New York City Marathon

The festival

What is New York City Marathon

On the first Sunday in November, New York stops to watch tens of thousands of runners cross the city. The New York City Marathon, organized by the New York Road Runners, a nonprofit running association, covers 42 km across the city’s five boroughs and is considered the world’s largest marathon. Runners from more than a hundred countries, from elite athletes to amateurs, race with spectators lining practically the entire route.

The first edition, in 1970, was organized by two runners from a local club and consisted of four laps around Central Park, with 127 registrants and 55 finishers. In 1976, to mark the United States Bicentennial, the race left the park and began crossing the five boroughs, at the suggestion of a veteran local runner and with support from Manhattan authorities. From there it grew until it became one of the city’s major events. Since 2000 there has been a category for wheelchair athletes, and today it is part of the world major marathon circuit alongside races like Boston, London and Berlin. More than a million people have crossed the finish line since the first edition.

The start is in Staten Island on the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge, which is closed to traffic for the runners. The course crosses five bridges. After the start it goes through Brooklyn’s neighborhoods of very different characters, crosses the Pulaski Bridge into Queens, crosses to Manhattan via the Queensboro Bridge and runs up First Avenue, where the crowds are among the loudest. Via the Willis Avenue Bridge it reaches the Bronx, returns to Manhattan on the Madison Avenue Bridge, runs down Fifth Avenue alongside Central Park and enters the park for the finish near Columbus Circle.

For those who don’t run, the marathon is a street party: bands play at various points along the course, residents bring signs and shout runners’ names printed on shirts, and each neighborhood cheers in its own way. For runners, crossing the entire city on foot in a single day is the main reason to travel. It’s also a good way to see neighborhoods outside the usual tourist route.

The event is also a major act of solidarity: many runners participate on behalf of charities and raise money for various causes. There are separate starts for wheelchair athletes and athletes with disabilities, and the last runners arrive in Central Park at night, still greeted with applause. The marathon has been canceled only on a few occasions, such as in 2012, when it was called off after a hurricane passed through the city.