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TCS NEW YORK CITY MARATHON

October 29, 2015

New York City, New York

CHRIS WEILLER: Welcome, everyone. Beautiful day outside. Wonderful to be here at the TCS New York City Marathon Pavilion, the NYRR Media Center. I'm Chris Weiller. I'm the head of Public Relations and Media for the New York Road Runners. Excited to welcome everyone here today.
PETER CIACCIA: My name is Peter Ciaccia. I am the President of Events for New York Road Runners and the race director at TCS New York City Marathon.
Welcome to race week here, our home, the TCS New York City Marathon Pavilion. It's an unbelievable facility. Just to be clear, it is not a Trump property. Just to be clear on that.
It's great having you all joining us here in beautiful Central Park, our finish line right outside. Again, this amazing state of the art facility. Our teams have been putting this together for several days and working with the Parks Department and the conservancy here. If you have some time later on, you really should take a visit down. It's open to the public. Our visitors center downstairs is open to the public from 7:00 in the morning until 9:00. It's just a great engagement for the city and the community.
So today you'll meet some special guests that we have here, but on Sunday we all get to meet a lot of special guests, 50,000 of them on the streets of New York. And they are here to celebrate what makes this city so special, and that's the TCS New York City Marathon. New York City's biggest block party.
We are thrilled to have some of our guests here today. I'm going to give you a quick rundown, and then we're going to invite some up later on to talk further in the program,
Today we have the iconic New Yorker Spike Lee, NYPD Commissioner William Bratton. From our title sponsor TCS, Surya Kant. A special honoree from NYPD, Sgt. Neal Vespe, and my colleague, Michael Capiraso. Together we have the pleasure of leading a great committed team, the New York Road Runners. When I say committed, I mean it. These guys have built this structure, the start line, the finish line, and everything in between, and we bring this up and pop it up like a city inside the city. Unfortunately, we have to take it down on Monday. That's what we have to do.
So now let's talk about some of our special guests that are really here, our professional athletes. Lining up at the start of this year's TCS New York City Marathon are a number of the avid World Marathon Majors champions. They're the stars of what we're putting on here. They tell our story. They allow us to tell our story of what we do here in the city. Included in this bunch of athletes that are coming out here, we've got men and women, Boston champions, women from the London champion here. Reigning women and men's European champions, world championship medalists. They're all champions. This is the best of the best. This is a race of champions that we're putting on.
So highlighting this race of champions are our four returning TCS New York City Marathon winners from 2014. Before we introduce them, we want to take a look at the video that we have from last year, and we'll meet them in person.
[Video played.]
PETER CIACCIA: I still get chills watching this. This is terrific.
She's our defending champion from last year as well as our champion in 2013 and 2010. She is one of the most dominant athletes in America in any sport. When you add it all up, she's won 11 straight Abbott World Marathon Majors races. She's been so dominant in our sport, that we're constantly looking for new words to describe her.
So on Sunday, Tatyana will go for the sport's first ever triple grand slam. Not even David Murphy's home run streak can actually top that.
So please welcome the defending TCS New York City Marathon's women's world wheelchair champion, Tatyana McFadden.
He may be from down under, but up here Kurt Fearnley is one of New York's favorites. With a record five wins, including last year's thriller when Kurt took the lead in the final meters to win the race and was greeted by his smiling 9‑month‑old son Harry, it was a moment that was captured and dear to our hearts. It was Harry's first time in New York, but surely probably not his last.
Kurt challenges himself in competition as well as in life, which he exhibited recently when he crawled nearly 100 kilometers along the Kokoda Trail in New Guinea for charity. That makes this a piece of cake, right? He'll race on Sunday, and he'll, again, deliver an unbelievable race for us. All the way from The Outback, please welcome the defending New York City Marathon men's wheelchair champion, Kurt Fearnley.
After two heartbreaking third place finishes in New York, Mary took two years off from marathoning to become a mom for the second time. Last year New York was her triumphant return from maternity leave, and she ran the race perfectly to win her first New York title. Mary will tell you that winning New York was the most thrilling day of her life, and we hope the race on Sunday is even greater experience for her.
Please welcome the defending TCS New York City Marathon women's champion, Mary Keitany.
Wilson Kipsang came to New York City last year with eyes on our event record, but the windy conditions on race morning made that a risky strategy. Like the champion he is, adjustments were made to his race plan. Wilson might not have set an event record, but he managed to end up on top in one of the most entertaining finishes we've ever seen in New York. A little bit of this to Desisa was great.
In addition to his career marathon accomplishments, which includes victories in New York and London, an Olympic medal, and a world record, he's also an important running community leader back home in Kenya.
We're thrilled to have with us a great statesman and a great champion. Please welcome the defending 2014 TCS New York City Marathon men's champion, Wilson Kipsang.
So when we were looking for a grand marshal for the TCS New York City Marathon this year, we wanted somebody that had a deep passion for New York, someone who understood the people in this city, who loved the boroughs, a lover of all things NYC, quintessential New Yorker.
