With Track Club, East River Park Becomes Training Grounds for Sunday’s Marathon

As most East Villagers sit down to brunch on Sunday, four East Village residents who are members of the East River Park Track Club hope to be completing the last of their 26 miles in the ING New York City Marathon. Local resident Ken Constantino, 38, founded the club in 2010 as a way to promote running and fitness in the park: A $40 annual fee gets members access to weekly group runs, various running tools and individual coaching by a certified Road Runners Club of America coach. For the past few months, Mr. Constantino has been training with three neighbors: Sandra Yu; Shannon Markel, 31, a five-time marathon runner; and Mario Svirsky, 52, who said he hoped to come in at under four hours, 45 minutes, so he can be featured in The New York Times. In The Local’s video, the runners discuss their grueling training regimen and tell us why they do it.