I love this time of year, when the harbingers of the fall running season begin to trickle in. The announce their elite fields. appear on TV. Packs of high school cross-country runners invade public parks like members of the world鈥檚 least intimidating gang.
Another seasonal fixture of sorts, one that has become more conspicuous in the age of social media, is the celebrity marathon runner. The lead-up to a prominent race typically includes an announcement by an entertainer, athlete, or politician stating their intention to run 26.2 miles with the masses. Oprah. Al Gore. Pamela Anderson. P. Diddy. The list of celebrity marathoners . In late July, Kevin Hart, his five-foot-four-inch frame laden with Nike gear, informed his 34 million Twitter followers that he had a 鈥淗UGE鈥 announcement: He is going to run the New York City Marathon in November. (鈥淚鈥檝e got little legs, but a big heart.鈥)
Unsurprisingly, this disclosure prompted a speculating on how the actor and comedian would fare. Would he DNF or DNS? Would he go sub-four? Mixed in among finishing-time predictions based on Hart鈥檚 previous 5K performances were a few derogatory posts:
鈥淭he ego these entertainers have. Why is it HUGE NEWS when a young healthy person decides to run a marathon? Oh, because he鈥檚 famous for something else? So that makes HIS entry special?鈥 one poster complained.
Despite such grumbling, however, the positive reactions outweighed the negative ones. Most agreed that Hart鈥檚 enthusiasm and promotional clout would give distance running some much-needed attention. Several posters wrote that Hart鈥檚 upcoming NYC marathon run鈥攁nd, by extension, the celebrities-running-marathons phenomenon as a whole鈥攚as 鈥済ood for the sport.鈥
From the perspective of a longtime athletics fan, it feels almost surreal that a Hollywood actor would even know a pro marathoner鈥檚 name.
The question of what is 鈥済ood for the sport鈥 comes up frequently in debates about the current state of running鈥攑articularly in discussions about how it can . Even though a number of fans about Nike鈥檚 recent Breaking2 project鈥攖he heavily marketed, meticulously contrived attempt to get a few superstars to run a sub-two-hour marathon鈥攁fterward there was some consensus that one positive effect of the spectacle was that it churned up some healthy media buzz. From this perspective, anything that can be done to get more people into running, whether it鈥檚 Kevin Hart鈥檚 鈥淗UGE announcement鈥 or Eliud Kipchoge鈥檚 superhuman ability, is desirable.
Of course, there鈥檚 a sense that what鈥檚 鈥済ood for the sport鈥 isn鈥檛 necessarily always in the interest of the individual recreational runner: With increased demand, popular races can become more expensive, crowded, and difficult to get into. Earlier this year, the Airbnb Brooklyn Half Marathon sold out in 26 minutes. It had 27,000 finishers. According to a New York Road Runners (NYRR) , there were 98,247 applicants for the NYC Marathon lottery this year, a 20 percent increase from 2016, and 16,211 (about 17 percent) were ultimately accepted into the race. Thanks to Kevin Hart and co., one could argue that it might be even tougher to get into the NYC Marathon next year.
But there were 1,100 marathons in the United States . If entry to the most famous among them becomes marginally more exclusive as a result of Hart鈥檚 ebullient endorsement, it feels like a small price to pay. Having an entertainer with 54 million Instagram followers be an ambassador for running is good for the sport. Yes, that ambassadorship may be Nike-sponsored, but for now, distance running should be grateful for any exposure that doesn鈥檛 involve a doping scandal. Hart cited Kipchoge as his inspiration for signing up for New York. Speaking from the perspective of a longtime athletics fan, it feels almost surreal that a Hollywood actor would even know a pro marathoner鈥檚 name.
As for any concern that Kevin Hart鈥檚 running New York might unfairly hijack the spotlight from those pro marathoners vying for the win ( brought this up), it鈥檚 rather unlikely that he鈥檚 going to be busting out a continuous stand-up routine while going hard for 26.2 miles. And if he does, he probably deserves the attention.
Anyway, the scale of the event is such that it tends to eclipse the status of any one participant, be it a Hollywood actor or a world record holder. As I鈥檝e noted before, one of the best things about high-profile marathons is that you actually get to be in the same race as the finest runners in the world. It鈥檚 a welcome contrast to other sporting events where athletes are so aloof that when a sweaty headband is flung into the stands post-game and celebrities occupy $15,000 courtside seats.
Fittingly, the most iconic photos of New York鈥檚 race are not images of famous individuals, but of the flow of humanity traversing the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge. Swarms of people may be the bane of the backcountry skier or trail runner, but they are the soul of the big-city marathon. So bring on the crowds.