New York City Event Guide

NYC Marathon

Event Information

Sunday November 1 2009

Throughout the City

Information  NYC Marathon

Broadcast  WNBC TV Ch 4 | 10:00A to 4:00P

More than 40,000 stalwart runners try their feet at the five-borough 26.2-mile NYC Marathon course this year. Starting times are staggered:

The Route

The NYC Marathon starts at the Staten Island end of the Verrazano Narrows Bridge; wends its way north through Brooklyn and Queens; crosses the 59th Street Bridge into Manhattan north along the Upper East side with a quick loop into the Bronx; south along 5th Avenue and through Central Park with the finishing loop along Central Park South up to Tavern on the Green. The New York Road Runners Club has a PDF version of the route at NYC Marathon Course Map

Viewing the Race

Important Note What with "start villages"  and "Blue," "Orange" and "Green" zones and something the NYRRC calls "the wonders of Quotidian multivariate fractal math" (hopefully tongue in cheek), it's getting more complicated to predict when runners will reach certain points of the course. Times below are for elite women and elite men, taken from a couple of different sources and mixed with a bit of personal experience -- they are very approximate. If you want to watch a friend or family member your best bet to find when they will pass a certain point is to ask them -- don't depend on us!

The First Miles  Spectators are not allowed on the Staten Island side of the bridge; the first good vantage points are along 4th Avenue in Brooklyn. Runners are usually just hitting their strides after coming off the bridge, are not quite sorted out and with no one runner in command. Many are enjoying the welcoming cheers of the first Manhattan crowds

Mile	Where	Subway	Women	Men
3	82nd St at 4th Ave	86th St	9:25A	9:55A

Until Bay Ridge Parkway runners in the "Green" start are a few blocks to the east of the main route. We like to get away from the not very attractive area around the Gowanus Expressway access roads and head north to about mile 5. Runners have hit their stride, strategy and tactics are in play and somebody just might have real command of the race, no matter how tentative

Mile	Where	Subway	Women	Men
5	43rd St at 4th Av	45th St	9:35A	10:05A

North Through Brooklyn & Queens  We haven't watched from other vantage points in Brooklyn or Queens but these might be a couple of good spots. We'd expect the folks in the newly trendy Williamsburg section to come out and urge the runners on and the stretch just before the 59th Street Bridge is pretty easy to get to

Mile	Where	Subway	Women	Men
11, 12	N 7th St at Bedford Ave	Bedford Ave	10:10A	10:35N
15	Crescent St south of the bridge	Queensborough Plaza	10:30A	10:55P

Into Manhattan  One of our favorite spots is when the runners come off the bridge and head north on 1st Avenue. You can almost be assured that one of the folks you see in a couple of minute span is going to be the winner (not necessarily the leader at the time). A bonus is that it's only a short walk over to Central Park and mile 25, that's about 9 miles more for the contestants

Mile	Where	Subway	Women	Men
16, 17	60th to 72nd Sts along 1st Ave	59th or 72nd Sts	10:35A	11:00A

The Bronx Loop  We've never been up to this part of the course. We know that at least part is industrial and the course crosses the Major Deegan Expressway and access roads at least twice. Mile 20 is about three blocks south of the Brook Avenue subway station

Mile	Where	Subway	Women	Men
20	132nd St at Willis Ave	Brook Ave	11:00A	11:20A

Back to Manhattan  The course makes a long run down 5th Avenue and into Central Park at 90th Street. We usually like to walk over from 1st Avenue and catch the leaders at mile 25. Will the leader hold up?

Mile	Where	Subway	Women	Men
25	66th St at Park Drive East	66th St	11:25A	11:45A

The Finish  A lot can happen in the last mile of the race, it's been won -- and lost -- in the space of a few yards. Unfortunately, the finish area is the worst place to watch. Back in the '80s ago you could walk over about a half hour before the end of the race and get a pretty good view. Not anymore. Crowds of people throng Central Park South and the area south of the finish line at Tavern on the Green is more restricted and more congested each year. We usually wind up catching the finish on the television news

The Aftermath  For hours after the world class folks win or lose, those back in the pack continue to cross the finish line. As the crowds thin this is a good time to make your way to the Columbus Circle area and into the southern part of the Park to cheer these hardy runners on. You'll see thousands of stories painted on their faces. And as you wander around town you'll see these strange looking people, bare-legged in the November chill, covered by flimsy wraps, medals around their necks, pride in their eyes. Winners all!