What it Takes: The NYC Marathon

It is “an incredible feeling and you don’t want to miss it” is how Ozzie Joseph (SSSB ‘25) described his experience running in the Nov. 3 annual TCS New York City Marathon. 

In order to get the ins and outs of the NYC Marathon — everything from training to the finish line — The Commentator interviewed two YU students who ran it this year, Ozzie Joseph and Akiva Sturm (YC ‘24). Afterall, what is all the hype around the annual NYC Marathon about? . 

As it turns out, not just anyone can run the marathon; you have to qualify for it. There are three different ways to do this: complete a certain amount of official races, participate through a charity or win a lottery. Joseph, who ran the marathon once before, was extremely lucky this time and won the lottery. Sturm ran the marathon through the charity organization Sharsheret. 

Once qualified for the marathon, the training begins. Both runners told The Commentator that they began preparing months in advance. Training consisted of two or three short runs and one long run, spanning a distance from 13 to 20 miles every week. However, no runner ever trains past 22 miles. Those last four miles are saved for the marathon day itself. The day of the marathon is full of “nervous excitement” as Joseph described it. Around 2 million spectators from all walks of life come to watch the race and cheer on the runners. 

Even with the 2 million spectators and the 50,000 runners, the Jewish presence could be felt immediately. There was a minyan tent with constant minyanim, and provisions of food and water for the runners. “At the start line someone came over to me,” Sturm told The Commentator. “He saw I was wearing a kippah, and he offered me a sticker of one of the hostages, one of the Bibas children. I wanted it on my back so all of the runners could see as I passed by them.” 

As Joseph was running, he saw “groups on the side holding Israeli flags screaming ‘Am Yisrael Chai,’ and [he] would scream back, and it was an invigorating feeling.”

The presence of 2 million onlookers cheering from the side was palpable. As he was running, Sturm told The Commentator that “for a lot of it I was just basking in the energy of the crowd.” 

Joseph did not even listen to music but rather, took the time to admire the city-scape around him. Even with all the energy pulsing around them, the race became very challenging the further they got, especially after mile 22. Joseph said, “at that point my body was rejecting it,” and yet he kept powering through.

When things got hard, Sturm told himself that “I just gotta stick it out. I ran hundreds of miles for this and I’m not gonna walk now.”

Both runners finished all 26.2 miles, which is a huge feat. When asked how it felt to cross the finish line, Sturm shared with The Commentator, “I felt very accomplished. In the long term accomplishment and in the short term, I did a big thing that day and pulled it off.” Likewise, Joseph felt that “putting the medal on you is a peak feeling.” He went on to explain that it was because “you showed up for yourself.”

When asked what advice they would give to someone considering running a marathon, Joseph told The Commentator, “It is an incredible feeling, and you don’t want to miss it. The lessons you learn from running can be applied elsewhere.”

“The biggest thing is when things are difficult it’s important to not run away … and you have to get through them in order to grow …  running is not for everyone, but a lot more people can run than they realize.” Joseph also shared that he “started because a friend of mine who was in really good shape took me on a few runs and showed me that I can.”

Naava Bodek (SCW ‘27) has been coming to watch her dad run in the NYC Marathon for years. But this past year she was inspired to start training for a race herself. When reflecting on her experience watching the marathon she told The Commentator that she was “thinking about how much work these people are putting into it … And when I saw my Dad, I was like, ‘I get it.’ Now I get why this is such an important thing.” She stayed for longer than she planned, soaking up the energy of the crowd and runners. Bodek said she was “literally inspired from that day to sign up for a half marathon.”

While it is definitely not for the faint of heart, running the marathon is a huge accomplishment. It is one that both shows a high level of power and determination and inspires others to reach for that bar as well.

Photo Caption: Ozzie Joseph running in the NYC Marathon 

Photo Credit: Ozzie Joseph