Some of the more than 50,000 starters in Sunday’s New York City Marathon included a few names who were recognizable to people who have never followed a 26.2-mile race.
Start with the Olympians. Most years, non-track and field Olympians line up for the five-borough race.
This year’s edition included three-time Olympic Alpine snowboarder Chris Klug, famous for overcoming a liver transplant to win bronze in 2002.
Klug, 42, clocked 4 hours, 13 minutes, 51 seconds, or about five minutes slower than 2002 Olympic teammate snowboarder Tricia Byrnes in 2011.
James Blake, a retired Beijing 2008 semifinalist,became the second prominent tennis player to complete the race in as many years, finishing in 3:51:19 and receiving a milkshake from Olympic mixed doubles gold medalist Victoria Azarenka.