the bridge to support a friend or family member, Claxton is there to support everyone.

“I cheer the last person to come across so I’m going to be here until the night,” Claxton said. “It just gives me a good feeling to be here, to be able to cheer them on, because, if they can run 26.2 miles, what is it for me to just turn up here and cheer?”

Claxton has lived in the Bronx for the past 25 years. For him, having the marathon in his neighborhood is also a way to add color to an area that has often been discredited.

“It gives people an opportunity to see a little part of the Bronx,” Claxton said. “I wish they could have gone more inside the Bronx so they get a better understanding of what the Bronx is.”

Claxton also sees it as a good way to gather communities together.

“Young, old, black, white, all nationalities are here,” Claxton said. “A sport like this bring everyone together. It just supports one cause, no division, just a marathon.”

Ten years ago Claxton used to run. But with a new job and taking care of his two children, Claxton stopped. But as he watched runners run past him, Claxton was envious and felt it was time for him to run again.

“I got caught up with just life,” Claxton said. “Sometimes you tend to put your hobbies on hold just to make a living. Now my two boys are 29 and 22. I feel like it is just time for me to go back out there and do me.”

His goal for next year is to run the marathon.

“My part right now is just to cheer,” he said “Hopefully next year, I’ll be running and I’ll have someone to cheer for me so I’m excited about it.”

If Claxton was looking forward to attending the marathon, the highlight of his day was seeing marathon winner May’s Keitany’s performance.

“She was sprinting and killed the hill in a sprint,” Claxton said. “I almost didn’t even see her, nobody was nowhere close, she really dominated the field this year. This a repeat for her, the third times she wins that in a row, it’s a big deal.”

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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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Standing along the sidewalk at 62nd Avenue and 1st Avenue, Luiz Morales was waiting restlessly among the throngs of supporters and well-wishers who cheered on New York City Marathon runners.

Around noon today, the 20-year-old Morales lifted his head every 10 seconds or so, and scanned over the throngs of people who lined 1st Avenue in an attempt to make sure Morales would see his father, Alex, pass what was a little bit beyond the 16-mile mark.

“I need to be focused because at any moment he could pass,” Morales said of his 52-year-old father, who flew in from Puebla, Mexico — a major metropolis located southeast of Mexico City. “He’s running New York for the ninth time.

“He’s ran Berlin, Chicago, Boston, Paris and, I think, Dallas and Tokyo,” Morales said, over the loud cheers for the steady stream of runners passing by.

The marathon, which is in its 46th year, is the largest marathon in the world, with roughly 50,000 people completing the 26.2-mile course for recent years. Since 1970, when there were just 127 entrants and 55 finishers, over 1,000,000 people have partaken in the marathon.

Morales has traveled with his father around the world to run in marathons. He said standing among the crowd and encouraging his father as he ran was the most enjoyable part of the race.

“It’s fantastic for my dad and all the runners for the support from me and all the other people,” Morales said. “I think it’s great.”

The atmosphere along 1st Avenue was jovial, as people supported their friends and relatives on with signs and cheers, with the constant sound of rock and pop music in the background.

While the first six years of the marathon consisted of just laps around Central Park, for the past 40 years the route has snaked its way through all five of the city’s boroughs.

Runners start the race in Staten Island, cross the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge and through a variety of Brooklyn neighborhoods, over the Pulaski Bridge into Queens and across the Queensboro Bridge into Manhattan. Runners then make their way uptown, crossing into The Bronx briefly and before coming back to Manhattan, where the race finishes at Central Park South.

Over the next couple hours, Morales will move on to Harlem and Central Park to cheer on his dad as he came up to the final miles of the race and crossed the finish line.

“The sound, all the people that are cheering for their own people are fantastic,” Morales said, explaining why the New York marathon is the favorite of him and his father. “The weather is fantastic, the city is fantastic.”

This is the ninth time that Morales has accompanied his father to New York City Marathon, which will end with their traditional post-run celebratory meal of hot dogs.

