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The NYC Marathon hits the five boroughs this weekend, and this year’s race promises to be as special as ever. Roughly 50,000 runners are expected to participate and hundreds of thousands more will look on in awe, wondering why so many people made the conscious decision to get up at the crack of dawn on a Sunday to run 26.2 consecutive miles. The event is a testament to the perseverance of the human spirit and acts as a powerful symbol for the steadfast nature of New Yorkers (or something).
Here's everything you need to know about the marathon this year.
RECOMMENDED: Full guide to NYC Marathon 2017
When is the NYC Marathon?
The marathon will take place on Sunday, November 5. Participants start the race in waves, beginning with the Professional Wheelchair Division at 8:30am. Hand-cyclists and athletes with select disabilities take off at 8:52am, and professional women start at 9:20am. The first main wave of the race begins at 9:50am, which includes professional men. Another three waves will start between 10:15am and 11am.
Where is the race course?
One of the coolest aspects of the NYC Marathon is that its course goes through all five boroughs. Runners start in Staten Island, cross the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, run through Brooklyn and Queens and cross the Queensboro Bridge. From there, the course take them up First Avenue through the Upper East Side, over the Willis Avenue Bridge into the Bronx, over the Madison Avenue Bridge back into Manhattan and down Fifth Avenue before ending in Central Park. Whether you want to root for your more ambitious friends or just use it as an excuse for day drinking, here are the best places to watch the NYC Marathon. You can also find a full map of the course below and a full list of road closures to look out for right here.
Will there be extra security this year?
NYC Marathon organizers have said that there will be increased security measures for the race following the attack in Lower Manhattan on Halloween that left eight people dead and dozens more injured. The NYPD announced that it will be adding more sand trucks and vehicle barriers along the course and will have more than double the number of rooftop observation teams and snipers on hand. Don't expect an increased number of heavily armed cops to kill New Yorkers’ vibes, tough. It’s incredibly hard to intimidate people in this city—take Tuesday’s Village Halloween Parade as a prime example.
Want to track your favorite runners?
Long gone are the days of waiting by a certain mile-marker, hopelessly trying to find your friend or loved one to lend them a supporting cheer. The NYC Marathon has its own app, which, among many things, allows users to track any runner in the race.
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