Toomer, Roker among celebs running NYC Marathon

Weatherman Al Roker is in. And former Giants wide receiver Amani Toomer.

The New York City Marathon's 2010 theme is "I'm in. We're in," meant to convey that "everybody can be in," said race director Mary Wittenberg - the 45,000 participants in Sunday's 26-mile, 385-yard race and beyond. "From the spectators along the course, to friends and family, to viewers. It focuses on engaging a broader audience," Wittenberg said.

Such inclusion has, for several years, extended to celebrities. So that an unlikely long-distance runner such as Roker has put the marathon on his "bucket list." Wittenberg declared that the formerly hefty Roker has "become a real runner; he's out there and it's just fascinating. He's going to have a long day. I think it'll be about seven hours, but I think he's definitely not going to walk this race. He might walk in parts, but he's coming to run the marathon."

Toomer, whose professional athletic bursts formerly were contained in a 100-yard space, will be running for a charity, as will dozens of celebrities. Toomer's challenge is to start "dead, dead last," Wittenberg said, and earn $1 for each runner he passes the rest of the afternoon. Toomer, who has lost 30 pounds in training, hopes to pass up to 25,000 runners and finish under 4 hours and 26 minutes, which former NFL receiver Lynn Swann ran 17 years ago and is purported to be the marathon record for a retired pro football player.

These times hardly compare with the world record 2:03:59 run by Ethiopian great Haile Gebrselassie, who will be attempting the New York City race for the first time as a 37-year-old and believes the course record of 2:07:43 is within reach. As usual, the event's elite professional field is packed with some of the sport's best, including defending champions Meb Keflezighi of the United States and Derartu Tulu of Ethiopia.

But the "I'm in. We're in" tag applies, with race officials expecting more than 20,000 first-time marathoners, with crowds of teachers/educators (more than 2,000), attorneys (1,900-plus), bankers and engineers (roughly 1,400 apiece) and doctors (about 1,200).

First spread over New York City's five boroughs in 1976, this annual running of the humans has become so fashionable that organizers might have gone with the lyrics to an old song:

"I'm in with the 'in' crowd/I go where the 'in' crowd goes . . . "

There is a line in the song that goes,

"We breeze up and down the streets/We get respect from the people we meet."

Among those seeking such respect will be retired tennis pro Justin Gimelstob and "Survivor" survivor Ethan Zohn. "In the end," Wittenberg said, "the marathon is the great equalizer."