{"id":27093,"date":"2025-11-03T17:58:08","date_gmt":"2025-11-03T17:58:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/27093\/"},"modified":"2025-11-03T17:58:08","modified_gmt":"2025-11-03T17:58:08","slug":"nyc-marathon-runner-becomes-finish-line-fiancee-after-race-day-proposal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/27093\/","title":{"rendered":"NYC MARATHON: Runner becomes \u2018Finish Line Fianc\u00e9e\u2019 after race day proposal"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\"nyc\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Marcy Marrero proposed to her now-fianc\u00e9e, Julissa, at the finish line of the New York City Marathon. <\/p>\n

Photo courtesy of Marcy Marrero<\/p>\n

The New York City Marathon finish line, in addition to the end of a 26.2-mile race, was the starting line for Marcy Marrero and Julissa Montano. Marrero popped the question right before the finish line.<\/p>\n

Well-wishers lined the route<\/a> with signs such as \u201cRun fast, Molly,\u201d \u201cIt will always be New York or Nowhere,\u201d \u201cStuck between a walk and a hard pace\u201d and \u201cShe believed she could so she did.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

It\u2019s unlikely, though, that anyone had a more life-changing sign than Marrero\u2019s. which turned the end of the marathon into the beginning of a marriage.\n<\/p>\n

Marrero waited behind barricades near the finish line with a few family members and a sign saying \u201cFrom Finish Line To Fianc\u00e9e.\u201d
\n\"nycMarrerro with her sign at the end of the race. Photo by Claude Solnik\n<\/p>\n

\u201cI had no idea at all,\u201d Montano said after accepting the proposal. \u201cI didn\u2019t expect it at all. I dreamt this would be a big moment for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Born and raised in the Bronx, Montano moved to Miami after the COVID-19 pandemic, returning to New York City for the marathon before becoming the finish line fianc\u00e9e.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had something prepared,\u201d Marrero said, \u201cBut I said, \u2018You\u2019re the love of my life. Thank you for loving me the way you do. Will you spend the rest of your life with me?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course, yes.\u201d Montano replied.\n<\/p>\n

The two, who met at a Super Bowl party in South Beach six years ago, have been a couple almost since then.
\n\"marathonThe couple met in Miami six years ago, and have been together for almost as long.Photo courtesy of Marcy Marrero\n<\/p>\n

\u201cI decided last April that I wanted [to run] the New York City marathon<\/a> as a goal,\u201d Montano said. \u201cI flew to New York to run a qualifying race and trained that way and in Miami.\u201d<\/p>\n

Marrero said the two had discussed getting married, and there were a few hints along the way that this trip could include a big moment.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cWe talked about it,\u201d Marrero said. \u201cWe\u2019re both in our late 30s. We\u2019re serious about each other. Now\u2019s the perfect moment.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

The marathon itself had become a big part of their life even before the big moment.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cJulissa trained for a very long time to run this marathon and I wanted to make sure that she had all the incentive in the world to finish it, so I had a ring waiting for her and proposed to her at the finish line,\u201d said Marrero. \u201cShe did not know about it, but I think she was a little bit ready for it.\u201d<\/p>\n

An announcer at the end of the course congratulated participants for completing the marathon, although those words had added meaning for this couple.\n<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u201cYou traveled 26.2 miles,\u201d the announcer said. \u201cCongratulations.\u201d
\n\"finishMontano (left) wearing her marathon medal as the pair pose in the financial district after the marathon. Photo courtesy of Marcy Marrero\n<\/p>\n

Marrero\u2019s parents joined the couple as their daughter popped the question and her fianc\u00e9e accepted with a smile the size of the Statue of Liberty.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe knew this was gonna be a big moment for both of them, running the marathon in New York for the first time and getting engaged,\u201d Mireya Vega, Marrero\u2019s mother, said. \u201cSo we felt that we needed to be here to enjoy this special moment and support them both.\u201d<\/p>\n

After the marathon and the marriage proposal, the couple went back to Montano\u2019s family home in the Bronx, where both families celebrated the marathon and engagement.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think she knew that it might be coming,\u201d Marrero said, \u201cBut I don\u2019t know that she thought that it was gonna be today.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Marcy Marrero proposed to her now-fianc\u00e9e, Julissa, at the finish line of the New York City Marathon. Photo…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":27094,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[17047,16540,17048,17049,75,2792,17050,9,24,2790,12,370,56,63,65,2791,64,3867,12855,168,319,15126],"class_list":["post-27093","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-york-city","tag-engagement","tag-finish-line","tag-finish-line-fiancu00e9e","tag-julissa-montano","tag-manhattan","tag-marathon","tag-marcy-marrero","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-new-york-city-marathon","tag-news","tag-newsletter","tag-ny","tag-nyc","tag-nyc-headlines","tag-nyc-marathon","tag-nyc-news","tag-proposal","tag-ring","tag-running","tag-sports","tag-tcs-nyc-marathon"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27093","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27093"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27093\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27094"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27093"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27093"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27093"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}