The New York Marathon is the largest long distance marathon in the world, seeing over 50,000 finishers in the year 2013. It is widely regarded as the premier event for professional long distance runners to gather and prove their worth, with contestants from all corners of the globe travelling to the United States with the specific intention of participating in the marathon. The New York Marathon is also one of the most widely watch marathon events, with millions tuning in via television to see who will be crowned as the first place winner.
New York Marathon History
The New York Marathon has not been around as long as some other long distance running events, coming about only in 1970. The marathon initially involved doing repeated laps of central park until the full distance was achieved. But, as the marathon gained widespread interest from around the world, it was expanded in 1976 to be run through the streets of New York. The snaking path is a total distance of 42.1 kilometres, and passes through all five major areas of New York.
Since its original inception the New York Marathon has seen many changes, although the distance and route of the race has more or less remained unchanged. The branding of the marathon has changed on multiple occasions due to shifting between sponsorship companies, with the official title of the marathon likewise changing for the same reason. Microchip tracking of racers was introduced in the 2000s, which aimed to completely rule out the chance of any racer cheating, and also give extremely accurate information on each racer participating in the event.
New York Marathon Controversy
There have been a number of controversies surrounding the New York Marathon involving runners dying during the event. In 2008 alone three runners died of heart attack, all of which were pronounced dead on the scene. Many have said that the medical screening process of the event should be more thorough, to avoid such tragedies. Despite these unfortunate deaths, the New York Marathon remains one of the most popular long distance running events in the world at online betting sites.
New York Marathon Betting
Many bet makers place bets on the New York Marathon via online bookmakers. Since there are so many runners in the event, it is impossible for bookmakers to assign odds to each individual person. Instead bookmakers provide odds for the most likely runners to win. A bet maker may select to bet on a runner, with fixed odds assigned. It is possible to bet on a single runner to win, which will provide the greatest payouts. This is, however, considered a high risk betting option.
Instead bet makers may bet on a group of runners, depending on the bookmaker and the options provided. If any one of the group selected wins, the bettor will be given a substantial payout. Payouts may also be given even if the selected group does not place first, but comes only, second, third, or even tenth. Check your favourite online bookmaker to see what betting options are provided.