NYC Marathon Spectator Guide: Where to Watch, Stay & More Tips

The NYC marathon takes place on the first Sunday of November and features over 60,000 runners snaking 26.2 miles through all five NYC boroughs.

Over 1,000,000 spectators fill the streets each year to watch this city-wide event, and we’re gonna give you all the insider tips for watching the NYC marathon.

What we’ll cover:

• Where to stay
• Getting around on marathon day
• Best places to watch the marathon
• What to wear
• Extra tips for spectating

Let’s do it. 👇

Note: This article was written by a real human who lives in NYC, not artificial intelligence. 🥸

NYC Marathon Spectator Guide Podcast Episode

Want to hear more podcasts like this? Head here.

Where to Stay on Marathon Weekend

The best place to stay on marathon weekend depends on whether you’re traveling with a runner and where you plan to spectate. But generally speaking, you can stay anywhere in New York City on marathon weekend and have a good shot at watching the runners.

The subway, although crowded on marathon day, is a phenomenal way to avoid road closures and get all over the city for just a few bucks (more on that later).

Where to Stay for Runners

Choosing where to stay when running the NYC marathon won’t make or break your race, but we have some tips. These are the best places to stay for the NYC marathon as a runner:

• Lower Manhattan
• Midtown/Hell’s Kitchen
• Upper West Side (options are limited)
• Anywhere in close proximity to the 1, 4, 5, or R lines (see why below)

Let’s look at each one below.

Lower Manhattan

Staying in Lower Manhattan is a great option if you’re taking the Staten Island Ferry for travel to the starting line. Being within walking distance of the ferry terminal will save you a little time in the morning of the race.

Of course, that will mean you need to travel by subway downtown after the race. Trade-offs!

Midtown/Hell’s Kitchen

Midtown Manhattan has a bad reputation for being overcrowded and overpriced. While that can be true, it also has phenomenal restaurants, a close proximity to almost every major subway line, and a plethora of hotel options.

For the marathon specifically, staying in Midtown or Hell’s Kitchen is a solid option because the race ends at the bottom-left corner of Central Park, near Columbus Circle, which is also the “start” of Midtown.

Additionally, if you’re taking the Midtown bus option (picks up near Bryant Park) for race-day transit to the start line, then you’ll be walking distance from your hotel, in most cases.

If you’re running, getting to your hotel after the race without taking a car or subway is a dream. While in recent years they have forced runners to pop out higher up in the 70s of the Upper West Side, it’s still manageable to walk to your Midtown hotel.

And frankly, it’ll be better for your legs to keep ’em moving for a bit after the race (speaking as someone with multi-NYC-marathon experience).

Upper West Side

While the Upper West Side has far fewer hotel options than other spots in the city, if you can snag one, you will be so grateful you did on race day.

The race finishes in Central Park and ultimately forces you to walk further uptown and pop out near 70th Street (ish). So, having a UWS hotel will be the closest option upon exiting the race area.

Anywhere in Close Proximity to the 1, 4, 5, or R Lines

If you’re taking the Staten Island Ferry for race-day transit, staying at a hotel near any of the 1, 4, 5, or R lines will be a great option.

All of those lines have stops that take you directly, or close to, the ferry terminal. The more transfers or transit time you need to get to the terminal, the less sleep you get on race day.

Where to Stay for General Travelers on Marathon Weekend

If your travel group doesn’t include any runners, it doesn’t really matter where you stay in New York City during the marathon weekend. With one caveat…

You do NOT want to stay near Columbus Circle. The handful of blocks around that area are largely closed, become an absolute madhouse on race day, and will probably frustrate your experience.

As long as you are more downtown than 55th street or more uptown than 65th street, you should be fine.

If you want to avoid the marathon-specific crowds, stay somewhere away from the course.

Remember, road closures are everywhere, so whether you want to view the race or not, know the city moves a little more slowly on marathon day. Avoid cars. Walk or take the subway instead!

More on that now… 👇

Getting Around NYC on Marathon Day

Let us say this as clearly as possible: do NOT get in a car on marathon Sunday, or even the evening before in some cases.

The road closures make navigating across the city a nightmare, even more so than usual.

Instead, take the subway. While certain routes may be a bit crowded due to spectators traveling to specific viewing points, the subway is the best way to get around the city on race day.

