Monday, December 2, 2024
Franklin Square residents Christian Viti, Corry Brinken and Nick Matzelle ran in the 53rd annual New York City Marathon on Nov. 3. The marathon celebrated the 60th anniversary of the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge, and the three joined more than 50,000 runners as they crossed the span to begin the race.
Viti, Brinken and Matzelle, all 24, are lifelong friends — they went to H Frank Carey High School together and have run in Franklin Square’s Turkey Trot, a five-mile race that doubles as a multi-cause fundraiser, since childhood. This was their first New York City Marathon.
Brinken is an orthopedic physical therapy resident at Duke Hospital in North Carolina. He and Viti were on the Carey soccer team in high school.
Running the marathon “was unreal,” Brinken said. “The support from random people on the streets yelling your names was unbelievable. It’s like the whole city comes out for a big party to support people, coming from all walks of life.
“I think that running is super important, especially finding a good community or friends to do it with,” he added. “It gives you a break from the stressful world we live in.”
Matzelle, who works for UBS as an investment analyst, says he sees running as a therapeutic exercise. “Running has always been part of my lifestyle,” he said. “I really grew passionate about it during Covid, when I was quarantined. I needed a way to get out and get into nature and not be so confined.
“I grew a passion for the mental release that you would kind of get from a long run — the feeling that I would get after it was just so rewarding,” Matzelle continued. “That Sunday was special for me, because my family and my friends got to share that experience. I also raised money for the Ronald McDonald house, which was another really great experience.”
Viti is a first-generation Italian-American — his mother and his paternal grandparents emigrated to New York — and he developed a passion for running in his youth, with his sister, Daniela Rosini.
“My sister and I were always involved in sports,” Viti said. “My dad would always say to put in 110 percent.”
He has taken part in other marathons with charity sponsors, and for this one he raised about $4,100 for the American Cancer Society.
Viti is an associate acoustic consultant for William Sales Partnership, a global engineering and professional-services firm. He and other staff members ran this marathon to represent the firm and see how their predecessors helped shape New York City as it is today.
“I’m proud that our work builds communities, connects them and makes them stronger,” Viti stated in a WSP news release before the marathon. “Running the marathon will be like running through WSP history and seeing its impact on New York’s transportation, skyline and progress.”
Engineer Othmar H. Ammann, of Ammann & Whitney — now WSP — designed the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge. The firm also designed other landmarks that marathon runners passed or had glimpses of, including Brooklyn’s Barclays Center, Central Park Tower and One World Trade Center.
“For over 60 years, the MTA Bridges and Tunnels and the Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority have been dedicated stewards of the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge and roadways,” WSP Senior Vice President Joseph Viola said in the release. “All of the people who have touched the bridge in some way over the past six decades share an unwavering commitment to maintenance and innovation which has kept this historic structure standing strong, ensuring safe and efficient travel for thousands of commuters.”
