Finally, a marathon for the lazy man!
A former Williamsburg resident who dislikes sweaty activity has organized a low-effort running event so that the city’s couch potatoes can feel the same sense of achievement as the fleet-footed endorphin junkies who spend months training for the 26.2-mile New York Marathon. At his “New York Sorta Marathon” on Nov. 12, runners will race just 0.2 miles — a little more than 1,000 feet — a distance short enough to be funny, but long enough to give runners an excuse to indulge in a post-race party, said the organizer.
“The whole idea is to celebrate doing as little as possible,” said comedian Zach Broussard, who now lives in Los Angeles. “You shouldn’t have to work that hard to party hard.”
About 100 short-distance runners have already signed up to race the length of three football fields. During the arduous journey, which is equal to the height of the Eiffel Tower, runners will pass cheering spectators, Gatorade stations, and medical tents equipped with space blankets and bananas, just like those serving their tougher comrades jogging an unnecessarily difficult extra 26 miles.
In this race, the only effort required is paying a $20 entry free and then ambling a route roughly the length of 200 Danny Devitos laid end-to-end. Each participant will get a t-shirt and a medal, and at the finish line, Broussard has hired two actors to occupy the second and third-place spots on a winner’s block, so that every participant can get a photo standing in the first-place spot.
Broussard raised more than $8,500 on Kickstarter to pay for the medals, shirts, city permits, tents, and event coordinators. After the race, he plans to donate any extra money to a disaster relief program for Puerto Rico.
The race will be exactly one week after the prestigious New York City Marathon, which Broussard has no plans to join.
“I think what they’re doing is really amazing,” he said. “I just think that they’re working too hard.”
The New York Sorta Marathon (Union Avenue between N. 12th Street and Driggs Avenue in Williamsburg, www.sorta
