How to pace New York.
New York is the hardest of the fall majors to pace — not because any single hill is brutal, but because the course keeps changing the deal on you. Five bridges, a start on the biggest climb of the day, a crowd on First Avenue that will happily pace you into the wall, and a finish through Central Park's rollers. Runners typically give back 2–4 minutes versus a flat course. Race it on effort, respect the bridges, and NYC still rewards a smart plan more than almost any race.
The race
TCS New York City Marathon
Nov 1, 2026 · New York, NY
The course
Five bridges · rolling finish
The one rule for New York
Effort, not pace. On this course your splits should wander ±15 s/km around goal pace by design — up the bridges slower, down the far side faster. The runners who force even splits on the climbs are the ones walking on Fifth Avenue.
≈248 m of climbing, nearly all of it in five bridges and the Fifth Avenue drag — plus rollers inside Central Park.
The course, phase by phase.
Adjustments are relative to your goal pace — pick your goal time in the table further down for the exact splits behind them.
Verrazzano-Narrows — the biggest hill is first
+15–25 s/km up · don't bank downMile 1 is the longest sustained climb of the entire race; mile 2 is the same grade straight back down. Run the climb 15–25 s/km slower than goal and don't fight it — everyone's mile 1 is slow. The trap is mile 2: fresh legs, a steep descent, and adrenaline will hand you a split 30 seconds fast for free. Don't take it. Braking on quads at mile 2 shows up as cramp at mile 22. GPS is also useless on the bridge — judge it on breathing.
▲ +40 m up in mile 1, the same back down in mile 2
Brooklyn — settle, the crowds will pull you
lock in goal paceFourth Avenue is wide, gently rising false-flat, and lined with the loudest crowds you've ever run through. This is the settling zone and the discipline test: the noise will pull you 5–10 s/km fast without you noticing. Check every mile marker through Brooklyn. Lafayette Avenue around miles 8–9 adds real rollers; Bedford Avenue through Williamsburg goes suddenly quiet — both are fine, keep the effort even and start fuelling by 45 minutes.
▲ False-flat drag up Fourth Ave, rollers at 8–9
Pulaski Bridge — halfway check
half split: on plan or +1 minYou cross halfway on the Pulaski Bridge into Queens. On this course, hitting 13.1 at your flat-course pace means you've gone too fast — the right halfway split in New York is your goal split or up to a minute over it, because the hard half is ahead. A short, punchy climb over the bridge, quick turns through Long Island City, and then you can hear the Queensboro coming.
▲ Short sharp bridge climb at halfway
Queensboro Bridge — effort, not pace
+20–30 s/km · ignore the splitAlmost a mile of steady climbing on the lower deck: no spectators, no sunlight, just footsteps and breathing. This is the most important pacing decision of your race. Shift to effort — the same breathing rhythm you held in Brooklyn — and let the pace go where it goes, typically 20–30 s/km slower. Do not surge to pass people. The bridge gives most of it back on the descent into Manhattan, and the runners who 'held pace' up the climb are the ones you'll pass at 23.
▲ ≈1 mile up, then a fast curling descent to First Ave
First Avenue — the surge trap
goal pace — resist the crowdOff the bridge ramp you turn into a wall of sound — First Avenue is four miles of straight, wide road and roaring crowds, and it is the single most common place to break your race. Coming off the silent bridge, goal pace here feels insultingly slow; runners routinely drop 15–20 s/km without noticing. Check the mile 17 marker and force yourself back to plan. The avenue also drags gently uphill north of 96th Street as the crowds thin — that quiet stretch is where your patience gets paid.
▲ Flat-to-rising drag; deceptive tailwind of noise
The Bronx — shorten your focus
steady effort through the turnsOver the Willis Avenue Bridge at mile 20 — short and sharp, right at the classic wall — then a mile of quick turns through Mott Haven and back over the Madison Avenue Bridge. It's flat but choppy, and mentally it's the low point: crowds are thinner and the finish still feels abstract. Break it into pieces. Bridge, turn, bridge. Take your last gel here, because you'll want it on Fifth Avenue.
▲ Two short bridges, lots of corners
Fifth Avenue — the grind that decides it
+10–20 s/km, same effortBack into Manhattan through Harlem, and then the hill nobody warns you about enough: Fifth Avenue from 110th to 90th Street climbs gradually for over a mile alongside Central Park. It looks flat on TV. At mile 22 it does not feel flat. Hold your effort, accept 10–20 s/km of drift, and keep your eyes on the runner ahead, not the avenue stretching out. If you paced the bridges right, you'll pass more people in these three miles than in the rest of the race combined.
