NEW YORK, NY.- The Museum of the City of New York presents The New York City Marathon: The Great Race, the first exhibition to explore the history and experience of running New York’s greatest race. From a humble beginning in 1970, when 127 participants ran laps around Central Park, the New York City Marathon has developed into a spectacular five-borough event with over 50,000 finishers from around the globe, more than one million spectators along a route that winds through diverse neighborhoods from Staten Island to the Bronx, and many more millions watching on television worldwide.

The exhibition brings the marathon to life and tell its fascinating history, as both a test of athletic endurance and an inspiring example of civic pride and community spirit. Capturing the energy, enthusiasm and spirt of community that makes New York’s “Marathon Sunday” special, The New York Marathon: The Great Race opened on Tuesday, October 20, 2015, just prior to the running of the 45th marathon on Sunday, November 1.

The New York City Marathon showcases works by both amateur and professional photographers who responded to the City Museum’s call for images that reflect the diverse facets of the marathon. From several thousand entries, a jury selected 120 photographs taken on devices ranging from cell phones to state-of-the-art digital cameras. The images illuminate both the athleticism and the collective joy that this citywide event entails. The exhibition also features historic video footage of famous finishes along with profiles of key figures and events in the marathon’s 45 year history that helped it grow from a modest start to its current status as the world’s largest marathon.

“The Marathon is an iconic New York event that reflects the diversity and ambition of the city itself,” said Susan Henshaw Jones, Ronay Menschel Director of the City Museum. “We are thrilled to highlight the Marathon as a civic achievement and celebrate the runners, fans and onlookers who make the New York City Marathon unique.”

Curated by Sean Corcoran, Curator of Prints and Photographs at the Museum of the City of New York, The New York Marathon has been organized in two sections. The introduction consists of a brief history of the marathon featuring historic photographs and marathon ephemera. The core of the exhibition features color and black-and-white photographs, which span a wide spectrum of locations along the marathon route, from the starting line, as it crosses across five bridges and through diverse and vibrant neighborhoods in all five boroughs, to the famed Central Park finish line.

“With this exhibition, we hope to celebrate the Marathon as an event that brings all five boroughs and anyone who visits them together in truly inspiring fashion,” explained Corcoran. “We’ve put together a broad selection of images that showcase the runners, fans and onlookers and highlight all the personal stories of tenacity and triumph the Marathon entails.”

The inclusion of print and digital images from a diverse group of photographers — from distinguished professionals to everyday New Yorkers taking spontaneous shots on their smartphones— infuses the exhibition with an extemporaneous energy. It also illustrates the increasing ease with which the ordinary man- or woman -on-the-street can document personal experiences in the city within the context of larger events.