Early morning. The first Sunday in November. Daylight Savings. On the Upper East Side, First Avenue is quiet. Fifth is empty. There’s a blue line painted down the middle of both. The shift in the city’s energy is palpable. But not eerie. It doesn’t stay calm for long.
On Staten Island, approximately 55,000 runners gather at the start line of the TCS New York City Marathon. The iconic race brings together the world’s fastest racers and your next-door neighbor—all to complete the same 26.2-mile route: from Fort Wadsworth on Staten Island, across the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge, into Brooklyn, then Queens, across the 59th Street Bridge into Manhattan, up First Avenue into the Bronx, back into Manhattan via Fifth Avenue, and ending in Central Park in front of Tavern on the Green.
The course is a runway with the best of humanity on display. Someone is doing something they never thought possible. Someone is chasing a personal best time. Another is running in honor of a loved one. One is pacing their best friend. In their own way, all are achieving their dreams.
For runners, spectators, and race organizers, the New York City Marathon is much more than putting one foot in front of the other. By the time the sun starts peeking through the buildings on November 2, 2025, the stage will be set. The training is complete. The only thing left to do is for spectators to line the streets for what many refer to as “the best day of the year.” The New York City Marathon is a massive block party that pays witness to the triumph of the human spirit.
How did we get here? The first New York City Marathon took place in 1970 with only 127 people starting the race and just 55 finishing. The entry fee was $1, and the entire course was in Central Park. But New York Road Runners (NYRR)—the nonprofit that organizes the race— knew they were onto something special. In 1976, the race expanded to include all five boroughs. The course unites New York through the most rudimentary form of travel—by foot—but what it actually takes to get from start to finish is far more elaborate.
Over the decades, the New York City Marathon has evolved into one of the seven World Marathon Majors, alongside Tokyo, Boston, London, Berlin, Chicago, and—new for 2025—Sydney. It now attracted elite runners, celebrities, and everyday athletes from New York and across the world. In 2024, the race set a record as the world’s largest, with 55,646 total finishers. (That record has since been broken by the London Marathon in April 2025, but with the ever-increasing popularity of running, New York may once again take the crown on November 2.)
This year, the race will attract four defending New York City Marathon champions, nine additional former champions, 49 Olympians and Paralympians, and 16 Olympic, Paralympic, and World Championships medalists. Among the elites is Eliud Kipchoge, an 11-time Abbott World Marathon Majors champion making his New York debut, and Sifan Hassan, who medaled in the 5,000m, 10,000m, and marathon at the Paris Olympics is also running NYC for the first time.
What goes into planning a race of this scale? In 2024, there were more than 7,600 volunteers; 70,416 gallons of water distributed along the course; 43,000 bagels available to runners at the start area; 1.6 million compostable cups made from plant-based materials; over 20 therapy dogs at the start village to support runners; and Frank Sinatra’s “New York, New York” was blasted on the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge 11 times as runners in various waves completed the course’s first mile.
Beyond race day, the marathon has a significant impact on the city. A newly commissioned New York City Economic Impact Study found that New York Road Runners’ year-round events contribute nearly $1 billion to the city’s economy, and the 2024 New York City Marathon alone brought in about $700 million. Runners who secured entry into the race through one of NYRR’s 662 charity partners raised a total of $79 million in 2024. This included $12 million for Team for Kids, which supports the New York Road Runners’ free youth and community programs.
Each year, New York City and NYRR prove that the marathon is more than just a race. It brings together thousands of people for a shared experience that lasts a lifetime.
