Young runners test their speed alongside TCS NYC Marathon legends

NEW YORK CITY (WABC) -- Before more than 50,000 runners cross the iconic finish line of the TCS NYC Marathon, young runners from across all five boroughs had the chance to test their speed alongside some legends.

The course for the TCS Run With Champions was in Central Park on Thursday, exactly where marathon runners will cross the finish line on Sunday.

Thursday's runners are all kids who are participants in Rising New York, a program created by New York Road Runners to get kids excited about running and exercising and setting goals.

On Thursday they got a little inspiration from some marathon champions, like Meb Keflezighi, who even ran with some of the kids.

Keflezighi was 13 when he started running and ran his first mile in 5 minutes and 20 seconds, but he says running isn't always about the competition

"It helps self-confidence, it helps dedication, commitment and perseverence to be what they're going to be in the future, no matter what field they're in," Keflezighi said.

Tatiana McFadden has won the wheelchair race five times and she donated the first wheelchair for the kids program.

"When I started through a youth program, I learned how to dream for the first time, so for a lot of these kids, it gives an outlet and inspiration and giving them that confidence to be able to say I can be whatever I want to be," McFadden said.

And they were all winners on Thursday after running the 400-meter race, or about a quarter of a mile.

"When they get a little older then a marathon of 26.2 miles might be appropriate, but at this age, we want them to have fun, exercise and and enjoy time with their friends," said NYRR CEO Kerin Hempel.

RELATED: More coverage of the 2022 TCS New York City Marathon

HOW TO WATCH THE TCS NEW YORK CITY MARATHON

Marathon Day in New York is coming up November 6th! The TCS New York City Marathon will be broadcast to more than 530 million homes around the world, with a Spanish language broadcast being produced nationwide for the first time by ESPN.

WABC-TV and ESPN2 have been home to the award-winning broadcast of the world's largest marathon since 2013.

It will be the first Spanish-language broadcast of any marathon to air on ESPN Deportes, airing live on ESPN3 and the App from 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., and then will re-air on ESPN Deportes from 8:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. EST.

Joining the talent team for this year's domestic broadcast will be five-time TCS New York City Marathon champion and 13-time Paralympic medalist Kurt Fearnley and running reporter Chris Chavez. Fearnley will be in the broadcast booth as a race analyst for all four professional divisions, and Chavez will make his broadcast debut on the men's moto. John Anderson, Lewis Johnson, three-time Olympian and former American record-holder Deena Kastor, Sage Steele, and Olympian Carrie Tollefson will round out the national talent.

The group will be joined by a talented array of reporters at the start, finish, along the course, and in the sky, including ABC7's Eyewitness News reporters Ryan Field, Sam Ryan, Anthony Johnson, Kemberly Richardson, Michelle Charlesworth, Lee Goldberg, Brittany Bell, and Josh Einiger.

The broadcast, produced in coordination with 45 Live and distributed by IMG, will air on ABC7/WABC-TV and ESPN2 from 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. EST. Pre-race coverage from Fort Wadsworth begins at 7:00 a.m. EST.

The race will also stream live on the ESPN App nationally from 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. EST.

Pre-race and continuing coverage will also be streamed live nationally on ESPN3 (accessible on the ESPN App and ESPN.com) from 7:00 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. and from 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. ESPN3 will present a view of the finish line from 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. EST.

A two-hour encore presentation of the race broadcast will air on ABC affiliates around the country from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. EST.

The international broadcast will include three-time TCS New York City Marathon champion and four-time British Olympian Paula Radcliffe providing race analysis, alongside veteran track and field commentator Paul Swangard.

International broadcast partners secured by IMG for the race include: FloSports (Australia, Canada, United Kingdom), ESPN Brasil (Brazil), SMG Sports (China), Eurosport (Pan Europe, Pan Asia, India), L'Equipe (France), RAI (Italy), TV Asahi (Japan), Sky Mexico (Mexico), NOS (Netherlands), Sky (New Zealand), SuperSport (Sub-Saharan Africa), ESPN International (South America), and TVE and TV3 (Spain).