Millions ready for New York City Marathon weekend

NEW YORK (FOX 5 NEWS) - It's taken 170 full-time New York Road Runners staff members 365 days to get ready for the 2016 TCS New York City Marathon. And in the week leading up to it, some 12,000 volunteers jumped in to help throw the biggest and best marathon on the planet.

Race Director Peter Ciaccia says this year 125,000 people applied and more than 50,000 people will run. That means the New York City Marathon remains the biggest in the world. Ciaccia says it's the equivalent of the entire population of Hoboken coming to NYC to run.

This year is a special anniversary for the New York City Marathon. It's the 40th anniversary of the five-borough course. 1976 was the first year the race came out of Central Park, filling the boroughs with runners and incredible crowds. Ciaccia says seeing 2 million spectators lining the streets is phenomenal, a true celebration of the city.

At $255 for U.S. residents and $347 for international runners, the New York City Marathon is also the world's most expensive marathon, but that hasn't stopped runners from making the trek. Ciaccia says more than 130 countries from around the world will take part this year.

Before they get moving, they'll shed a lot of extra clothes on the Verrazano Bridge. Last year the marathon donated 125,000 pounds of clothes to Goodwill.

Marathon runners have also donated millions of dollars to charity. Last year they raised over $33 million. In the decade since the marathon introduced a charity program, runners have raised over $200 million. Marathon Sunday is a great day in New York City for a lot of great causes.

Ciaccia says whether it's your first marathon, your 40th or your 15th, it's all about delivering the greatest experience to every runner. He and his team will be at the finish line waiting for the very last runner to finish, what he calls, New York City's biggest block party.