“Final Finishers,” a documentary following the journeys of some of the last people to cross the finish line at the New York City Marathon, was awarded a Sports Emmy on Tuesday in the first ever nomination for the running organization.
The short film is set during the 2024 race with back-of-the-pack runners assembling at the start village in Staten lsland in the early morning, beginning on the course from the remaining waves of participants and eventually finishing in Central Park to a festive welcome in the evening.
The win is the first Sports Emmy for NYRR and its East 89th St. Productions media division, with the aim of taking initiative to tell the unique and inspiring stories from the running community. “Final Finishers,” was release last year as the production hub was at work on another film, “26.2,” about runner refusing to let personal adversity prevent them from lineup on marathon day.
“This recognition is an extraordinary honor for New York Road Runners and a powerful validation of our commitment to telling stories that reflect the full spectrum of the running experience,” New York Road Runners CEO Rob Simmelkjaer said. “‘Final Finishers’ embodies our belief in the power of every step to transform lives by shining a light on runners whose courage, determination, and humanity inspire us all. We are grateful to the academy and to everyone who helped bring this project to life, and we are proud to see these athletes and their stories celebrated on one of the biggest stages in sports media.”
“Final Finishers,” was directed by two-time Emmy Award-winner Rudy Valdez, who was behind “The Sentence,” his breakthrough project in 2018. For Valdez, a distinct style of capturing human emotion was crucial to getting the project for NYRR onto the screen.
“I couldn’t be more grateful for this recognition for a film that, at its heart, is about humanity, resilience, and what it means to keep putting one foot in front of the other,” Valdez said. “This project was made possible by the extraordinary runners who shared their stories and by the incredible partnership and support from New York Road Runners and Tribeca Studios. I’m honored that these inspiring runners are being celebrated on this stage.”
The film was developed, produced and distributed alongside partnership with Tribeca Studios and premiered at the 2025 Tribeca Festival and later streamed on ESPN+ and Disney+.