▲ Long false-flat climb, steepest 110th → 90th
Central Park — rollers to Tavern on the Green
spend everything, save one gearInto the park at Engineers' Gate and onto rolling downhills — let gravity return what Fifth Avenue took, but keep your form together on tired quads. Out at 59th, along Central Park South through Columbus Circle, and back into the park for the finish. The last 400 m to Tavern on the Green is uphill — a real climb, at the worst possible moment. Save one gear for it, crest it, and the line is right there.
▲ Net downhill rollers · uphill final 400 m
What blows it up.
Banking time on the Verrazzano downhill in mile 2. That free 30 seconds costs quad damage you'll repay with interest in Central Park.
Letting Brooklyn's crowds pull you 5–10 s/km fast through miles 3–13. It's the best crowd in marathoning; it is not your pacer.
Hitting halfway at your flat-course split. In New York, on-plan at 13.1 means slightly slower than goal pace — the expensive half is ahead.
Forcing goal pace up the Queensboro Bridge. It's an effort climb; the pace comes back on the descent, but burned matches don't.
Surging down First Avenue with the noise at mile 17, then meeting the Fifth Avenue grind at 22 with nothing left.
Kicking at Columbus Circle and dying on the final 400 m — the finish at Tavern on the Green is uphill. Save the sprint for the crest.
Before the gun
Race-day logistics.
Budget half a day for the start: ferry or bus to Staten Island, security, then hours in the Fort Wadsworth start villages before waves go from 9:10 to 11:30. Bring throwaway layers, something to sit on, and food — you'll race at midday having been awake since 5. Your bib color sets your village and which deck of the Verrazzano you start on.
Early November usually delivers 7–13 °C — great for racing, cold for the three-hour wait. The real variable is wind: an exposed Verrazzano and Queensboro in a 20 mph gust cost real time, and late waves can finish in fading light and dropping temps. Dress for the village, strip for the race.
Five bridges: Verrazzano (mile 1), Pulaski (13.1), Queensboro (15–16), Willis Ave (20), Madison Ave (21). Nearly all of the course's 248 m of gain lives in them. GPS drops out on the lower decks — use elapsed time and mile markers on every bridge, and pace climbs by breathing, not by watch.
New York runs 2–4 minutes slower than a flat course for most runners (more if it's windy). Set your goal off a realistic flat-course equivalent, then plan splits that breathe with the terrain: slower on the bridges and Fifth Avenue, faster on the descents, on-plan everywhere else.
Now make it concrete
Your exact splits.
The walkthrough above works at any speed. Pick your goal time for the kilometre and mile splits to anchor it to.
TCS New York City Marathon — FAQ
How hard is the Queensboro Bridge in the NYC Marathon?
It's the race's signature challenge: almost a mile of steady climbing at miles 15–16, on the enclosed lower deck with no crowd support. The grade itself is moderate — what makes it hard is where it comes. Run it on effort, expect to give up 20–30 seconds per km, and take most of it back on the fast descent to First Avenue.
Is the NYC Marathon hilly?
It's the hilliest of the fall World Marathon Majors — about 248 m (814 ft) of climbing, concentrated in five bridges, the gradual Fifth Avenue rise at miles 22–23, and rollers in Central Park. No single hill is huge, but the accumulation late in the race is why pacing by effort matters more here than anywhere.
How much slower is the NYC Marathon than a flat course?
Most runners finish 2–4 minutes slower in New York than they would on a flat course like Chicago or Berlin, and windy years cost more. Set your goal accordingly: a 3:58 in New York is a faster performance than a 3:55 in Berlin.
Should I bank time on the Verrazzano downhill?
No. Mile 2's descent will hand you a 30-second-fast split for free, but the eccentric load on fresh, cold quads is exactly what produces cramping in Central Park 20 miles later. Run it relaxed, let gravity work without braking or sprinting, and treat anything faster than goal pace as a gift you didn't ask for.
What's the trap on First Avenue?
You exit the silent Queensboro Bridge straight into four miles of roaring crowds on a wide, straight avenue — and goal pace suddenly feels slow. Runners routinely surge 15–20 seconds per km here at mile 17 and pay for it on the Fifth Avenue climb at mile 22. Check the mile 17 marker and get back on plan immediately.