Dutch Kills Volunteers Aid Marathon Runners

Some of the 43,741 runners participating in the 2009 New York City Marathon pass the CitiBank Building in Long Island City on their way to the Queensboro Bridge. Volunteers from the Dutch Kills Civic Association assisted 43,741 runners through the Long Island City community on Marathon Sunday, November 1. This year the largest number of runners in the history of the New York City Marathon, the annual 25-mile, 385 yard trek through the five boroughs, participated.

Volunteers, under the watchful eye of Association President Gerald Walsh, gathered at Crescent Street and 43rd Avenue before sunup on November 1 to set up tables of bottled water, hang banners and organize groups participating in the 27th annual New York City Marathon watering station sponsored by the Dutch Kills Civic Association.

Volunteers at the Dutch Kills watering station cheered on as runners passed through the 14.5 mile mark at the foot of the Queensboro Bridge, described as one of the most difficult marathon milestones.

A runner avails herself of a cup of water offered by the Dutch Kills Civic Association at the association’s water station at Crescent Street and 43rd Avenue. A spokesperson at the Roadrunners Club said Mother Nature came through for marathon runners who prefer cool and overcast conditions with a slight breeze to help meet their goal to finish the race.

Officials said the first runners turned the corner onto Crescent Street at about 11:15 a.m. pacing themselves to 43rd Avenue and the entrance to the bridge. Most of the runners passed through the site by 3:30 p.m. Volunteers worked throughout the day providing water to weary runners as they made their way to the bridge, Walsh said.

“Typically, our day begins at about 7 a.m. and we wrap it up at about 4 p.m., depending on the number of stragglers that arrive at Crescent Street in the late afternoon,” Walsh said. “It’s a long day that requires a lot of preparation, but it’s well worth the effort.”

Walsh said the group leaves extra bottled water at the site for runners who pass through after the volunteers have gone home.—Liz Goff