Bam! Pow! Superhero-loving runners will race in Central Park to battle COVID
Tighten up your bat-laces: Your favorite comic book characters are about to make a super comeback in Central Park.
The city’s iconic greenspace will be teeming with caped crusaders and masked marauders next Sunday as runners in superhero uniforms band together to take a stand against the biggest super-baddie of them all: COVID-19.
About 300 people are expected to run the fun-filled 5K and 10K routes when the Central Park Comic Run kicks off at the Naumburg Bandshell 8:30 a.m. Sunday.
Organizer Joe Meyer said the run will be a welcome distraction to New Yorkers continuing to slog through another marathon — the pandemic.
“It’s going to be a nice escape,” Meyer, who has been putting on races with Elite Feats since 2014. “After everything our runners went through over the last year and a half, we wanted them to have a good time and escape all the hardships they might be going through.”
This is Elite Feats first superhero-themed run. In the spring, the group put on a special Star Wars run in Long Island on May 4, the annual unofficial holiday when fans celebrate the sci-fi franchise.
“We’ve been brainstorming about different ways we can make the runs more fun and we’re all big Marvel and Star Wars fans,” said Meyer. “We wanted to put on a Comic Con atmosphere, and we hope it catches on.”
And runners are already strapping on their utility belts. Groups already signed up for the run include “Flash to the Finish,” “Scarlet Witches Unite,” and “Gojira,” which, for the non-nerds out there is the original Japanese name for that skyscraper-sized lizard who never runs anywhere: Godzilla.
When the pandemic hit, solo running remained popular but the New York City Marathon and other large running events were canceled. As COVID-19 infections lessened, group races were allowed to continue, but in staggered waves.
Meyer hopes the Comic Run will ultimately pair up with the New York Comic Con, which is usually held in the fall.
“The dream is to make it an actual event with Comic Con,” he said. “Maybe we’ll be able to get some celebrities who played a part in a comic-based movie or series to hang out in booths and sign autographs.
“It has a lot of potential,” he said. “It’s something that’s neglected up here. They have a run like this in Florida, but nothing like this in Central Park.”
Runners will get a t-shirt, medal and pictures of them crossing the finish line in their favorite superhero or super villain getup.
Costumes are optional, but Meyer expect most runners will wear a mask, cape or a superhero t-shirt of their favorite character, especially a certain wall-crawling New Yorker.
“For some reason there’s always someone dressed up like Spider-Man,” Meyer joked.
