The New York City Marathon route touches all five boroughs of New York City: Staten Island, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, and Manhattan. The course unites dozens of culturally and ethnically diverse neighborhoods, crosses five bridges, and finishes in world-famous Central Park. More than two million spectators crowd the sidelines.
The New York City Marathon was the 1st largest marathon in the U.S. last year and was the 1st largest in 2022.
This year 8.7% of finishers qualified for the Boston Marathon and 8.3% of runners qualified for Boston in 2023.
This gives the New York City Marathon the 230th highest percentage of Boston Marathon qualifiers in the U.S. last year and the 173rd highest percentage so far in 2024.
Its Course Score of 98.35 ranks it as the 292nd fastest marathon course in the U.S. and the 13th fastest course in New York.
The typical race time temperature and humidity levels are within the ideal range for optimal marathon performance. This, coupled with the Course Score, gives the New York City Marathon a PR Score of 98.35. This PR Score ranks it as the 231st fastest marathon in the U.S. and the 10th fastest in New York.
Learn more about PR Scores and Course Scores on the FAQ page.
New York City Marathon Elevation Chart
Max Elevation: 260 feet (79m) Min Elevation: 7 feet (2m)
Bradford G's review of 2024 New York City Marathon.
5 /
5 Stars
Review
A Tough Course, but Supporting Crowds and Fellow Racers Make NYCM Monumental! NYCM is at the edge between rolling hills and hilly and hills just don't end! The course is also frustrating. Only a few parts go through the neighborhoods and streets that make New York renowned. That said, the excitement before, during and after even surpass extraordinary races like Berlin and Chicago. New York is packed with runners and running events all of Marathon week. It truly becomes a Marathon city and the excitement is palpable. Arrive early or stay late to see New York!
The crowds in 2024 were the most awesome ever - and recent crowds were already fantastic. The vista of thousands of runners in front also adds to the excitement. Street surface is impeccable. Water stations are ample, although nothing compares to the meticulous water stations of Chicago.
It certainly helped that 2024 weather was perfect. Low/mid 40s at the start were just warm enough for comfort. Max temps remained in the mid 50s. Breeze wsa light. By comparison, temps were in the 80s just two days earlier!!
Race Tips
The start can be daunting! I enjoy taking the Staten Island ferry to the start instead of direct bus, although lines for the bus from the ferry to the corrals are long. Bring lots of throwaway clothes instead of using bag check. The heat capes at the end are awesome, but not available to those using bag check.
Doctor Nappy's review of 2022 New York City Marathon.
3 /
5 Stars
Review
Lots of people apparently love the crowd support on this course, but I didn't care about it one way or another (I run all my miles alone at home, so I really don't need a crowd to propel me during a race) and it certainly wasn't enough to overcome some huge drawbacks.
I realize that routing 50,000 runners through one of the world's biggest and busiest cities presents some enormous logistical challenges, but the race directors really didn't overcome those challenges too well, in my opinion. Beginning with transportation to the starting line, all the way out of Manhattan on Staten Island, the website and email communication never outlined well the options, their advantages and drawbacks, and the means necessary to execute those plans. Runners were encouraged to choose a means of transportation - bus or ferry - and a time, and that was it. What TIME should I choose for the ferry? Who knows, especially since I hadn't received my corral assignment or my straying time yet when I made that choice? How does one who has never been in NYC get to the ferry, and what impact do those considerations have on where to stay in the city? Who knows?
Fortunately, I managed to figure most of that out or lucked into some good guesses but on race day, once we got off the ferry, the runners' troubles and confusion had just begun. Supposedly a simple bus trip awaited us after the ferry to shuttle us to the starting village, but no, not by a long shot. With no direction or queuing instructions, no one guiding foot traffic and no ropes or flags pointing out where to line up, we stood, shoulder to shoulder in a throng, some for (including me) for well over 90 minutes, less than 50 feet from the buses as they came and went, while the chaos built and the luck of the draw of where the next bus stopped and simple aggression determined which person or group got on next. Those who had run the race previously said this was unlike previous years, but someone somewhere apparently missed the memo, because the whole affair could not have been more poorly organized and it's lucky no one got hurt or trampled.
Once we finally made the starting village, which fortunately featured plenty of room for relaxing (finally!), stretching, and preparation, along with ample toilet facilities, I found communication about timing of corral entry and other details sorely lacking. Sparse signage and very few PA announcements out me in grave danger of being closed out of my corral.
Having just barely made the corral, I managed to start on time (super late for a marathon, by the way, in case you are considering this as a future race—waves begin around 9:00 and continue for a few hours after - so biorhythms and warm weather be damned, you are running into the afternoon), I found the race itself frustrating. Though I ran slower than I had estimated because of the unseasonably warm and humid weather, I passed infinity other runners along the course. This was especially challenging and frustrating on the narrow streets and rolling hills of Brooklyn, and it continued almost until the end of the race? How would this be possible if waves and corrals were organized by pace? One might argue that I simply encountered others also going slowly because of the conditions, but no. Many of these folks were clearly older, less fit, or otherwise clearly not capable of keeping a pace consistent with the wave they were assigned. Again, this suggests to me poor organization on the part of the race planners. More than that, perhaps because of the crowds and sheer volume of runners, I found this race much more riddled with people who walked or stopped abruptly in the middle of the road than any other I have run. Maybe these are just casual running "tourists," who don't know the unwritten rules or marathoning?
Finally, I found the finish support and exit procedures cumbersome and subpar. No chocolate milk? No bananas? No carbs beyond a small bag of pretzels? No cold drinks at all except water? Top it all off with a nearly one-mile walk to the bag check (don't get me started on the lack of bag check at the starting line and the need to check finishing gear a day or two ahead of time at the finish line in Central Park), and it felt like a trudge, not a celebration, after a long run.
As to "running all five burroughs?" Meh. I know it's very difficult to pull it off in a city that size, but maybe they shouldn't even try. You really don't see anything of Queen, The Bronx, or Staten Island. Your time in each is passing and perfunctory. The race is basically all Brooklyn and Manhattan.
Race Tips
Start planning your trip to the starting line a long time in advance and don't rely on the race itself to give you meaningful guidance on this. Check other websites or YouTube videos for practical advice.
The marathon was well organized. Plenty of security, water stops and people cheering. Didn't like the long walk to exit Central Park but its for the runners security.
Race Tips
Hold back for the first few miles. Going out to fast will end up burning you out. The Queensboro Bridge is a tough climb. Once on first Avenue it's amazing with the crowd cheering. You are a rock star for a day.
Being from Chicago, I didn't want to like NYC but NYRR really do put on a great race! The spectators were great and were out in full force. There were maybe 3 spots on the entire course where there weren't any spectators, 2 of them being bridges. The hills were just always there, nothing major but just rolling nearly the entire way and you don't really notice them until the last 5-10k.
Race Tips
Be patient in the first half, its easy to let the spectators pump you up but really try and be conservative in the first half. The rolling hills sap your legs and you'll feel it that last 10k.
Stayed at the Marriot Vacation Club - Pulse. Had a great view of the Empire State Building, super close to the expo and the Midtown Library pickup. The hotel had bagels, fruit, water, and Gatorade for guests the morning of the race.
