All over the world-on city roads and country lanes, on beaches, high in the mountains, across fields, in sun, rain, and late at night, people get ready to race. It's a BIG DEAL to run in the New York City Marathon! In this energetic and ever-so-fun nonfiction picture book about the world's most famous race, readers follow runners from all over the world as they stretch, make their playlist, eat a spaghetti dinner, and then pound, pound, pound through the five boroughs of New York City, all the way to the finish line. With fun facts throughout ("Since 1979, a high school band stationed at Mile 9 plays the "Rocky" theme song again and again until the last runners go by"), this is an exhilarating, inside-view of what it entails to run the world's largest marathon.