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Over 40,000 athletes to take part in New York City Marathon

It begins on Staten Island near the approach to the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge and ends in Central Park

NEW YORK, November 6 (Itar-Tass) —— About 45,000 sports enthusiasts and world-class professional athletes will take part in a one of the world’s great road races, the annual New York City Marathon, branded as ING New York City Marathon, on Sunday.

The course of 42.195 kilometers covers all five boroughs of New York City. It begins on Staten Island near the approach to the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge and ends in Central Park.

It is expected that the event will draw about two million spectators.

The official start of the event is planned for 08:30 a.m. local time (16:30 Moscow time) when wheelchair race begins. At 09:10 a.m. begins a professional women’s race, and later on all other participants join in the race in three runs.

Among participants in the marathon are athletes from the United States, Great Britain, France, Kenya, Ethiopia, and other countries. Russia will be represented by Inga Abitova, who finished fourth in the New York City Marathon in 2010, and Galina Bogomolova, a holder of three Olympic records.

The New York City Marathon is one of the largest marathons in the world, with 45,103 finishers in 2010. Along with the Boston Marathon and Chicago Marathon, it is among the pre-eminent long-distance annual running events in the United States and is one of the World Marathon Majors.

The race is organized by New York Road Runners (NYRR) and has been run every year since 1970. In recent years, it has been sponsored by the financial group ING. It is held on the first Sunday of November and attracts professional competitors and amateurs from all over the world. Because of the popularity of the race, participation is chosen largely by a lottery system. Runners who are members of NYRR can gain entry by meeting the qualifications for guaranteed entry or via nomination from an official running club. Officially recognized running clubs are allowed two guaranteed spots for members who did not make it in via lottery.