For the second year in a row, the 2025 New York City Marathon broke the global record for the largest marathon ever, with 59,226 finishers on Sunday, November 2. The TCS New York City Marathon, held on the first Sunday of November, attracts over 50,000 runners, including the world’s greatest professional athletes as well as runners of all experience levels, ages, genders, talents, and backgrounds. It seemed all of NYC took to the streets early Sunday afternoon to cheer on, offer fist bumps and hug the thousands of marathoners as they sweated their way through the different legs of the race.
The runners were sturdy and cheerful, spanning all ages and speeds. But it was the spectators who stole the show, waving signs that spanned the political to the risqué, sipping pumpkin IPAs and generally taking advantage of the unseasonably warm November Sunday as an excuse to day drink while showing up for their more athletic friends and family members.
Near Lafayette Street and St. James Place, a woman carrying a sign that read “Run like you’re escaping the Louvre Heist” dangled a pretzel in front of runners in what appeared to be a taunt. Across the street, a sign with a different kind of taunt: “Did you turn your stove off?”
Whether the taunts effectively boosted the runners’ speed is hard to say, though the sign carriers were a spectacle in their own right. Anyone wondering what’s generally on the minds of city residents in late 2025 need look no further than the marathon route. References to the Paris Louvre Heist of last month were abundant. As was AI— running is a sport not easily infiltrated by machines, as New Yorkers were eager to point out. “Keep Running. AI Ain’t Taking This Job,” read one sign. “AI could NEVER!!” read another. Election day is Tuesday and by the looks of it voter turnout will be high. Mamdani canvassers seized the moment’s good vibes to ensure their candidate’s win, handing out voting info and carrying near-life-size cutouts of the assemblyman. Cuomo could be found elsewhere: “Run like Cuomo is behind you,” one sign read. Another, inexplicably, displayed the word “Poop!”
The cheering was not limited to friends and family members. Near Lafayette and St. James Place, Clinton Hill’s beanie-clad millennials rang cowbells and doled out high-fives and “Let’s go ya’ll”s to each and every passing marathoner. One group looked at each passing runner’s name tag to give personalized pep talks.
The only one not enjoying herself was Sunny, a small terrier cowering from the noise in a young woman’s arms. “She hates it here,” the owner said.
