International Runners Excited to Run the 2022 TCS New York City Marathon at Last

This year, the TCS New York City Marathon comes back to full-field size, and we are thrilled to welcome thousands of international runners—some of whom waited three years for their chance to run through the streets of NYC. 

In 2019, international runners represented 141 countries but in 2021 when the race was back on after the 2020 cancellation, that number dropped to 91 countries because of COVID-19-related travel restrictions to the U.S.

We reached out to a few International Tour Operators (ITOs) that partner with New York Road Runners to share the stories of runners who will be taking on this year’s marathon to hear how excited they are to travel to New York.

Active Holiday Company (India)

Shyam Kapadia and Venkatesh Dhond kept training for the TCS New York City Marathon even though they were originally signed up to run back in 2020. In 2021, they thought they would get their second chance at running the marathon, but the U.S. travel restrictions didn’t lift in time, leaving them to wait another year. 

“Active Holiday Company was kind enough to roll it over to 2022, so we simply rested and started thinking ahead.”

They booked with an ITO in 2020 because they said that was the most realistic option for them and because they had already worked with Gauri Jayaram at Active Holiday Company to book cycling events in Europe.

“An International Tour Operator is the most realistic option to run the big marathons,” they said.

Gauri said Active Holiday Company had a responsibility to their customers who trusted them with payments already made for travel arrangements.

“In addition to ensuring that customers lost as little money as possible, we also had to act as counselors under very uncertain circumstances as most runners turned to us for helping them navigate their race decisions and to realize their running dreams.”

Amaison (Argentina)

José Luis Perez was looking forward to running the TCS New York City Marathon in 2020 but after it was canceled, he said it was an opportunity to readjust and not give up. Then he got injured in 2021 and his plans changed again.

After recovering, he’s ready to lace up for this year’s marathon thanks to Amaison. He’s never run outside of Argentina, having completed marathons in Buenos Aires in 2018 and Mar del Plata in 2019, and is looking forward to running in New York City. 

“I understand that for amateur runners like me, there aren’t many options to be able to participate in the biggest and most important international races. ”

During the pandemic, he participated in a virtual event that urged people to run in honor of medical workers who were at the frontlines. He ran 3 km in his small apartment—running in the bathroom, through the hallway, and on the balcony to complete the distance.

In November, he’ll put that all behind him and travel to the U.S. to run 26.2 miles across the five boroughs of NYC at the largest marathon in the world. 

“Reaching the finish line with a smile will be a beautiful ending."

Effetto (Italy)

Maria Rosaria Dileo is working toward being an Abbott World Marathon Majors Six Star Finisher and has already run marathons in Chicago, Berlin, Honolulu, Dubai, and Valencia.

The TCS New York City Marathon would have gotten her closer to achieving all six, but in 2021 she wasn’t able to travel to the U.S. because of COVID-19-related travel restrictions.

“2021 was crazy. I trained hard during the summer. Effetto acted amazingly and managed to assist us during the whole time. I have traveled with them in the past and I was amazed by the organization, the friendly assistants, and their program.”

Maria said she has made it a habit to combine marathons with travel. “My family always travels with me. We choose one city every year to travel to and we spend our vacation like that.”

She said the lockdown in Italy was so hard especially from March 2020 to June 2020 because people weren’t allowed to go out for a run.

“I have been waiting for the New York City Marathon for too long! For me, this will be the 50th edition. I want it to be a party!”

Travelling Fit (Australia)

For runners traveling from Australia, signing up with Travelling Fit is sometimes the best option to get guaranteed entry into the TCS New York City Marathon. Graeme Hairsine said running helped him keep his mental health intact.

“Every morning, running along the river, getting to know the regular walkers, and saying good morning gave me a sense of connection and community.”

He signed up with Travelling Fit so he could run the marathon with his friends. They all ran Chicago and loved the experience and decided to run another Abbott World Marathon Major

Zara Callianiotis looked to Travelling Fit to make her travel arrangements easy. She’s planning to run this year’s marathon after years of waiting for her chance.

“It was always my dream to run the New York Marathon in 2020 when I turned 40. Instead, now I will run it in 2022, so I will run one kilometer for every year of my age of 42.”

She said she’s looking forward to the brisk NYC weather and the great vibe around the city during the events leading up to the marathon

“And finishing of course!”

Learn more about our International Tour Operator program.