TCS New York City Marathon (Abbott World Marathon Majors)
TCS New York City Marathon
Fort Wadsworth, Staten Island, New York City → Central Park, Manhattan, New York City
Race guide
Updated 19 July 2026
The TCS New York City Marathon is one of the most iconic 26.2-mile road races on the planet and a crown jewel of the Abbott World Marathon Majors series. Starting on the eastern shore of Staten Island at Fort Wadsworth and finishing in the heart of Central Park in Manhattan, the course takes runners through all five New York City boroughs — Staten Island, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, and Manhattan — across five bridges and past more than a million spectators lining the streets. Despite a modest total elevation gain of just 86 metres and a high point of only 55 metres, the course is deceptively demanding: the bridges come at the worst possible moments, the relentless concrete punishes legs mile after mile, and the Fifth Avenue climb in the final 6 km can undo a race that felt comfortably in hand. This is a course that rewards intelligent pacing far more than raw fitness.
Course & Terrain Overview
From the starting corrals at Fort Wadsworth (49 m elevation), runners immediately cross the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge, the course's highest point at 51 m, before dropping sharply into Brooklyn by km 4.8. The next 16 kilometres wind through Brooklyn's flattest terrain — along 4th Avenue in Bay Ridge and through Bedford-Stuyvesant and Williamsburg — before crossing the Pulaski Bridge at the halfway mark (21.1 km, 4 m elevation). After a brief loop through Long Island City in Queens, the Queensboro Bridge carries runners up to 11 m at km 24 before depositing them onto First Avenue in Manhattan at km 26. A short crossing into the Bronx via the Willis Avenue Bridge at km 31.4 and a return over the Madison Avenue Bridge at km 33 bring you into Harlem, where the real work begins. The entire course is run on asphalt and concrete city streets — expect hard, unforgiving surfaces from start to finish with no trail, gravel or soft ground relief anywhere on the route.
The Decisive Climbs: Where the Race Is Won or Lost
There are three bridge climbs that matter most, and one late-race grind that is the true race-within-a-race. The Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge at km 1.5 is easily handled on fresh legs but sets the tone — resist the temptation to surge here with 50,000 runners around you. The Queensboro Bridge at km 24 is the first genuinely challenging moment: arriving after 24 km on tired legs, with no crowd noise on the bridge itself, it is a psychological as much as physical test. Many runners lose focus here. Then comes the defining stretch: the Fifth Avenue Climb beginning at km 36.5, rising from 14 m to 31 m at the Central Park entry at km 38.6. After 36 km of racing, this gradual but sustained climb up Fifth Avenue feels far steeper than the numbers suggest. Runners who have gone out even 10–15 seconds per kilometre too fast in Brooklyn will be reduced to a shuffle here. Hold back through Brooklyn, protect your legs on the Queensboro, and you will have something left when Fifth Avenue matters.
Pacing Strategy
New York City is a negative-split course in theory but a positive-split course in practice for the vast majority of runners. The early kilometres through Brooklyn (km 4.8 to km 13) are flat and fast, and the crowd energy on 4th Avenue is enormous — this is where runners most commonly go out too hard. Target your goal pace or fractionally slower through Brooklyn, and do not accelerate on First Avenue at km 26 even though the crowd there is the loudest on the entire course. The Bronx section (km 31.4 to km 33) is quieter and emotionally flatter; mentally prepare for this dip. Budget effort carefully so that at km 36.5, the base of Fifth Avenue, you still have the capacity to maintain form and turnover. The finish in Central Park from km 38.6 to km 42.2 includes rolling terrain that catches tired runners off guard — do not assume the race is over when you enter the park. The race cut-off is Sunday 22:00, giving all finisher-paced runners ample time, but the real battle is against your own pace discipline in the first half.
Fueling & Hydration Plan
The course provides gel depots at two key points: Mile 12 (km 19.3) and Mile 18 (km 29), with a banana station at Mile 21 (km 33.8). These are your anchor fueling moments — plan your gel and carbohydrate intake around them. Aid stations with water and sports drink appear regularly throughout, with the first station area arriving as early as km 4.8 in Bay Ridge. Given the course's length and the physical toll of five bridge crossings on concrete, aim to start fueling early (no later than km 19.3 at the Mile 12 gel depot) and do not skip the Mile 18 depot at km 29 — arriving at the Fifth Avenue climb under-fuelled is one of the most common mistakes at this race. The banana station at km 33.8 offers a useful real-food option for runners who struggle with gels late in a race. If you carry your own nutrition, these depot locations still serve as useful checkpoints to ensure you are on schedule with intake. Hydration needs vary with November conditions but should never be ignored even in cooler weather.
Conditions to Expect
The TCS New York City Marathon is run in early November, and conditions in New York City at that time of year can vary considerably. Temperatures at the Fort Wadsworth start area — where runners wait, often exposed, for an hour or more before their wave goes off — can be significantly colder than mid-race conditions, so disposable warm layers are standard practice. Race-day temperatures typically range from around 5°C to 15°C, but wind is the wildcard: crossing the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge and the Queensboro Bridge fully exposed to the harbour and East River wind can make conditions feel dramatically harsher than the thermometer suggests. Rain is possible. The good news is that cool, overcast conditions favour fast marathon running, and New York has seen many personal bests run in exactly those circumstances. Pack a throwaway top and gloves for the start, plan for wind on every bridge crossing, and dress for the temperature you expect at km 20 rather than km 0.
Race TCS New York City Marathon with Crux
Get the strategy, fuelling and crew plan dialled for this exact course — built from the real route, climbs and cut-offs. Your first race is free.
Plan this race — freeCourse profile
Checkpoints & cut-offs
✓ Course data verified against the official source (2026-07-05) · official source
0 km · 49 m · —
4.8 km · 23 m · —
6.4 km · 22 m · —
9.7 km · 12 m · —
12.9 km · 18 m · —
16.1 km · 9 m · —
17.7 km · 11 m · —
19.3 km · 7 m · —
20.9 km · 5 m · —
22.5 km · 4 m · —
24.1 km · 11 m · —
25.7 km · 15 m · —
27.4 km · 12 m · —
29 km · 4 m · —
30.6 km · 5 m · —
32.2 km · 9 m · —
33.8 km · 4 m · —
35.4 km · 7 m · —
37 km · 18 m · —
38.6 km · 31 m · —
40.2 km · 20 m · —
42.2 km · 24 m · —
More races
More in United States
Similar distance (50–100 km)
Racing TCS New York City Marathon?
Get a complete race strategy — pacing, fuelling, crew plan and the crux moments — built on this exact course.
Plan your race in Crux →Strava is your training. Crux is your races.