The New York Marathon is considered to be the largest and most spectacular marathon in the world. It is also known for its enthusiastic spectators, whose number was officially estimated at 2.2 million in 2023. The New York Marathon is part of the so-called Marathon Majors series (Tokyo, Boston, London, Berlin, Chicago, New York).
It is also popular for runners because the time limit is not ~6 hours like for many other city marathons, but 8 1/2 hours. For the reasons mentioned, the number of participants in recent years has therefore always been around 30,000 to 50,000 (except for 2020 and 2021). The number of applicants for participation is so large that since many years a certain number of bib numbers are raffled off in a lottery.
Registration and bib number
The lottery is open for participation for around one month each year (2024: 28 February - 21 March). With a payment of 10USD (2020, now free of charge) one can can take part in the lottery. The participants are drawn approximately one week after the end of the lottery (2024: 28 March). However, only a small number of bib numbers are drawn. In 2023, around 128,000 runners applied for a bib number in the lottery, but only around 5% of them (~6400) won a bib number. If you are one of the lucky winners, you have to pay the entry fee within a short time (2023: 350$) to secure the participation. Of course, the organisation of the flight to New York, the hotel and the transportation to the start area on Staten Island is then up to you..
There are of course many other ways to get a bib number (e.g. age-group-dependent qualification times). But the safest (but also most expensive) option for amateur runners is to make use of the services offered by officially certified sports tour operators. (see: Officially certified tour operators )
As I had already entered the lottery three times before without success, I decided in early 2023 for this expensive but safe way. .
On Thursday before the marathon, I travelled to New York via Munich. The following two days before the marathon were filled with picking up the bib number, visiting the marathon fair (both in the Jacob Javits Convention Centre, 11th Ave), a boat trip on the Hudson River, dropping off clothes for the finish area (in Central Park) and a bus sightseeing tour through New York.
By bus to the start village on Staten Island (Fort Wadsworth)
During pick up of the bib number our tour operator informed us already about the schedule on Sunday morning - means the time of meeting in the hotel lobby and the departure times of the buses from the hotel to the start area. All the clothes and running gear was prepared on Saturday evening and after a somewhat restless night, I had a short breakfast at 5am in the hotel which offered this special service for runners. At 5:45am we met in the hotel lobby and at 6am the buses chartered by the tour operator departed to the start area. After about 1 hour on the bus and a security check, we could continue to our designated start village (blue, orange, pink). In my case it was the blue village.
The early departure to the start area is necessary as the buses cross the Verrazzano Bridge, where the wheelchair competition starts at 8am. Later access to the start area is only possible (self-organised) via the Staten Island ferry.
Inside the start villages
The start area offers everything to make the possibly long wait until the start more or less bearable. Depending on the expected finish time entered during registration, the start time is 9:10 (Wave 1), 9:45 (Wave 2), 10:20 (Wave 3), 10:55 (Wave 4) and 11:30 (Wave 5). Each wave consists of 6 corrals (A to F), with corral A at the very front and corral F at the very back of the starting linea. With a specified finish time of 5 hours, for example, one will be assigned to Wave 5 and Corral B or Corral C, with a specified finish time of 3 hours start will be in Wave 1, Corral B. This applies regardless of the start village in which one is assigned to (blue, orange, pink). For example, to be able to start in Wave 4 at 10:55 instead of 11:30, an expected finish time of less than 4:45 hours must be specified during registration. Details about the start and tables with the allocation of finish times to start times, waves and corrals can be found here: Information about the start
As already mentioned, in each start village everything is available to make the waiting time until the start more or less comfortable. There is coffee, bagels, sports drinks, water, energy bars, toilets and even "therapy dogs" to pet, if that is necessary to get the nerves under control before the start. A few days before the marathon or before flying to New York, it is recommended to take a look at the weather forecast for the day of the marathon. In my case, the forecast was 11 degrees for the early morning and 15 degrees for the day. This means that depending on the assigned wave one should prepare with warm clothes during the waiting time. As no clothes can be handed in at the start area, you should pack warm "disposable clothes" to make the bus journey and the waiting time more comfortable. A small seat mat is also helpful. Funny orange caps are distributed by a sponsor. This clothing can then be "disposed of" (means: donated) in the bins provided in the start area.
The start
The corrals will be opened between 1 hour (Wave 1) and 30 minutes (Wave 5) before the respective start time and closed between 25 minutes (Wave 1) and 15 minutes (Wave 5) before the start. Once the corrals have opened, it takes between 35 minutes (Wave 1) and 15 minutes (Wave 5) for the corrals to close and for the queue of runners, i.e. the entire wave with the runners from the 6 corrals, to slowly move towards the start area at the Verrazzano Bridge. Then the American national anthem sounds from loudspeakers, followed by the well known cannon shot.
The course
The marathon runs through all 5 boroughs of New York. After starting on Staten Island and crossing the Verrazano Bridge (pink start: lower level of the bridge, blue and orange start: upper level of the bridge), the runners reach Brooklyn. Here the runners from the three starting areas (blue, orange, pink) are merged together at km 3 and km 5. Afterwards, the course runs briefly through Queens, then about 7km through Manhattan, then into the Bronx and then the remaining 8km again through Manhattan to the finish in Central Park. More details about the course here: Information about the course
The spectators
Almost everywhere along the course there are rows of spectators, the noise is indescribable and signs with funny slogans are held up. Some examples:
• Remember you have paid for this
• I finished my Marathon already - on Netflix
• Run first, Rum later
• Nobody asked you to do this, right !
• Today Marathon, this evening and tomorrow party
• If you sweat you are looking hot
• I like your stamina - call me
and more ...
There are fewer spectators in Williamsburg (Brooklyn) and the Verrazzano Bridge and Queensboro Bridge are completely closed for spectators. After the Queensboro Bridge you reach Manhattan, probably the noisiest part of the course. The area directly after the Queensboro Bridge is also a good place to meet up with family or friends. However, it is recommended to fix the side of the street in advance. A meeting can generally be coordinated with the help of the New York Marathon app, which allows to track runners after entering their bib number. Places where cameras are located are also marked on the interactive map in the app. This makes it even possible to identify runners on the live stream.
Nutrition along the course
The nutrition along the course is very well organised. There will be water and isotonic drinks at one-mile intervals from mile 3 onwards (except at miles 5, 7, 9). Also energy gels from a sponsor are offered at mile 12 and 18 and bananas and bagels are also available at certain points.
The finish line
The last 5 kilometres of the course run through Central Park and at the southern end of the park you the finish line is close. After crossing the finish line, you first receive the medal and then a large poncho and a goodie bag (called "recovery bag") with some snacks and drinks. The New York Marathon T-shirt was handed out beforehand when picking up the bib number. You can then make your way to the pre-arranged family meeting point.
My result
35 minutes slower than originally planned. But considering the course, the suboptimal days before the marathon, the jetlag I am in general happy to have finished this marathon. What counts more than a personal best time is the fun factor. And that one was big !
Conclusion
From my point of view, the New York Marathon should be on the "to do list" of every marathon runner. The course is not flat and some of the bridges are particularly tough (e.g. Queensboro Bridge). But the atmosphere is indescribable and I think unique in the world.
More pictures will come soon (or check the German version of this post)