New York City Marathon: Pacing & Race-Day Strategy
Five boroughs across five bridges, with a deceptively tough finish in Central Park.
Last updated
- Where:
- New York, New York
- When:
- Sunday, November 1, 2026
- Course:
- Rolling · bridges · point-to-point
- Best run as:
- Even pace
Course & elevation
NYC is rolling, not flat. It opens with a hard climb over the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge in the first mile, rolls through Brooklyn and Queens, climbs the Queensboro Bridge into a silent mile 16, then faces a long false-flat up First Avenue and a hilly finish through Central Park.
- Start → Finish
- 20 → 85 ft
- Net
- +65 ft
- Total gain
- ≈ 810 ft
The certified route
Point to point through all five boroughs, from the Verrazzano Bridge in Staten Island, through Brooklyn on 4th Ave and Bedford Ave, into Queens over the Pulaski Bridge, over the Queensboro Bridge into Manhattan, into the Bronx over the Willis Ave Bridge and back over the Madison Ave Bridge, down 5th Ave and Central Park South, finishing in Central Park on West Drive.
- Start
- Verrazzano Bridge, upper level in the normally westbound traffic lanes (Orange start): 10 ft before (west of) light pole 224 and 81 ft after (east of) light pole UL226 5B, also marked 226.
- Finish
- West Drive in Central Park, in line with W 67th St: even with the northern edge of LP W6702 on the cobblestone curb island on the east side of West Drive, directly across from the center of the entry/exit driveway between West Drive and Tavern on the Green.
Underfoot
Fully paved.
Through, in order
Staten Island · Brooklyn · Queens · The Bronx · Manhattan
What you pass
- The Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge from Staten Island into Brooklyn
- The Queensboro Bridge into Manhattan around mile 16
- The Willis Ave Bridge into the Bronx and the Madison Ave Bridge back, miles 19 to 21
- The finish in Central Park on West Drive at 67th St
Worth knowing
- The certificate also covers Blue and Green starts on the Verrazzano Bridge: Blue on the upper level eastbound lanes, Green on the lower level westbound lanes.
- On 4th Ave in Brooklyn, the Orange course uses the southbound traffic lanes and the Blue and Green courses use the northbound traffic lanes.
- Measured on the full width of roads except as noted using the shortest possible route.
- The course is pre-verified.
Transcribed from the USATF certificate for New York City Marathon (NY22001JHP), measured 17, 18 and 20 August 2022. Where the certificate is silent, so are we.
Key moments
- Mile 1Verrazzano Bridge, a big early climb. Go easy; the views cost energy.
- Mile 15–16Queensboro Bridge: no spectators, just footsteps, often the mental low point.
- Mile 16–18First Avenue wall of noise; the crowd makes you surge, so resist it.
- Mile 23–26.2Fifth Avenue climb and rolling Central Park to the finish.
Pacing strategy
This is not a PR course, so run effort, not splits, especially on the bridges. Keep the Verrazzano controlled, hold steady through First Avenue, and save something for the Park’s rollers in the last 5K.
Pacing by goal time
Checkpoint splits for four common goals at New York City Marathon. These are effort-even rather than pace-even: the paces shift with the course profile, so climbs are slower and descents faster by the amount the grade actually costs. For any other goal time, use the planner below.
| Checkpoint | Sub-3:00 | Sub-3:30 | Sub-4:00 | Sub-4:30 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mile 3.1 | 21:086:31/mi | 24:407:36/mi | 28:118:41/mi | 31:439:47/mi |
| Mile 6.2 | 41:246:53/mi | 48:188:02/mi | 55:129:10/mi | 1:02:0610:19/mi |
| Mile 9.3 | 1:01:516:50/mi | 1:12:097:58/mi | 1:22:289:06/mi | 1:32:4610:14/mi |
| Mile 12.4 | 1:22:326:56/mi | 1:36:178:05/mi | 1:50:039:15/mi | 2:03:4810:24/mi |
| Mile 15.5 | 1:43:236:59/mi | 2:00:378:09/mi | 2:17:519:18/mi | 2:35:0410:28/mi |
| Mile 18.6 | 2:03:496:42/mi | 2:24:287:50/mi | 2:45:068:57/mi | 3:05:4410:04/mi |
| Mile 21.7 | 2:24:246:46/mi | 2:48:287:54/mi | 3:12:319:02/mi | 3:36:3510:09/mi |
| Mile 24.9 | 2:45:026:58/mi | 3:12:328:08/mi | 3:40:029:18/mi | 4:07:3310:27/mi |
| Finish | 2:58:326:44/mi | 3:28:177:51/mi | 3:58:028:58/mi | 4:27:4810:05/mi |
Splits assume even effort and are adjusted for this course's climbs and descents, which cost more than they give back. A model, not a promise: wind and heat move real splits around. See how the pacing model works.
Plan your mile splits
Turn your goal time into a mile-by-mile plan for New York City Marathon, built from this course's elevation. The even pace approach comes pre-selected, and grade-adjusted pacing evens out your effort across the climbs and descents.
Plan New York City Marathon splitsFueling & hydration
Aid stations roughly every mile with water and Gatorade Endurance. Fuel ahead of the bridges rather than on them, since the climbs raise effort and you want carbs already on board.
Weather
Early-November conditions are usually cool (40s–50s) and often windy on the exposed bridges.
What race morning has actually been like
The last 5 editions of New York City Marathon, measured at the start line rather than averaged across the month. Starts have run 40–65°F, averaging 45°F.
| Year | Date | Start | Dew pt | Wind | By late morning |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Nov 7 | 42°F | 40°F | 7 mph | 49°F |
| 2022 | Nov 6 | 65°F | 64°F | 12 mph | 73°F |
| 2023 | Nov 5 | 42°F | 45°F | 5 mph | 56°F |
| 2024 | Nov 3 | 40°F | 28°F | 10 mph | 47°F |
| 2025 | Nov 2 | 40°F | 38°F | 2 mph | 49°F |
Dew point has reached 64°F (2022). Above about 60°F, sweat stops evaporating efficiently and most runners lose pace no matter what the thermometer says. It is the number to watch here, not the air temperature.
Dates derived from the race's published pattern (1st Sunday in November), observations at Staten Island, New York (start). Source: Open-Meteo historical reanalysis (ERA5), 7-11am local at the start line. Reanalysis is modelled from station observations, so treat it as a close record rather than an official one. See how race-morning weather is built.
Is New York City Marathon a good Boston qualifier?
Yes. The course actually finishes 65 ft higher than it starts, so no downhill adjustment applies, and nobody can accuse the time of being gravity-assisted.
This drop is our estimate rather than a figure from the course's certificate. If it sits near a threshold, confirm with the organizer.
Compare every course, how the downhill bands work, or work out your own target.
Dial in your pacing & fueling
New to how training builds toward a race like this? Start with Anatomy of a Running Plan, find your zones with the pace calculator, and plan race-day nutrition with the fueling calculator.
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