After an epic year of Olympic vibes, long-distance running is back in action! With the Chicago Marathon in the rearview, all eyes are on the legendary New York City Marathon. Officially called the TCS New York City Marathon, this race spans a whopping 26.2 miles through all five boroughs of NYC. It’s the biggest marathon in the world, with over 53,000 finishers in 2019 and nearly 100,000 folks trying to get in back in 2017!

This year, they’re celebrating the 54th anniversary of this awesome race on Sunday, November 3. Runners will hit the pavement for hours, with last year’s champ, Tamirat Tola, setting the bar high at two hours, four minutes, and 58 seconds. As they zip through the city, fans will be out in full force, cheering with cowbells, whistles, and some hilarious signs. It’s not just about speed; it’s a total city party! So if someone’s thinking of joining in, here is the scoop on how to tackle the New York Marathon!

How to run the New York Marathon

Starting the race at Fort Wadsworth on Staten Island, runners take on the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, making their big entrance into Brooklyn. And let me tell you, this isn’t just any route—it’s like a tour through Brooklyn’s coolest spots! They’ll pass through neighborhoods like Bay Ridge, Park Slope, Bed-Stuy, Williamsburg, and Greenpoint.

To hop over to Queens, they’ll breeze across the Pulaski Bridge, hitting the halfway mark at mile 13.1. After that, it’s on to the Queensboro Bridge and into Manhattan. Runners dash from East 60th all the way uptown to The Bronx, then circle back down to finish in style. The grand finale? A lovely run through Central Park, finishing up at West 67th Street—what a vibe!

Now, the TCS New York City Marathon is not just a global bash; it’s like a hometown party, too! Enter the super cool 9+1 program, giving local runners a shot at a guaranteed entry for next year’s race. If a runner knocks out the 2024 9+1 program, they will snag a spot in the 2025 TCS New York City Marathon—easy peasy!

The runners just have to keep their NYRR membership active by December 31 of the year before the marathon they want to run. If they complete the 9+1, they will get a sweet invite to claim their entry when the time comes. So, lace up those kicks, because it’s time to see how many runners are getting hyped for this epic journey!

How many runners are there in the New York Marathon?

Back in March, the New York Road Runners (NYRR) dropped some wild news: only about 4 percent of those who threw their hats into the ring for the 2024 New York City Marathon got the golden ticket to race day! Just to put that into perspective, a high schooler has a better shot at getting into Yale (5 percent) or stepping onto the field for college football (7.3 percent) than an NYC Marathon hopeful had of snagging a spot in the November 3 showdown.

Out of almost 165,000 applications—making it the second-highest number ever after the 2020 race that got scrapped due to COVID—this year’s competition is going to be fierce! NYRR is gearing up for a big year, expecting over 50,000 runners to hit the pavement this time around. Last year, a record-breaking 51,933 folks took off, making it the biggest marathon in the world for 2023. And here’s the kicker: nearly all of them—98.9 percent—crossed that finish line in Central Park, showcasing the true spirit and determination of these runners.