[ad_1]
AP Photo/Seth Wenig
Every November, a huge number of runners hit the streets of New York City to go through a 26.2-mile course that begins in Staten Island and hits each of the Big Apple’s five boroughs. The New York City Marathon is an annual tradition that returned in 2021, following a one-year hiatus due to the coronavirus pandemic.
This year’s edition of the marathon is set to take place Sunday, and it will be the 51st running of the race. According to Cindy Boren of The Washington Post, there’s a field of 50,000 participants expected for the 2022 edition.
The New York City Marathon will air on ESPN2 from 8:30-11:30 a.m. ET and can be streamed live on the ESPN app.
While the field will feature some top runners battling for the lead and looking to potentially set a new event record, others will just race for fun. And then, there will also be some celebrities in the field competing for charities.
So, there will be quite a few famous faces for viewers to keep an eye out for.
Actor Ashton Kutcher will be among the first-time participants in this year’s NYC Marathon. The 44-year-old is racing for Thorn, his non-profit charity that aims to defend children from sexual abuse.
“It’s not like anything I’ve done before in my own life,” Kutcher said of the marathon, per Joe Holder of GQ. “And really just kind of just a test of my own mettle to ensure that I sort of regain my own personal physical dominance.”
Actresses Ellie Kemper and Claire Holt are among the other TV/film stars participating in New York City on Sunday. Kemper is running for The Brotherhood Sister Sol, while Holt is competing for the Boston Children’s Hospital.
Nev Schulman, who is the host of MTV’s Catfish, has participated in the New York City Marathon multiple times before. And the 38-year-old NYC native will be back again in 2022, racing for NYRR Team for Kids.
This year, Schulman has his sights set on trying to beat Kutcher, too.
“I mean the truth is, yes, I’m trying to set a new personal record, but I’m really just trying to run faster than Ashton,” Schulman said, per Sarah Jones of HollywoodLife. “Because honestly, this is probably my only chance to beat Ashton Kutcher at something. That’s really the goal if I’m being perfectly honest.”
There will be some former/current pro athletes in the NYC Marathon field as well. Among them is former NFL player Tiki Barber, Olympic cross-country skier Marit Bjorgen, Olympic hockey player Meghan Duggan, former tennis player Monica Puig and IndyCar driver Ryan Briscoe.
Briscoe won’t be alone, either. Like last year, his wife, Nicole, who is a NASCAR anchor for ESPN, will also be competing in the New York City Marathon.
“We were both saying last year how emotional it was coming up through Brooklyn, with all the crowds cheering and everything, it’s just incredible,” Ryan Briscoe said of the NYC Marathon’s 2021 return, per Jaclyn Hendricks of the New York Post.
And that was for last year’s race, which was limited to 30,000 participants due to COVID-19 protocols. With nearly twice that many competitors this year, the atmosphere in New York City should be even better.
[ad_2]
Source link