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Held on a Halloween weekend, this year’s race had a mother-and-daughter duo dressed as cows, a human-size banana and Ken (without Barbie).
Visuals by Sara Naomi Lewkowicz
Reporting from the starting line on Staten Island
Nov. 2, 2025, 1:42 p.m. ET
Gaël Cruanes hustled toward the base of the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge on Sunday morning, along with thousands of other athletes preparing to run the 54th annual New York City Marathon.
It was his third time running New York, but only his second “bananathon” — a technical term for a marathon completed in a bright yellow fruit costume. He was committed to keeping it on for all 26.2 miles.
“The zippers are pretty difficult to unpeel,” said Mr. Cruanes, 26, a medical student in Denver.
The race has a reputation for rollicking crowds and exuberant racecourse fashion. Before sunrise, runners packed into Fort Wadsworth on Staten Island wearing rainbow bathrobes and Barbie costumes, face glitter and hats shaped like chickens.
In the below interviews, which have been edited and condensed, the runners broke down their looks and explained why they had chosen to run the marathon in style.
Miki Jamerson, 35, and Charmaine Jamerson, 63
Chicago and Northern Virginia