With runners from over 100 countries represented, the city’s marathon is a true international affair. With two blocks near the course’s 16-mile mark, flags for Sweden, Germany, Mexico and Spain were visible, among the handmade signs and enlarged photos held aloft by spectators.

A committed athlete who focused his energy on playing soccer before he pivoted to long-distance running, Morales said his father’s motivation to run came to him in spiritual terms.

“His inspiration is the uncles and cousins who’ve passed away,” Morales said. “He sees it, like, ‘This marathon is for all the people that pass away.’”

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At 4th Avenue near Sunset Park in Brooklyn, Ellen McCann was hailing New York City Marathon runners with a smile and a sign that read, “You run better than our government.

Amused by McCann’s sign, a young runner shouted, “I do run better” as he gasped for breath.

“It’s just a joke about our government,” McCann said. “This means, ‘our government doesn’t run very well, but you do.’” she laughed. “While you’re running, you get very bored and the signs are funny and they make you laugh and they distract you.”

McCann was not alone. Standing beside her was her friend, Kimberly Gittines. They tracked down their friends and families on the phone who were running on the ready to cheer them on.

Around 11:00 a.m., McCann’s fiancé appeared in a group of runners. He dashed to her, kissed her hand, said,“ I love you”, and continued running.

McCann and her fiancé live in Virginia. Both of them are big fans of running.

“We work out about two hours a day, both of us together,” said McCann. “That’s how we spend time.”

Although she wanted to run in the marathon, she wasn’t chosen in the lottery.

“I like New York City,” she said. “It’s alive all day and all night. This isn’t the safest neighborhood , but it welcomes people. You don’t find that anywhere else. New York is awesome. I’ve always thought so.”

Last week, she ran the Marine Corps Marathon in Virginia with Gittines. They were next-door neighbors and knew each other for nearly three decades. The races are more like precious opportunities for them to spend time together.

“She lives in Virginia and I live in New Jersey and we don’t really get to catch up a lot,” said Gittines. “So it’s like catching up on the kids and work and our parents and all that stuff alike.”

When Gittines started to run marathons in 2011, her mother was severely ill because of cancer.

“I actually ran my first marathon two weeks before she passed away,” said Gittines. “I hadn’t trained. But I figured I’d go out and see how it was and I could push through the pain because I knew there was an end point. She didn’t have an end point and that’s what I thought when I ran. That helped me along in my run.”

After her mother died, she kept participating in marathons. Her memories with her mother always comes to her mind while she is running.

“I always think of her,” said Gittines. “When I grew up, we used to play golf with our families. And she was like, ‘here’s Kimberly! Putting for a birdie! It’s win! Yeah Kimberly!’ ”

Gittines said even though her mother had never watched her running marathons, she knew her mom would be supportive. “Whatever my brother and I did, she thought it was the best thing in the world.”

McCann’s niece, Regan Debennetto, 31, was also running in memory of her father, who died of a heart attack in 2002. After that, she began to run marathons. This time she ran for the American Heart Association and planned to raise money for them by finishing the whole course.

“For my niece, she says every five miles she runs for one person and she doesn’t want to let them down,” said McCann. “So five miles she runs for her father; five miles she runs for her grandmother and she wants to go home and tell grandma about those five miles she ran for her.”

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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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Ten American flags waved patriotically as the gusty air blew throughout Central Park on a recent Saturday at about 11 a.m. Roughly 200 veterans and civilians, sporting patriotic colors, “Run As One” red t-shirts and running sneakers, gathered at the Grand Army Plaza in Brooklyn. They were awaiting a speech by Team Red, White & Blue New York Community Captain Joe Quinn, ahead of the “Run As One” 5k run/walk.

Team Red, White & Blue, Team Rubicon and The Mission Continues are three national veteran organizations with New York communities. They banded together for their fourth annual “Run As One” 5k, which was created in 2012 by Team Rubicon to honor one of its founding members, Clay Hunt.

The 28-year-old Texan was a former decorated Marine who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, struggled with depression and post-traumatic stress after returning home, and ultimately committed suicide in 2011.

