“Es abstracta y divertida”: los corredores le dan su aprobación a la camiseta de la carrera Gridiron 4M
The 2020 NYRR Gridiron 4M Presented by The FLAG Art Foundation continued many beloved race traditions and introduced some fun and creative new ones.
The race took place on a sparkling Sunday Groundhog Day morning in Central Park and had well over 5,000 finishers. About an hour before the runners left the starting line for their four-mile inner loop of the park, several dozen people (call them multi-sport athletes extraordinaire) tested their arm strength at the Longest Football Throw, a spirited but friendly competition that's all about just what its name implies.
Today's race winners were a pair of West Side Runners athletes: Abdulmenan Kasim Gelato for the men in 19:30 and Nuhamin Bogale Ashame for the women in 21:54.
As part of this year's new race partnership with The FLAG Art Foundation, runners received a unique race shirt, created by esteemed artist Nicolas Party. The Swiss-born artist conceived the shirt as an artwork, in which he utilized surreal imagery, humor, and his signature approach to color. The design relates to the artist’s current exhibition Nicolas Party: Pastel at FLAG, running through February 15.
“My design for the NYRR Gridiron 4M T-shirt used a range of abstract yet recognizable shapes—a foot, football, a sun, etc.—that I hope runners could interpret as elements they would see along the race route,” said Party. “I wanted to create a dynamic image that has a sense of movement, energy, and playfulness.”
So, what did runners think of the new shirt? We sought the opinions of five randomly selected runners who chose to wear it to the race, and the responses were overwhelmingly positive.
Laurence Gonzalez, Manhattan: "I like the shirt because I would wear it outside of exercise, like to a social event. I like the design; it’s kind of abstract and fun. I’m not an artist myself but I like to go to galleries and museums."
Tinuke Wilson, Jersey City: "This is my first pink racing shirt and I really love it. Pink is one of my favorite colors. I’m not an artist but I appreciate colorful, pretty things. I like that it has to do with football but it’s not too obvious. I don’t care about exactly what everything it means, I just like it because it’s fun and different. I'll wear it again."
Enidalvo Medeiros, Astoria: "I’ll wear it again. I wear all the race shirts again, many times. They all mean something to me. For example, this shirt is special for me today because today it was hard for me to get up early and run a race, but I put my mind to it and did it, and I finished."
Michal Gamily, Manhattan: "It’s nice—I like the “think pink” color. The design? It took me a while to get used to it but that’s okay; I'm not really an artist. Having more sponsors for races is good. I wouldn’t wear it to a party, but I’ll definitely wear it again for running."
Alexander Holland, Bronx: "I really like everything about it. When I first saw it, I was surprised that it was pink, but I like that. Even though I don’t know exactly what’s happening on it, I really like the abstract design. My last race shirt had a cool logo, but I think this one is more interesting."
Glenn Fuhrman, who founded The FLAG Art Foundation in 2008 to help bring additional awareness to contemporary art and engage with many talented individuals who would bring art to a new and different viewership, was also among the finishers of today's race, and participates in many NYRR races throughout the year.
Remember that the application for the 2020 TCS New York City Marathon is open through February 13, so apply or claim your guaranteed entry during this period!