Enter Spike Lee, whose love for New York City, whether it's in the sporting arena or in the community or for the New York Knicks is unparalleled. When we asked Spike to join us to be the grand marshal this year, he told us he was honored to even be asked, and we said, can you believe this guy? And why is that? Because the city matters to him.
For years, Spike and his family would come out and watch the race in Ft.Green in Brooklyn, and now he is the first New Yorker in the race history to serve as grand marshal.
Spike really embraced his role all week long. Yesterday he was up in Bristol, Connecticut, spending the day with our broadcast partners ESPN doing interview after interview after interview, promoting the race, talking about the city, talking about the great people down here. And tomorrow night he'll join us as part of our TCS New York City Marathon opening ceremonies which are presented by United Airlines. Race day I get a chance to drive with him. He'll lead the way in the grand marshal vehicle, that ride right there. You like that? And it's not going to rain, so you don't have to worry about that.
Though serving as grand marshal is a new role for Spike, we couldn't let this opportunity pass without asking him to do what he does best, make films. So Spike did the right thing. In a few minutes, we'll get to see for the first time his ode to New York City, which will open our race broadcast Sunday, and our race broadcast reaches over 700 million homes around the world on WABC‑TV and ESPN2, and various international broadcast partners.
So please welcome a man of many talents, an NYU tenured film professor, writer, director, producer, actor, author, chef, a recent recipient of the honorary Oscar, and one of the coolest guys you'll ever meet. The 2015 TCS New York City Marathon grand marshal, Mr. Spike Lee.
SPIKE LEE: Thank you, Peter. This is a great honor. We all know New York City is the greatest city on this God's planet, and every marathon is an exhibition of that, where people come from all over the world to join us.
I was very honored to be asked to be part of this. I didn't even know there were grand marshals for this. The route for the marathon comes through my neighborhood of Ft.Green, Brooklyn, and every year I would be there at the corner of South Elliott and Lafayette Avenue and cheer the runners on. Then I would go home and watch the end. This is the first time I'll be at Central Park to see the finish.
As Peter said, I got to do what I do best. So I made a short, short love letter to New York City, and we're going to watch it now. Thank you.
[Video played.]
PETER CIACCIA: That is so great.
Our long‑term partnership and collaboration with the City of New York allows us to bring to this city the variety of events and programs that we do in the five boroughs throughout the year, and, of course, on this big weekend.
The TCS New York City Marathon is, of course, a big postcard, as we said, to the world of what we do here in New York, but we would never be able to do this without our city partners, most important, the collaboration with the New York City Police Department. Together we're able to bring world class events like the marathon to runners, spectators, volunteers, and many others in a safe and enjoyable way. To talk a bit about this partnership in making the marathon happen, please welcome New York Police Department Commissioner William Bratton.
WILLIAM BRATTON: It is great to be here. What a fast year. It seems like it was just yesterday we were here last year for this event.
I was first exposed to the marathon in 1986. I was a police official invited down from Boston, and I had the privilege of riding in one of the lead cars, 26 miles without a red light in New York. That is a miracle in and of itself. I just could not get over this city, and it just expanded on my love affair with the city. Fortunately, four years later, I was back as chief of the transit police and then in '94 police commissioner, where I got to officiate at the marathon at that time.
An extraordinary event in the city every year. Hundreds of millions around the world participate, and many participate in the city itself.
A special thanks to Spike Lee for that video and the idea that he's the first New Yorker to be grand marshal. That's really something. If you want to notice something about Spike, he's always so coordinated. Notice those eyeglasses are perfectly coordinated with those shoes. Absolutely perfectly coordinated all the time. Just great.
You're going to meet shortly also a sergeant from our department who is a very special person. He leads the presidential motorcades. He led the Pope's motorcade recently here in the park, and for decades he has been leading this marathon, getting all those people over the bridge. I was joking with him, did you ever take a wrong turn in all those years? You can only imagine 50,000 runners taking a wrong turn in the marathon, but so far, so good. He's followed that line.
A few statistical details that the police department will be out in force to help the city celebrate. For us, it's a celebration also. It's an event in which we historically have seldom had any issues. People want to be here. They celebrate it. They love it. They love these runners that come from all over the world to run, and the wheelchairs, and it is an extraordinary event in the history of the city. As a department, we are very focused on our metrics.
According to Chief of the Department, Jimmy O’Neill, who's in the back of the room here, Jimmy tells me he'll have 1,866 police officers on the detail. I'll be counting as I go along in one of those lead cars, Jimmy.
We'll have more than 14,000 barriers along the route to help contain the crowds, although they're pretty well behaved in their own right. We'll be working on 13 different command posts along the route to make sure we're coordinated on the policing side, and we'll have 356‑‑ I'm fascinated with this figure. How did you figure out you'll have exactly 356 rolls of blue police tape? That's the one I'm interested in, those rolls of police tape.