This past February, President Obama signed The Clay Hunt Suicide Prevention for American Veterans Act, calling for evaluations of all mental health-care and suicide-prevention programs in Veteran Affairs (VA) and the Defense Department, a student loan repayment program, and a program that would remove unnecessary prescription drugs from VA patients, according to The Washington Post.

“[The run] is to remember [Clay] and for all those that are out there,” said Quinn, 35, an Army veteran of Brooklyn, running for his second time.

An analysis published by the Annals of Epidemiology in February reported findings on U.S. veteran-suicide. Nearly 1.3 million U.S. veterans who served from 2001 to 2007 were followed from the time of discharge to Dec. 31, 2009. It was found that 1,868 deaths were from suicides (351 deployed; 1,517 non-deployed). The causes of death were obtained from the National Death Index, which collects data on every U.S. death.

Often, many veterans lose their feeling of family when they leave their platoon and reintegrate back into America. While coming from various backgrounds and towns, many who ran on Saturday joined one of the veteran organizations to get that family feeling back.

“It’s about building genuine, authentic relationships”

 Quinn served in Iraq from 2003 to 2004 and 2006 to 2008. He was also a civilian advisor in Afghanistan from 2010 to 2011.

“The first year or two out of the military was the hardest year of my life,” Quinn said.

Joe Quinn and Gena Rosselli-Geller, Athletic Director of Team Red, White & Blue, after the “Run As One” 5k run/walk on March 28, 2015. Photo by Stacey Kilpatrick

He was used to waking every morning, completing physical training and eating beef stew MRE’s (meals ready to eat) beside the same brother-and-sisterhood – a built-in social network. But when he left, that suddenly disappeared.

“That’s what you miss the most,” Quinn said.

He found himself living in Boston without family, friends or social support. His military life had disintegrated. But eventually when he returned to his hometown of New York, he joined Team Red, White & Blue and grew into a new family.

Mike Erwin, a retired veteran and friend of Quinn’s, founded Team Red, White & Blue in 2010. After participating in other service organizations and understanding the positive effects that physical activity and social engagement brought veterans, he wanted to create his own organization. Team Red, White & Blue consists of chapter and community programs that encourage veterans to stay active and local in their area, veteran athletic camps introducing sports and activities, and a leadership development program involving education, training, mentorship and leadership experiences.

“For me it’s about building genuine, authentic relationships,” Quinn said. “A lot of the time it’s not what we do, it’s who [we] do it with.”

Along with many runs, Team Red, White & Blue gathers for barbeques, yoga classes and other activities where the community comes together as one.

“I believe if vets have just simple social support, not a lot, it just takes that friend, that relationship that they can kind of get over the hump and transition successfully, and they’ll be great assets to the community.”

Nationwide, Team Red, White & Blue has around 56,000 members.

“I had to join”

Aaron Scheinberg, 34, of Harlem, helped organize this year’s run as Executive Director at The Mission Continues, alongside Quinn with Team Red, White & Blue and Team Rubicon. He was running for his third time.

Aaron Scheinberg, 34, and Kate Connolly, 24, ran in the fourth annual “Run As One” 5k, in honor of veterans across the country. Photo by Stacey Kilpatrick

In Iraq he served as a tanker and an Army officer, and later as a civil affairs officer at Fort Hood in Texas, Fort Monroe in Virginia and Fort Knox in Kentucky. When he returned to America in 2008, reintegrating was tough.

“Your brain has been wired to be in a combat situation and you’re dealing with really high-stress situations that are life and death,” Scheinberg said. “That just takes time.”

He explained that his role overseas was essentially that of a mayor of an Iraqi town, working on civil affairs projects, spending millions of taxpayer’s money on essential services, and setting up town councils for 250,000 people.

“Then you come home and you’re looking for a job and you’re definitely underemployed as soon as you start out,” he said. “You don’t feel like all the stuff that you learned and you put into work is actually being used when you come home.”

Post-duty, Scheinberg earned his master of public administration at Harvard University and his master of business administration at Columbia University before working fulltime as a strategy consultant at a top management firm in New York. On paper, he looked like a successful transition, he said. But he was missing something deeper, a sense of purpose and a connection to something bigger that he felt in Iraq.

