July 30, 2017
Saturday evening on Twitter, Philly native Kevin Hart announced he was entering the 2017 New York City Marathon, scheduled for Sunday, November 5.
In his announcement, Hart cited Kenyan long-runner Eliud Kipchoge as his inspiration for running.
“Kipchoge running the full marathon at 2 hours and 25 seconds,” he says in his announcement video. “After witnessing that type of greatness, it inspired me to get my own.” Though he initially planned to run a half marathon, he instead is opting for the full 26.2-mile marathon through the five boroughs of New York City.
I have a HUGE announcement. That’s right people, I’m running the #NYCmarathon. That’s my #moonshot. What’s yours? pic.twitter.com/gVUtvBVDpq
— Kevin Hart (@KevinHart4real) July 29, 2017
The comedian started training as a runner when he was on tour in 2015, later running a 5k in Boston that saw many fans gather in support. Throughout the rest of that tour, he held a series of Nike-sponsored pop-up 5Ks attended by thousands of people in different cities.
Hart has since participated in longer races, but this will be his longest yet.
Other well-known people running this year's marathon include NFL star Tiki Barber, model Karli Kloss, and singer Prince Royce.
Also running will be instrumental female runner Kathrine Switzer, age 70, who was the first woman to ever run the Boston Marathon with an official bib in 1967.