We're prepared, and we're looking forward to it. Weather is supposed to be absolutely gorgeous. Everybody that is watching this broadcast, come on into the city. It's a big city. We can entertain you. We can fascinate you. And we will keep you safe. So to the organizers of the marathon that do so much for this city, to Spike who certainly portrayed the city‑‑ I got hungry just watching that, Spike. I'm going to try that pizza under the bridge. I haven't had that yet. And chocolate egg creams, that's a unique New York invention. I've only had one of those in my life also. I'm going out and getting some lunch after we get done here.
All the best to all of you. Thank you.
PETER CIACCIA: So you heard Commissioner Bratton speak about Sgt. Neal Vespe. Sgt. Neal Vespe has been leading the way for the runners as the lead motorcycle escort for over 30 years. It's just, when you see this team, this detail led by Sgt. Vespe up on the bridge, it's an incredible sight to see. The roar of the motorcycles is just phenomenal in the morning just before we start the race. He's been a familiar face for as long as I've been here, and obviously long before that.
Sgt. Neal Vespe represents the strong relationship New York Road Runners has with the city, NYPD, and all the other agencies we work with so closely. On behalf of all of us at New York Road Runners, please join Commissioner Bratton and I in honoring Sgt. Neal Vespe with the TCS New York City Marathon distinguished service award.
I'll introduce my colleague, President and C.W.O. of New York Road Runners, Mr. Michael Capiraso.
MICHAEL CAPIRASO: So we say get your New York on, but I think it's really kind of get your partnership on, if I may. If you really think about all the partners that we have and how critical they are to doing what we do every day. I think it's really important to note the NYPD, our partnership with Spike, our partnership with TCS, our partnership with the city, and my partnership with Peter, which I think really calls to attention how great it is to have amazing partners in order to really accomplish things in life.
This is the 45th running of this great race and marks the second year with CEO Consultancy Services as our title sponsor and New York Road Runners year round partner. With the TCS New York City Marathon as an anchor of our NYRR partnership, TCS is included in our year round support of races, free youth running programs, and events. These events and programs touch the lives of over 400,000 New Yorkers in five boroughs and over 200,000 kids in the five boroughs and beyond. Our shared commitment to create opportunities for people of all ages and abilities to get moving is the foundation for our partnership, and TCS shares that desire to use technology to enhance all we do to support the communities. You'll see evidence of our shared commitment to community throughout the race week and on race day as well as fun and innovative technologies to enhance the TCS New York City experience.
We thank TCS and all of their partners for their year round support in joining us to help inspire people through running. We are especially grateful to the support and partnership of our City of New York. Together our unified goals will continue to ensure that the TCS New York City Marathon remains the city's most iconic and celebrated events.
We're also proud to announce earlier this week that New York City sees an estimated $415 million in economic impact from the TCS New York City Marathon.
I would now like to introduce the TATA Consultancy Services president of North America, UK, and Europe, Surya Kant. One of the driving forces behind our year round partnership that does so much to improve the health and wellness of New Yorkers and the community. Surya will also be running in NYRR's Dash to the Finish on Saturday, and we'll all be there cheering him on. Please welcome Surya.
SURYA KANT: Thank you, Peter. This is the second year of the partnership with New York Road Runners for the TCS New York City Marathon, and we are so excited.
We believe that happy minds and happy bodies really work with each other. So if you have happy bodies, you have healthy and happy minds, and that is the basic thing that has been driving TCS's partnership here.
We have worked with New York Road Runners in the last two years to work to make sure that we have the most technologically advanced and most socially engaged marathon in the world because we have the promise in technology that TCS brings to the table.
Just two examples. One is the app that we now have. That app allows you to do a number of things. It allows you to track ten runners at the same time so that you can meet them and greet them. It also has a direct donation button to the youth and fitness partner, the New York Road Runners Mighty Milers. And most important of them all, it has a personalized race predictor based on analytics, based on how people have run in the past and how people are running on that day.
The second example is the TCS Runfographics. You see examples there and on displays around the city. We love the city. We love being here. And we look forward to a great run on Sunday. Thank you.
MICHAEL CAPIRASO: So what's really, obviously, very important to us in New York Road Runners is our youth programs. We spend a lot of time, effort, and resources making sure that we get kids running. Along with Surya, we'd now like to present the recipients of the 2015 New York Road Runners Youth Running Ambassadors of the Year awards. This award recognizes two inspiring students in our Youth Running Ambassadors program for their dedicated participation, enthusiasm, and commitment to running.
Youth ambassadors are the face of New York Road Runners youth programs. This program provides members of our Mighty Milers and Young Runners with a unique opportunity to learn about the sport of running, build leadership skills, and set personal goals.
Ani'a Campbell, our eighth grader at PS 46 in Harlem, and Jiovanni Olivero, a ninth grader from Fordham High School in the Bronx share this honor.
Ani'a started running a little over a year ago, but she's already hooked. The mile is her favorite distance, but I'm told she goes all out at the 5K and probably could beat me at that as well.
Jiovanni started running when he was 9 as a Mighty Miler. His running idol is his mom, who's running the TCS New York City Marathon this year. Both students are part of the NYRR Young Runners, a free afterschool program.
Please join Surya and I in congratulating and welcome our 2015 NYRR youth ambassadors of the year.

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