The NYC Marathon is pretty much my favorite event of the year.  It's almost always a completely beautiful day, it's right around Daylight Savings time, and it happens to run right past the end of my block.

Each year I find it more uplifting, and it makes me appreciate this wild city we live in all the more.  People lining the streets to cheer on strangers gets me every time-- not to mention that those strangers are living examples of the triumph of the human will, the triumph of the human body, and the triumph of the human spirit.  I like to get out there early so I can catch the wheelchair competitors, who have survived a million times the tragedy that I have and STILL have the gumption to drive 26.2 miles with just their arms.  And then the elite ladies run by, cruising at a pace faster than I could run 100 meters.  And then the elite men, the same.  But it's when the normies start coming that things REALLY get fun-- it's much more exciting to cheer for people when you can tell they need it.  Greenpoint is the halfway point, so you can tell that all of that affirmation is coming in handy as they approach the bottom of the Pulaski bridge, knowing they still have 13.1 miles to go.  And there's something ridiculously pleasing about screaming someone's name and having them turn toward you, mid-race, and say "thank you" with a smile.  Plus Germans like to dress wacky and are sometimes drinking beer.  My throat hurts and my palms are sore, but those vibes will carry me through the start of winter.

Anyway, if you've never watched before, I say get on out there.  Next year grab a coffee (or a bloody mary, which seemed to be the popular drink on my stretch), gather your friends, feel really good inside, and then make waffles.

In honor of my bursting love for New York City in this moment, here are some amazing shots of the city between 1900 and 1935.  It's always changing and expanding and contracting and things and people are always coming and going, but the fact remains that this city rules.

xo Julie

Sikorsky Clipper, 1931

 

Union Square, 1910

 

Hester Street, 1901

 

Chrysler Gargoyle, 1929

 

*all photos are stock, please inform us if credit is due somewhere!!

 

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