Sports

Hometown Pride at Inaugural Brooklyn Marathon

Nearly 400 runners amassed in Prospect Park for the first Brooklyn Marathon since 1909.

Update:

John Paul Montes, 24, of Carroll Gardens, won the marathon, with a time of 2 hours, 43 minutes, according to NY1.

Kelly Gillen, 29, of Manhattan was the female winner, finishing in 3 hours, 14 minutes.

Find out what's happening in Carroll Gardens-Cobble Hillwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

 

In the wee hours of Sunday morning, while much of Brooklyn was still sleeping, the borough's hardcore runners were awake, preparing for a marathon in their territory.

Find out what's happening in Carroll Gardens-Cobble Hillwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

"This is my turf!" said first-time marathoner and Park Slope resident Mary Audia. "I run here every weekend."

Or, as Paul Nelson of the Prospect Park Alliance put it:

"It's Brooklyn! You get to sleep in your own bed!"

The inaugural Brooklyn Marathon, held in Prospect Park and organized by Steve Lastoe of NYCruns.com, had nearly 400 runners registered. And though some of the runners were from outside the borough, Brooklyn pride was strong.

"This is a hometown race," said Carroll Gardens resident Anna Daugherty, who has run the New York City marathon twice. "I'm happy to be a part of it."

"Brooklyn is an incredibly vibrant place. It's an amazing place," said Lastoe. "And there's no better place [than Prospect Park] to have a marathon."

Councilmembers Brad Lander and Tish James were on hand to lend support, and to boost Brooklyn, of course.

"Brooklyn in the house!" hollared James into a megaphone before the race began. "Let's make some noise!"

Talk about borough represent: Brooklyn Paper editor Gersh Kuntzman was involved, too. Kuntzman was one of a few cyclists leading the pack of runners.

"I'm anything but a pace car," he chuckled.

Still others said they were excited to run the course because it was laid back.

"The New York marathon is a pain in the as*. It's gotten too big and too crowded," said Borough Park native Martin Bodek, who now calls New Jersey home. "It's too expensive and too exclusive."

Lastoe said while he likes "manageable" races, he hopes to grow the Brooklyn Marathon.

"New York runners need more marathons," he said.


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