On Sunday, November 2, to punctuate the end of Daylight Savings, tens of thousands of runners (over 55,000, if last year’s figure is any indication) will pass through Williamsburg and Greenpoint on their trek through the five boroughs in pursuit of the New York City Marathon finish line.
And whether you’re trying to spend the day celebrating it, avoiding it, or parking around it, we’ve got the info you need.
Prep is already underway, with marathon banners up along the course and street closure signage. In North Brooklyn, the race will head down Bedford Avenue past McCarren Park, make a left onto Manhattan Avenue, a right onto Greenpoint Avenue, then another left onto McGuinness before heading over the Pulaski Bridge into Queens at roughly the halfway point.
The aforementioned streets will be closed to both car and bike traffic (including for crossing), plus parking, from about 7 a.m. until 4 p.m.
The race itself starts at 8 a.m. with the professional wheelchair division, followed by handcycles and select athletes with disabilities, then the professional men and women, before opening up to general athlete waves every 35 minutes until 11:30 a.m.
The professional field will feature last year’s defending champions (Abdi Nageeye, Sheila Chepkirui, Daniel Romanchuk, and Susannah Scaroni), NYC marathon debuts from Eliud Kipchoge and Olympic gold winner Sifan Hassan, a number of U.S. running champs, and more. There will also be a number of notable non-pro runners, including actress Claire Holt, actor and singer Anthony Ramos, Oliver Phelps a.k.a. one half of Harry Potter‘s Weasley twins, Chloe Lukasiak of Dance Moms fame, Death Cab for Cutie frontman Ben Gibbard, and a slew of reality TV and internet personalities.
And if running 26.2 miles isn’t your thing (or you got rejected by the lottery), you can revel in the race-day atmosphere in other ways. See below for businesses planning events along and near the route.
Hole in the Wall
9 a.m.
Eavesdrop
10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Ray’s
10:30 a.m.
Threes Brewing
11 a.m.
Williamsburg Pizza
8 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Tracksmith
12 p.m.
Shake Shack
8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
Other bars along the route that historically open early for spectating festivities include Luckydog, Mugs Ale House, Turkey’s Nest, The Gibson, and Temkin’s.
An orthopedic surgeon’s dream come true. They all should be standing along the route giving our their cards.
I like the fanfare but it is probably one of the most damaging things you can do for your body especially if you didn’t train or wear the wrong shoes.
Ironically couch potatoes and marathon runners/gym rats end up with the same ailments later in life ie bad backs, hips, knees, feet, toes.