“The Mission Continues came along and offered me the opportunity to help veterans reintegrate and also make an impact in my community through service,” Scheinberg said. He’s been with the organization for the past three years working for the northeast region in New York.

“I had to join,” he said.

The Mission Continues  was established in 2007 by retired Navy SEAL Eric Greitens. After he returned home from serving in Iraq, he realized while visiting wounded Marines at Bethesda Naval Hospital in Maryland that many still wanted to serve their country, even if they were no longer in the military.

The organization offers programs for veterans and others who want to serve. Its Fellowship Program is open to post 9/11 veterans who volunteer part-time for six months at the community organization of their choice. They receive a living stipend, complete a leadership development program and further develop skills. Veterans of all eras, active duty, guard, reserve and Individual Ready Reserve (IRR) can contribute on a service platoon, volunteering in their community as often as they like. Lastly, The Mission Continues also offers service missions to anyone who wants to volunteer on single or multi-day projects.

A group photo of the “Run As One” 5k participants of Team Red, White & Blue, Team Rubicon and The Mission Continues. Photo by Stacey Kilpatrick

“[All three organizations] believe that through comradery, through community and through a sense of purpose that veterans can thrive and be contributing leaders in our community back home,” Scheinberg said.

Between its Fellowship Program and its service platoon program, The Mission Continues boasts around 4,500 members nationwide.

There are currently 33 service platoons across the country, with some of the cities offering multiple platoons. New York has two, with a Brooklyn platoon in development. The Manhattan platoon works around youth education and mentorship, while the Bronx platoon revolves around neighborhood beautification and the arts.

“[The public] is going to look at us, not as victims or screwed up veterans, [but] they’re going to look at us as leaders and assets and … that’s why I love it.”

“I saw parallels in my own life”

Awaiting the start of the run with Scheinberg was Kate Connolly. This was her third time running.

“I’m a civilian, so it’s nice to see that there are civilian supporters here,” said Connolly, 24, of Middletown, Conn. “It’s a great way to meet new people and just kind of understand that there are so many other folks out there with similar interests as you and then also you’re just a part of something bigger than yourself and I think that’s important.”

Connolly became involved with Team Red, White & Blue and Team Rubicon in 2011, shortly after suffering a severe knee injury that sidelined her Wesleyan University athletic career and put her in physical therapy.

 Team Rubicon  was founded after a 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck Port-au-Prince, Haiti on Jan. 12, 2010. Two Marines, Jake Wood and William McNulty, paired with six other veterans and first responders, gathered medical supplies from friends, headed to Haiti and treated thousands in need. As part of Team Rubicon, veterans utilize their skills and military background to work with first responders and volunteers during emergency response deployments.

“I had always defined myself as an athlete and I felt like I was kind of a little bit limited in what I could do … being restricted by that knee injury,” Connolly said.

Working through therapy, she met a veteran and the two swapped stories. They understood one another’s struggles and she saw parallels in her life. Eventually gaining speed, she participated in Wounded Warrior Project’s Soldier Rides, a four-day cycling event, where she met another veteran.

“He said, you know Kate, you gotta do some more with Rubicon, you gotta do some more with Team Red, White & Blue,” she said, “And through that I ended up just really connecting and feeling like I had a second family with these groups of people.”

“We’re working together”

 Leaving Grand Army Plaza, the mob of red, white and blue crossed West 59^th Street onto East Drive at 11:30 a.m. Flag-bearers stood at the front of the group. When sounded, those who elected to walk had a head start before the runners took off.

Those who walked made one lap around the lower loop of Central Park, while those who ran made two.

The tight-knit crowd that began as one complete waving American flag eventually separated along the course by skill level, but one by one crossed the imaginary finish line at Columbus Circle, welcomed by cheers and “Run As One” leaders. Some ended their “Run As One” by completing push-ups – the bravest one-armed – before Quinn jumped a few steps on the Maine Monument for a quick word.

“Good work everyone,” he said, before reminding them of the social that followed at The Perfect Pint and shaking a number of hands.

