New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is getting candid about the unfortunate impact of enjoying a surprise, mid-marathon cigarette.
On Thursday (May 29), Mamdani and the New York Road Runners nonprofit announced the opening of registration for the upcoming 2K for 2-K event, which aims to raise awareness about the expansion of child care programs in the region.
In tandem with the announcement, Mamdani spoke with Theo Kahler for Runner’s World, touching on what he loves about running in general, and the importance of the New York City Marathon specifically. Naturally, such talk ultimately led to the cig-centered cautionary tale mentioned above.
“When a guy in Greenpoint offered me a cigarette around 10 miles [into the NYC Marathon],” Mamdani, who previously ran in the NYC Marathon in 2022 and 2024, recalled to the publication. “I’d had a pretty good race until that point (by my standards) but, for some reason, I decided to smoke for a moment as I ran by and the rest of the race went downhill pretty quickly.”
Indeed, despite the palpable and hard-to-deny temptation, cigging out in the middle of a marathon is almost certainly never a good idea. But what is a good idea is the program at the heart of the 2K for 2-K event, slated for June 7 at Manhattan’s Fort Tryon Park.
“This January, we drew the starting line for universal child care. Later this summer, the first 2,000 families will receive life-changing offers for free, full-day, full-year child care for their 2-year-olds,” Mamdani said in a recent press release. “But this work is a marathon, not a sprint. We are building a city where every family, no matter where they live or how much money they earn, has access to the care they need to build a life in New York City. This race is about bringing families together to raise awareness about 2-K, and giving New York’s cutest the running start they deserve.”
Back in January, then only days into his mayoral tenure, Mamdani joined New York Governor Kathy Hochul in detailing plans to age down the existing child care program. At the time, Mamdani pointed to this city-meets-state governmental partnership as “proof” of the tangible power of New Yorkers uniting behind a shared cause.