While you may run into some station closures closer to the Columbus Circle area, everything else usually runs as normal.

Brush up on our tips for riding the subway, and more importantly, download our free NYC Transportation Guide. The 50+ pages cover:

• Successfully navigating the subway
• Getting to & from the major airports
• Hailing taxis
• Walking
• Biking & more

Get it for free here.

You’ll Have to Check It Out – Gurumé

I’m a sucker for tapas restaurants, especially when traveling with a group. You get tastes of a plethora of dishes, usually at a fair price.

Gurumé brings the world of Korean food into the Spanish tapas tradition, conveniently located near Broadway shows (see location here).

Dishes you must try at Gurumé include:

• Crispy corn & cheese (our top choice)
• Baby back ribs
• Fried chicken wings (perfectly crisp)
• Any of the desserts

Plus, they have an unbelievable happy hour every day with cocktails, beer, and wine (Tue-Thurs 5-7 pm & Sunday 3-5 pm).

From their website and head Chef Joon Hyun Ryu:

“With Gurumé, Chef Joon hopes to offer an escape for visitors on cloudy days to block out the chaos in their lives, have a perfect bite, and momentarily forget about their troubles.”

Learn more about Gurumé and check out their full menu here.

Best Places to Watch the NYC Marathon

One person’s best place to watch the marathon might be another person’s nightmare scenario.

Know this, crowds will be heavy at most major points along the marathon route. On average, the marathon draws over 1,000,000 (that’s a million) spectators throughout the five boroughs.

The best place to watch the NYC marathon will also depend on where you’re staying. The beauty of this race is that you can go to any point of the race route and cheer people on.

Out of the 26.2 miles, there are crowds throughout about 20 miles of the race. With that being said, here are some of the most fun and energetic places to watch the NYC marathon runners:

• Central Park
• Central Park South
• 5th Ave in the lower 100s or upper 90s
• 1st Avenue
• Bedford Avenue
• Atlantic Terminal/Barclays Center
• 59th Street near the Queensboro Bridge

This map shows the full course, including which subway lines stop near major spectating points.

I’ve run the race multiple times and spectated multiple times as well. Our favorite is to:

• Watch along 1st Avenue in the 80-100s range, usually, runners are still alive and thriving at this point, and the energy along 1st Avenue is usually top-notch
• From there, walk to either 5th Avenue to see them around mile 22/23, OR head deeper into Central Park and catch them closer to the Obelisk, roughly between mile 24 & 25

We love this plan because your first interaction will be with runners who are still feeling some energy and joy, and the second touchpoint will likely be… the opposite. 😝

What to Wear

New York City’s fall weather can be all over the place. The 2022 marathon day was around 70 degrees and 70% humidity, and it was ROUGH for runners, myself included.

The following year, and most years, it was closer to 50 degrees. Our recommendation for what to wear on NYC marathon day is layers.

It’s really easy to shed jackets, warm hats, and gloves if needed. It’s a lot harder to try and keep yourself warm while standing on the race course for 30-90 minutes without proper attire.

Wear comfortable shoes and sunglasses.

Extra Tips for Marathon Day

Watching the NYC marathon is a fun, enjoyable experience, and these tips will help make it even better. Here are some important things to know for marathon day:

• Be LOUD – This is one of the few times in your life where screaming, cheering, and making as much noise as possible will boost the morale of participants, in this case, runners
  • Yell people’s names who have it written on their gear/bib, they put it there for a reason 😁
• If you want to be helpful, have things to give runners. Some amazing on-course items I’ve seen handed out include:
  • Tissues/Kleenex
  • Vaseline (IYKYK)
  • Fruit of any kind, but especially banana halves
  • Candy for a sugar boost
  • Small water bottles (this is the best)
• Be courteous to runners & the course – Your desire to cross the race course should never interfere with people who have trained for months and don’t want to be weaving between spectators
• Make sure to download the NYC Marathon app to track runners
• People love making creative and hilarious signs; it’s a fun way to give runners a boost of morale during the race

NYC Marathon Spectator Guide Recap

Being a spectator at the NYC marathon is a phenomenal experience, and may even inspire you to run the race one day (that’s what happened to me)!

By following these tips, you’ll know to avoid taxis on marathon day, have the best spots to watch, and feel confident for your race day experience.

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