TCS New York City Marathon

The New York City Marathon is back. On the first weekend in November, more than 45,000 runners will hoof it from the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge through all five boroughs to Central Park. Stake out a spot along the route—we recommend Fourth Avenue in Park Slope, Brooklyn; First Avenue between 60th and 96th Streets in Manhattan; or Central Park South—and offer encouraging words to anyone who looks like they’re hitting a wall. If you’re near the finish line, the official spectator’s guide warns against motivating people by saying they’re almost at the end (“For marathoners, the last two miles often feel longer than the first 24”) but cheering, noisemakers, pom-poms and signs will all boost a flagging runner’s spirits.