[title]
The New York City Marathon is trimming two turns from its 26.2-mile course this fall, which may sound like small potatoes—until you’re tackling mile 20 on tired legs. More importantly, the change will make race day far less disruptive for some Bronx residents.
When the marathon returns on Sunday, November 1, runners will follow a slightly different path through Mott Haven between miles 20 and 21. This is the first course adjustment since 2011.
Previously, runners crossed the Willis Avenue Bridge into the Bronx, then followed a seven-turn route that looped around a block containing a Western Beef supermarket and a 24-hour laundromat on East 140th Street. Road closures made access to those businesses difficult for much of the day, especially for residents of the nearly 1,800-unit Patterson Houses across Morris Avenue.
This year, runners will turn from East 135th Street onto Alexander Avenue and continue north past East 138th Street rather than turning there. At East 141st Street, they’ll make a left onto Third Avenue, followed by a right onto East 138th Street. From there, they'll run directly across the Madison Avenue Bridge and back into Manhattan.
The new route reduces the number of Bronx turns from seven to five and leaves the supermarket and laundromat outside the course, letting customers reach the businesses without hauling groceries or laundry bags across a stream of roughly 60,000 marathoners—a race-day obstacle no neighborhood needs.
“The TCS New York City Marathon wouldn’t be what it is without the support of the communities the course runs through,” New York Road Runners said in a statement. The organization said the “minor adjustments” are intended to reduce the race’s effect on the Bronx as the neighborhood has evolved.
The update comes during a milestone year: 2026 marks the 50th anniversary of the marathon’s five-borough course. The race spent its first six years circling Central Park before expanding across all five boroughs in 1976. Although the exact streets have shifted over the decades, the modern route still begins on Staten Island, crosses five bridges and finishes in Central Park.
For runners, the new Bronx section means fewer sharp turns during one of the race’s toughest stretches. But for residents, it means easier access to food and clean clothes.