New York City’s busy streets felt even more footsteps than usual on Nov. 1 as the New York City Marathon made history as the largest marathon ever. A record-breaking 61,146 runners crossed the finish line, with participants raising over $100 million for charity.
After the race, videos capturing the determination, emotion and human connection of the day flooded social media. From videos of runners hitting the 26.2-mile mark to friends and family embracing along the course, social media showed a different side of the human race on marathon day.
There’s just something about watching others set a goal and achieve it. Perhaps it’s the emotion of watching someone’s hard work finally pay off.
While social media may have tricked you into believing for a day that you can run a marathon, it’s a lot harder than those 30-second videos make it out to be. Training for a marathon takes months of commitment and daily consistency.
According to the Marathon Handbook, less than 1% of people have completed a marathon. But watching more than 60,000 people run the New York City Marathon makes the seemingly impossible chances feel a little more realistic. If that many people can dedicate themselves to a goal, maybe you can, too.
That’s what makes the New York City Marathon so special. It’s not just watching everyone run 26 miles. It’s watching people set a goal months in advance and accomplish it. It makes you realize maybe your own goals aren’t so out of reach.
Social media has given that feeling a name: “hopecore,” a trend centered around optimism, inspiration and the idea that “everything is going to be okay,” or, in other words, “a girl who’s going to be okay.”
The videos usually feature floral overlays, a sunny aesthetic and songs like “Sweet Disposition” by The Temper Trap. In the case of the New York City Marathon, the videos are set to JAY-Z’s “Empire State of Mind” or Frank Sinatra classics like “My Way” and “New York, New York.”
There’s something especially fitting about hopecore being captured in New York City. Known as the city that never sleeps, or perhaps the city that never stops dreaming, New York has long been known as the place where people go to pursue their goals.
And for just one day, New Yorkers gathered to cheer on thousands of people chasing their dreams, when perhaps they moved to New York City to achieve a dream of their own.
Watching people achieve a goal that once seemed out of reach only inspires others to start working towards their own. Whether that’s running 26.2 miles, applying for that job that’s seemingly impossible to land or starting a plan for a goal that’s far in the future, every dream starts somewhere.
The New York City Marathon is a reminder of what it takes to reach a goal. Every early morning run, every long day when runners wanted to give up and every moment of self-doubt pays off the moment a runner sees that finish line.
It’s easy to get caught up in the everyday routine of life, especially in college. Between exams, clubs and assignments due at 11:59 p.m., it’s easy to lose sight of your bigger aspirations.
But accomplishing something doesn’t happen in a week. It takes a little bit every day. A few miles today, a few miles tomorrow, so that someday you can run your 26.2 miles.
