NYC Marathon bigger and better than ever

The New York City Marathon was a big event in more ways than one.

The race shattered its own participant numbers record with 50,304 runners finishing off in Central Park. There were 50,740 runners start the race. The previous record of 46,795 was from the 2011 race. The next closest number was last month’s 2013 Chicago marathon where 38,878 runners crossed the line. These numbers pay testament to the explosion of interest still taking place in recreational road running.

It wasn’t just those entered who were interested in the NYC marathon. The race also experienced a record television audience. The event has not been broadcast in recent years, but received an average of 582,000 television viewers during the race, a 66 per cent jump from previous highs when it has been broadcast. The audience reached a peak of over 850,000 near the end of the race when Priscah Jeptoo and Geoffrey Mutai pulled away from their competitors in the final stage of their races.

WABC also ran a primetime special on Saturday evening, Countdown to the Starting Line, leading up to the race which received over double the audience of any other broadcast during the same period. People seem to be more interested in the marathon than ever.

Estimates also peg the number of live spectators at two million.

In addition to the television viewership, thousands more tuned in through live streams, social media, and other internet channels.