Fort Wadsworth is divided into three Start Villages—blue, orange and pink. The color of your race number indicates your start village. (If you’re planning to run with a friend and you’ve been assigned to different corrals and waves, you can start together by going to the corral and wave corresponding to the higher corral letter and number. You can move back, but you can’t move up.)
All three start villages include toilets (FYI: there are 1,700 toilets in the start villages and corrals, so don’t stress about finding a bathroom) and medical services as well as free amenities including Spring Water, Gatorade Endurance products, SiS GO Energy Bars, Dunkin’ coffee, hot cocoa, tea, bagels and bananas. However, you should plan to bring your preferred pre-race food to the start. Remember, nothing new on race day!
The first mass wave starts at 9:10 a.m., wave 2 starts at 9:45 a.m., wave 3 starts at 10:20 a.m., wave 4 starts at 10:55 a.m., and wave 5 starts at 11:30 a.m. Chances are, you’re going to be in the start village for a while—even in wave 1!
The entire staging is outdoors (unless you have access to a VIP tent), so bring layers, including long sleeves, hats, gloves, pants, warm socks, and even an old pair of shoes if you don’t want to spend hours in your race shoes. Pro tip: Cut up a pair of knee-high socks for throwaway arm sleeves. Clothing collection bins are located throughout the start villages and in the start corrals so you can donate throwaway layers.
Another good idea is to “bring an old towel, sheet, cardboard, or plastic to sit on,” says Carolyn Molloy, who will be running the NYC Marathon for the fifth time this year. “The ground can be damp and chilly. And make sure to bring a portable charger and cord that you’re OK with tossing if you want to use it after bag check.
“If you’re documenting race day, taking selfies, and so on, you’d be surprised how quickly your battery can go down before you’ve even hit the starting coral and pressed play on your marathon playlist,” says Brooke Danielson, a five-time NYC Marathoner.
2024 TCS NYC Marathon Course
The New York City Marathon course is arguably the toughest of all the World Marathon Majors. It has approximately 1,000 feet of elevation gain, and not just on the five bridges you’ll cross between the start and the finish. It’s easy to go out too fast in Brooklyn, and blow up by the time you get to the later miles in Manhattan. “It’s really important to not go in blindly and have some sort of race strategy for this one,” says Gettis. This course breakdown should help.
Miles 1-2: The Verrazzano Bridge
Of all the five boroughs, you spend the least time in Staten Island. The NYC Marathon starts here, and the first mile climbs about 150 feet up the Verrazzano Bridge. Don’t freak out if you’re going slower than expected. You will effortlessly make up that time in the second mile, which has nearly 200 feet of descent to take you into Brooklyn. Two things to know here: Blue and orange bibs typically run on the upper deck of the bridge, while pink bibs run on the lower deck. (There’s no negatives to being on the lower deck, except you’ll have less of a clear view of Manhattan in the distance.)
Miles 3-7: Brooklyn, Part 1
Once you’re in Brooklyn, the colors separate a bit. Blue and orange mostly run next to each other, but pink takes a little bit more of a detour until mile 3. After mile 3, everyone runs on Fourth Avenue—although you’re separated by a median—and you’ll stay on this road until mile 8. (The numbers of the intersecting streets decrease as you run; you’re going all the way past 1st Street). There are some rolling hills here, but it’s very, very easy to go too fast. Stay in control of your pace so you don’t ruin your race plan.
Mile 8-12: Brooklyn, Part 2
Right around mile 8, you’ll make a quick left on Flatbush Avenue and then a right onto Lafayette Avenue. All the colors converge here, and you’re going from a major thoroughfare to a quiet, two-lane road—be prepared for a bottleneck. Later waves may come to a brief but full stop. Stay patient, the crowd will quickly spread back out, but watch your feet and be mindful of runners around you. You’ll turn left again just after mile nine, and you should be prepared here for a quieter mile before you reach the crowds of Williamsburg and Greenpoint.
Miles 13-15: Queens
The halfway point of the race is on the Pulaski Bridge, your second bridge of the race, which will take you into Queens. Good news: This bridge is not as steep as the Verrazzano, and you’ll get some really stellar views of downtown Manhattan to the left. Queens is flat and fast, with just four turns before you get to the third bridge, the Queensboro. This bridge can be tough, not just because there’s about 100 feet of climbing in a mile, but because there are no spectators on the bridge. It’s just you, the runners around you and the sound of feet slapping the ground. Use this time to mentally regroup for the final 10 miles of the race. Around 15.5 miles, you’ll hit the summit and start the descent into Manhattan. The closer you’ll get, the louder the roaring of the crowd waiting for you on First Avenue will be.
Miles 16-19: Manhattan, Part 1
The Queensboro Bridge ramp dumps you out on First Avenue and 59th Street, and from there it’s a straight shot up First to 126th Street (FYI: 20 blocks equals one mile in Manhattan). This is one of the best cheering sections of the entire race; spectators can be five rows deep along both sides of the course, especially for the later waves. Use their energy to fuel you, because First Avenue can be a very subtle uphill grind all the way to bridge number four, the Willis Avenue Bridge, which takes you into the Bronx.
Miles 20-21: The Bronx
The Bronx has a reputation for being a quieter part of the course, but run clubs and crews have made a point of setting up here to help runners overcome that dreaded “wall”. You’ll hit mile 20 right after coming off the bridge, then make a bunch of quick turns to cover just two miles in this borough. Mile 21 comes on the fifth and final bridge, the Madison Avenue Bridge, which brings you back into Manhattan to wrap up the race.
Miles 22-24: Manhattan, Part 2
Be prepared: This is the hardest part of the race. Not only are you at mile 22, but you’ve got a not-so-subtle incline all the way up Fifth Avenue to Central Park. After coming off the bridge, you’ll be at 138th Street, but you don’t enter the park until 90th Street. Once you do make that right turn into Central Park, though, you’re going to be greeted by another wall of spectators so deep that you’ll feel like an Olympian—and the nice downhill should give your legs a boost.
Miles 25-26: The Finish
When you exit Central Park just after mile 25, that’s not the end! The course will spit you out onto Central Park South, where you’ll spend about three-quarters of a mile running parallel to the park. The crowds here are intense. But right before mile 26, you’re going to make a right turn back into Central Park. This is where you’re almost done: You’ll hit 26 right after re-entering, and then it’s straight to the finish.
