What could be a more quintessential New York City event than the marathon? It’s international, drawing entrants from more than 100 countries. It’s commercial and capitalist, now known as the ING New York City Marathon after the bank that sponsors it. It’s philanthropic, with teams of runners supporting causes ranging from medical research to the city’s parks and Citymeals-on-wheels. It’s enormous — the 2006 marathon, with nearly 38,000 finishers, was the largest of all time. It’s oversubscribed — more than 93,000 persons applied for numbers to run in the marathon last year, so many that many have to be turned away.

It’s grown rapidly — the first New York City Marathon, in 1970, had just 55 finishers. It requires hard individual work — no one just runs 26.2 miles without practice. But it also is in many ways a team affair, with runners working out with friends and teammates and drawing inspiration and support on race day from cheering family members, friends, and even strangers. There’s an element of craziness to it — who would voluntarily subject themselves to that physical punishment?

It finishes in Manhattan, but includes all five boroughs. It draws participants not just from all over the world, but of all shapes and sizes and speeds, men and women, blind, wheelchair-riding, and able-bodied. Each runner who crosses the finish line this weekend, and even those who give it their best shot and fail, gets a cheer from us for making the effort, taking the risk, and helping to make a great New York City event what it is.