“All in all we’re working together to help provide that social support for veterans,” Quinn said. “[We’re here to] connect better into the community.”

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by Neil Giardino

Blustery winds and icy temperatures didn’t deter a crowd of hundreds from showing support for 2014 TCS New York City Marathon runners in Brooklyn’s Clinton Hill neighborhood today. On the corner of Lafayette and S. Portland Avenues, spirits were high and neon paper signs held higher as a river of runners of New York City’s 44^th annual marathon rushed by.

Planted firmly at the course’s ninth mile marker, sisters Naerim Kim and Chaerim Smith screamed in support of their older sister Lana Kim, who passed just moments before. “She’s looking good. She’s looking really strong,” said Kim, of the Financial District. Kim attends the marathon every year, but this race is particularly special because she gets to cheer on family. “This is her first time to ever run it, so we’re here to support her,” said Kim.

To her side, and with neon-yellow banner in hand, stood sister Chaerim Smith, of Washington, D.C. All puns aside, for the sisters, athleticism truly does run in the family. Smith recently ran her own marathon. “We were both training at the same time. She came down to see me and cheer me on at the Marine Core Marathon last week, so I’m here now for her,” she said, referring to her sister.

By mile nine, runners appeared to be easing into a comfortable stride which would send them weaving – and ultimately heaving – through a 26.2 mile course spanning all five of the city’s boroughs, and finally concluding in the southwestern corner of Central Park in Manhattan. The New York City Marathon is the largest in the world, and Kim and Smith aimed to support their sister in at least two boroughs. Their next stop was Harlem, where they aimed to cheer their sister Lana Kim on along the course’s 22^nd mile.

While Kim has no plans to run a marathon any time soon, Smith says it’s that sense of accomplishment that keeps her running competitively. “It gives such a good sense of discipline, and it’s a great challenge,” she said.

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by Ellie Miao

Hundreds of spectators came to the Queensboro Bridge this afternoon to cheer on the 2014 TCS New York City Marathon runners at mile 15. Mary Thabobaldi, 65 of Sunnyside Gardens, Queens, came out of respect for the runners.

“They all run with some faith or for some one,” said Thabobaldi. “I cheer for them because they cheer me up in life. I never missed a single marathon in New York City in 34 years.”

There are many runners that stood out for her over the years, Kiki Homer was one of them. Thabobaldi knew Homer through work, but had no idea that she was the younger sister of a national hero.

Holmer’s brother, LeRoy Wilton Homer, Jr., was the co-pilot of United Airlines Flight 93, a plane that was hijacked by terrorists on September 11, 2001. During passengers and crewmembers’ fight with the terrorists, the plane crashed, avoiding its intended target, the nation’s capital.

In memory of her brother and other people who sacrificed their lives to protect homeland security, Homer ran her first New York City marathon with 15 other Flight 93 relatives in 2002, one year after her brother’s death.

“I was right here at the Queensboro Bridge, saw her wearing a picture of her big brother, it was incredible,” said Thabobaldi.

In 2011, marking the 10th anniversary of the plane crash, Homer ran again for her brother. And of course, Thabobaldi was there, too.

She was also impressed by Homer’s family, who supported her through the race.

“They tracked her, showed up here on the platform bridge right at the time when she passed by, cheered for her, and then hopped on the train to the next stop,” she said.

It was the same platform where Thabobaldi always stood on to watch the running, but this year things are a little different—police banned spectators from assembling there. Thabobaldi said she missed her old spot with great views, but she understood that the police was doing this for security reasons.

“They are trying to make sure nothing happens like on the Boston Marathon, you can’t blame them,” she said.

Thabobaldi described the Boston blast as “one of the worst things that ever happened”, but the terror didn’t end her enthusiasm to attend marathons in New York City. She is confident about the resilience of New Yorkers.

“Not only me, I think no one in this city was deterred by that,” she said.

Thabobaldi said one of her favorite things about the marathons is the diversity.

“People from all over the world are running,” she said. “I love to see that. I will keep coming here and support it every year.”

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