Blue line ceremony kicks off marathon celebration ahead of race day
NEW YORK CITY (WABC) -- Dignitaries used long-handled rollers to paint the finish line in Central Park for Sunday's TCS New York City Marathon, which returns to full capacity - 50,000 runners - after a curtailed race last year and a canceled race the year prior.
The Department of Transportation will use 50 gallons of blue paint to paint a 26.2-mile stripe that marks the marathon route through all five boroughs.
The police, fire, and sanitation commissioners were among the officials who joined New York Road Runners to paint the finish line near Tavern on the Green below a cloudless blue sky and against burgundy, gold, and green leaves clinging to the trees.
The marathon will be a "secure, visibly policed event," Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell said. "There are no specific or credible threats."
All 50,000 runners will be screened as they enter the start in Staten Island. Spectators will be screened as they enter Central Park.
Explosive detection equipment, plainclothes teams, canine units, and other resources are being brought into use to secure an event that presents unique challenges because of its size, NYPD counterterrorism chief Martine Materasso said.
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).
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