New York City Marathon

The NYC Marathon is a bucket-list race whose 26.2 miles take you through the five borough tour of one of the world's greatest cities. It is the largest marathon in the world, and the initial lottery registration often crashes the website for the first day. Guaranteed entry can be earned via a large marathon time qualifier or NYRR-eligible half/full marathon times. NYRR keeps you informed with emails as race-day approaches, and it is important that you fill out the pre-race surveys for transportation (bus or ferry and times), pre-raceday bag check, and ideal expo timeslot. The expo is over at the transit-friendly Javits center and you can pick up last-minute gear, try out some samples, and participate in some themed activations and photo-ops. Race morning gives you one hour of extra sleep as the race is the morning of the end of daylight savings, but it is a very early start. The easy option is a midtown bus, but I have always chosen the Staten Island ferry as I like to soak in the early sunrise over the city and take some photos on the way. I like the option of multiple bathroom opportunities, legroom, and space to have my pre-race meal. Post-ferry, there may be a bit of a wait to load buses for a short (~20min) ride over to Fort Wadsworth. The three starting villages are equivalent, so you can meet with friends early. You can wander around, but you should make your way into your assigned village before the corrals open. There are rows of port-o-potties everywhere, so you may be able to walk past lines to find open ones at another location. Villages have water, bagels, and sponsored nutrition along with therapy dogs that can help calm your nerves and boost your spirits. Find a good place early to sit as you'd like to be off your feet and save your strength for the race. Additional port-o's can be found in the first corral release from the village. Don't miss the corral close or else you'll be placed in the next wave. It's a short walk over to the actual start - blue and orange villages go above the bridge, pink starts below. The loud boom of the starting cannons will shock you to the race start. Don't let adrenaline push you too hard on the ~150ft climb on the first mile on the Verrazzano Narrows Bridge. The three color villages merge together at mile 8 in Brooklyn. Spectators and cheer zones line the course everywhere - there are few quiet moments. Brooklyn will spirit you through to Queens and the Queensboro bridge. You'll hear the roaring crowds on First Ave that will push you up to the Bronx. They welcome you in and help break through the wall to return to Manhattan. Central Park crowds sustain your energy through to the finish. After earning your medal and getting a post-race hydration/nutrition bag, you earn the infamous poncho. The post-race walk up Central Park West can be brutal - make sure you had an exit strategy. I like this bit of forced active recovery to take it all in, and it gives you a chance to commemorate/commiserate and race recap with fellow runners. If you checked a bag, don't forget to pick it up before exiting.

There are many videos/recaps of the course online, but this site from a 45-time finisher covers it best: https://www.runarweb.com/general_e.php There are too many events and activations, and they're found all over Manhattan and around Brooklyn. If you'd like to soak in the culture, feel free to attend them all, but this may affect your race day. If you signed up for bag check, note that the bag check is the day before, NOT for the morning of! I like to leave a change of clothes, layers, a battery pack and charger, and some nutrition. Start villages have sensory spaces, prayer spaces, and lactation accomodations. I spend my time visiting all the therapy dogs for some pre-race skritches. Display your name on your bib/race kit. I like to use leukotape. It always helps to hear your name and it gives spectators something to target. My favorite race swag is the pink/orange Dunkin beanies handed out in the starting villages. I like to try to either toss one to friends cheering or carry one to the finish for post-race. High fives are a fun way to loosen up the upper body, and it gets the crowd engaged. I usually time these before the water stops to get me right next to the side for easy cup pickups. Nutrition can be found on both left/right sides, so don't worry about weaving. On-course port-o's and medical tents also noted with tall signs so you can spot them on course approach. Friends can catch you at multiple spots - usually Brooklyn, First Ave, then Central Park. Plan accordingly and coordinate where you should try to find them (runner's left/right and mile approximations). If they know your race kit, they may be able to spot you! The app-based tracker tends to crash, so the website tracking can be the easiest backup. Tell friends to save your bib number so they can enter it there to quickly check you. Tall buildings can cause your GPS to misread, often by the bridges and around Manhattan. There are timers every 5k to keep you on track. Post-race, I do the full walk up Central Park West to Columbus circle to assess my body after the tough course. Active recovery helps prepare me for the many stairs I'll be taking to get to my train later in the day. After dinner, I like to head back to Central Park to cheer on the final finishers - I go for a shift around 7-9PM. The course officially closes, but they keep the finish line open and runners get a chance to earn their hard-earned medals. Some of these runners may have been on the course for over 10h! NYRR has recently provided some refreshments to those cheering. There are many Marathon Monday events (poster stamping, portraits, swag, medal engraving), but an easy souvenir is a copy of the NY Times. The NYRR Central Park finisher tent is the best place to grab them - there is a line for engraving and another line for JUST merchandise and papers, so you pick up multiples for friends as well. Usually the cutoff is a finish time of around 4:35-4:40. If you miss it, you can order it online post-race as well.