New York Marathon Weekend Needs a Plan
Nearly 60,000 runners take over New York on Sunday 1 November, the morning clocks fall back, so arrival transfers and Sunday plans need routing around the course.
New York’s busiest sporting weekend lands on Sunday 1 November, and advisors with clients in the city from Thursday 29 October should treat it as a compression weekend: expect hotels near the course and in Midtown to be in demand from runners and supporters, and much of Sunday is shaped by a race that starts at 8am and keeps the course in use until 10pm.
The race
The 2026 TCS New York City Marathon starts on Staten Island on Sunday 1 November, according to New York Road Runners (NYRR). Its organiser describes the event as drawing nearly 60,000 participants and more than 2 million spectators.
The start timeline runs from 8:00am (men’s professional wheelchair division) through the professional women at 8:35am and professional men at 9:05am, then five waves at 9:10, 9:45, 10:20, 10:55 and 11:30am. Runners who finish by 10pm are recorded as official finishers.
This year marks 50 years of the five-borough route, first run on 24 October 1976, and NYRR has made its first course change in 15 years, adjusting turns in the Bronx between the Willis Avenue and Madison Avenue bridges. The route leaves Fort Wadsworth over the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge, runs up Fourth Avenue and through Williamsburg and Greenpoint in Brooklyn, crosses the Pulaski Bridge into Queens at halfway, then runs up First Avenue in Manhattan (miles 16 to 18), through East Harlem and the Bronx, down Fifth Avenue and into Central Park, finishing on West Drive at 67th Street.
Closures and getting around
NYRR’s spectator guide says there is no spectator viewing at the start or on the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge, and spectators are not allowed on any bridge on the course. North of the grandstands in Central Park there is no spectator access. Designated pedestrian crossings are at First Avenue and 69th, 72nd, 83rd and 86th streets, and at two Brooklyn points. NYRR recommends the subway and checking the MTA for planned service changes. At the time of writing, NYC DOT had not posted 2026 marathon closures.
Read next · DestinationsFour New York State Museums Worth the Drive2 min →US clocks fall back an hour at 2am that Sunday, according to the National Institute of Standards and Technology.
Marathon week
- 27 to 30 October: 50 Years Through the Five Boroughs, an anniversary installation in Vanderbilt Hall at Grand Central Terminal.
- 29 to 31 October: the Expo at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, 10am to 8pm Thursday and Friday, 9am to 5pm Saturday. Runners must collect bibs in person; NYRR says Thursday morning and Friday to 2pm are busiest.
- Friday 30 October: the Opening Ceremony with the Parade of Nations at the Central Park finish line, from about 4:30pm.
- Saturday 31 October: the Abbott Dash to the Finish Line 5K through Midtown to the marathon finish, starting 8:45am. It is sold out.
NYC Tourism + Conventions publishes a visitor viewing guide by neighbourhood, and NYRR sells East Side Grandstand seats on the final approach.
Sources
- NYRR: 2026 TCS New York City Marathon
- NYRR: The Start
- NYRR: The Course
- NYRR: Watch the Race
- NYRR: TCS New York City Marathon Expo Presented by New Balance
- NYRR: Opening Ceremony
- NYRR: Abbott Dash to the Finish Line 5K
- NYRR: 50 Years Through the Five Boroughs
- NYRR: Travel and Hotels
- NYRR news release, 13 October 2026
- NIST: Daylight Saving Time Rules
- NYC DOT: Weekend Traffic Advisory
- NYC Tourism + Conventions: 2026 TCS New York City Marathon Viewing Guide
Where to stay near Central Park, New York
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Casie Stewart is Senior Editor at Not An Atlas, usually found in a Toronto coffee shop in a cute outfit, laptop open, coffee in hand and phone (always) within arm's reach. Some of her warmest memories are of fishing and camping in New Zealand's Bay of Islands with her family as a kid. She's a New Zealand citizen, and it will always feel like home. She takes the window seat (she wants to see the world, not the beverage cart), swears by her Trtl travel pillow (comfort over cool, always) and orders whatever the locals are having. Waking up to the sounds of the rainforest in the middle of the Costa Rican jungle is her “this is why I travel” moment, and Arizona's deserts and sunsets are where she'd go back tomorrow. She covers the places, people, food and festivals that make a destination memorable. Friends say funny, effervescent and organized. Her mum adds cuddly. Next stop: Bali.
