Running the Streets of New York Together

This past Sunday I completed the TCS New York City Marathon. This was a big personal achievement, and something I only started training for in 2019. I was thrilled to welcome 33,000 participants from 91 countries to the 50th running of the event and enjoyed running the streets of New York with them. There were multiple milestones: the half century anniversary of New York’s signature event, the return of in-person racing after the race went virtual last year.

?But clearly the biggest milestone was the widespread belief that the Big Apple was back.

?Last year I ran the race virtually – my first marathon -- starting from my driveway in New Jersey. This year marked my first time running one in person, and it is a memory I will cherish forever. The buzz of excitement that all of us felt at the start when the iconic cannon went off just south of the Verrazano Bridge was electrifying. Frank Sinatra’s New York, New York was played as consecutive waves of runners started their marathon journey.

Running and wellness in general is deeply engrained in our culture at TCS. On Marathon Sunday I was one of 473 TCS employees, customers, and partners running as part of Team TCS. It felt exhilarating, and as anyone who has run a marathon knows, it makes you believe that there’s nothing you can’t do.

Since 2014, TCS has been the official title and technology sponsor of the TCS New York City Marathon, and we recently renewed our commitment to 2029. We’ve been privileged to have a talented team dedicated to making this event the best, most technologically advanced marathon. This year, with the return of runners to the streets of New York and scores competing virtually, we developed the first hybrid app for the race. The goal was to enable fans to not just track runners on the racecourse, but those competing virtually from anywhere in the world.

?The hybrid app was a hit with marathon fans and the press alike, generating coverage in The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times. In a newsletter sent to CIO Journal subscribers, an editor of The Wall Street Journal, Tom Loftus, graciously congratulated me and the reporter who wrote a story about the app for both finishing the race. What a pleasant surprise!

?I think the app struck a chord because like so many life experiences in the wake of the pandemic, things are going hybrid -- mixing the in-person and virtual. Perhaps permanently. There’s the hybrid workplace, of course, but also hybrid education, doctor appointments, conferences (with both speakers and attendees participating in-person and virtually), and of course, shopping (which was already hybrid but now even more so).

?Of course, the marathon is more than a race. It is a powerful force that inspires people around the world to believe that they possess the power to transform their world. So, to celebrate those who are nurturing the leaders of tomorrow, TCS brought together 50 educators with unique stories of perseverance from around the country to join in the race as part of Team TCS Teachers. As part of the program, we shared resources with them to enhance their students’ computational skills and computer science education. It was such a privilege to see many of the teachers who ran the marathon at our post-race celebration. I’m grateful for their dedication to our nation’s students.

?A hearty congratulations to everyone who ran the 2021 TCS New York City Marathon. And for the many runners that ran virtually last year and who pounded the pavement last Sunday, your marathon journey has been made complete. Like all the runners, every step you took demonstrated the power of belief.