New York Marathon 2014: Top Celebrities Expected to Race in NYC
Maybe celebrities really aren’t just like us.
After all, how many of “us” could find the time to train for and run the New York City Marathon while balancing life in the spotlight? A large number of celebrities will do just that on Sunday at the 44th edition of the event.
Between the diverse course that covers all five of New York City’s boroughs to the more than 130 bands that are scheduled to perform along the route, runners and spectators alike will have plenty to see on Sunday.
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However, few things will catch the eye as much as a celebrity sighting.
With that in mind, here is a look at some of the notable celebrities running in the 2014 New York City Marathon. Information on celebrity appearances is courtesy of Masslive.com and running.competitor.com.
Caroline Wozniacki
Perhaps no marathon runner in the entire event has the type of schedule that tennis player and this year’s US Open runner-up Caroline Wozniacki does.
Not only is she racing in her first-ever marathon, but she is doing it a mere eight days after a semifinal loss to Serena Williams in her final tennis match of the year. Between that small amount of recovery time and the fact that she travels across the world for her tennis, Sunday’s run will certainly be a challenge.
She discussed it, via Aimee Berg of USA Today:
"I'm a little nervous. This is the farthest I'm going to run. I think it's going to be an unbelievable experience. The New York City Marathon has always been on my bucket list.
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CNN-IBN News and IBNLiveSports noted that there is a certain trait that helps Wozniacki compete against the best in the world in tennis. That same trait will undoubtedly come in handy on the stretch run of her first marathon:
Her longest training run was only 13 miles, so she has her work cut out for her. Wozniacki will be running for New York Road Runners Team for Kids.
Bill Murray
Bill Murray never misses an opportunity to make people laugh, and he did it again on a recent appearance on the Late Show on CBS. Instead of staying in studio with David Letterman, Murray hit the streets of New York with a headphone jack and conducted the interview via audio while training for the race.
Murray is always a crowd favorite and will likely thrill spectators on Sunday.
Tiki Barber
Nobody in the history of the New York Giants has run for more yards than Tiki Barber, but Sunday will be an entirely new type of running than what he did on the gridiron.
Barber, who is now a CBS Sports Radio co-host, and his wife, Traci Johnson, will both run their first marathons for PitCCh In Foundation.
Joe Bastianich
Joe Bastianich is a MasterChef judge who will likely put up an impressive time on Sunday. In addition to his television work, Bastianich competes in Ironman triathlons, so the New York City Marathon could just be a jog in the park for him.
Katrina Bowden
Katrina Bowden is best known for her role as Cerie in 30 Rock and will be running for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.
Billy Demong
Billy Demong is accustomed to going fast, although there won’t be any snow on the ground during Sunday’s race.
He is an American Nordic combined skier and took home the 2010 Winter Olympics gold medal. This will be his first marathon, and he is running for Team for Tomorrow.
Teri Hatcher
Teri Hatcher is a Golden Globe Award-winning actress who has appeared in a number of television shows and movies, including Desperate Housewives, and will run for the J/P Haitian Relief Organization on Sunday.
Angie Martinez
Angie Martinez may not be as recognizable as Hatcher, Murray and Wozniacki to those not from New York, but the Power 105.1 DJ is known as “The Voice of New York” to many in the city. It seems only appropriate that she is touring the five boroughs on Sunday, although doing it as part of a marathon is impressive.
She is running for the PitCCh In Foundation.
Sean “Diddy” Combs, who ran in the 2003 New York City Marathon, donated $26,000 to Martinez’s cause, so her experience was a success before the race even started.
Sam Ryan
Sam Ryan is an MLB Network host and ran the New York City Marathon last year as well.
Alexis Welch
Alexis Welch is best known as the wife of Amar’e Stoudemire and will be running for PitCCh In Foundation.
Gary Williams
Gary Williams is a host on the Golf Channel and will run on Sunday for the Buck Williams MBA Fellowship at the University of North Carolina’s Kenan-Flagler Business School. It’s something of a marathon just to read through the name of Williams’ cause.
Richard Blais
Richard Blais won the show Top Chef: All-Stars and has become something of a regular at the New York City Marathon.
He actually ran the course in 2012 even though the event was cancelled because of Hurricane Sandy, and this will be his third time (if you count that 2012 run). He is running for Grassroots Soccer.
Amber Sabathia
Amber Sabathia is a co-founder of the PitchCCh In Foundation, along with her husband CC Sabathia.
In an unsurprising twist, that is the foundation that she will run for on Sunday.
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