A very young volunteer offers bananas to runners who have just arrived in the borough. In total, over 14,000 bananas are distributed during the race at the two distribution points at mile 20 and 23.
A little over two kilometers of race are raced in the Bronx. During the first “5 Boroughs NYC Marathon” in 1976, runners simply crossed the Willis Avenue Bridge, ran around a lamp-post and immediately returned to Manhattan along the same bridge. The social situation in the Bronx at the time forced the organizers to plan a route that would only formally touch the borough. In 1977, following the requests of the local residents, the route was modified to its current route, which runs through the Mott Haven neighborhood.
