NYC Marathon 2021 Guide: Course Map, How To Watch, Road Closures

NEW YORK CITY — This weekend, tens of thousands of runners will once again take to the streets for the New York City Marathon — which this year will celebrate its delayed 50th anniversary.

Though 2020 marked 50 years since the first New York City Marathon in 1970, 2021 is actually the 50th running of it. Last year's race went ahead, albeit as a virtual event after COVID-19 meant a live race was impossible. Almost 16,000 runners completed it.

But in 2012, it was canceled in the wake of Hurricane Sandy.

This year's race is on Sunday, Nov. 7. It will begin at 9 a.m., though start times are spaced out. The number of competitors has been limited to 33,000, all of whom need to prove vaccination status or have a recent negative COVID-19 test.

Race Course

The course touches all five boroughs — it starts on the Staten Island side of the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge and participants will run through Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan and the Bronx before re-entering Manhattan to finish the race in Central Park (at 67th Street on West Drive).

Nearly half of the course's 26.2 miles are in Brooklyn, and the final few miles stretch down Manhattan's Fifth Avenue before passing along Central Park South and into the park. Only a couple of miles are located in Queens and the Bronx.

Here's the official course map as provided by New York Road Runners, the group that organizes the marathon:

Anyone hoping to watch runners cross the finish line will have to purchase seating at the East Side Grandstand in Central Park, where general admission tickets are $50.

But you won't have to pay to cheer on the runners. Officials have recommended several viewing spots along the course, including along Fourth Avenue, Brooklyn (Miles 2-4); Williamsburg and Greenpoint, Brooklyn (Miles 10-13); First Avenue, Manhattan (Miles 16-18); and East Harlem (Miles 18-20).

Though the Pulaski Bridge connecting Brooklyn to Queens is closed to spectators, fans can cheer on the runners on the Queens side, located just past the race's halfway mark.

Watching from Home

Whether you live in the city, elsewhere in the United States or even in another country, plenty of options are available for viewing the race.

In the New York City area, ABC7 will broadcast the race from 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., with pre-race coverage from Fort Wadsworth beginning at 7 a.m. Viewers can also watch a livestream on the ABC App and at ABC7NY.com.

Those outside the city can watch the race from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m. via ESPN. ESPN2 will broadcast coverage, and viewers can also watch via their app on smartphones and tablets, and on ESPN.com with a subscription.

Continuing coverage will be available on ESPN3 from 7 to 8:30 a.m. and from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., and that channel will run a live view of the finish line throughout the day.

International viewers in Europe, China, South Africa and more can watch the race via global broadcast partners, a list of which can be found here.

This year, five-time Olympian Bernard Lagat and Olympic medalist Deena Kastor will join the broadcast team, along with fellow Olympian Carrie Tollefson.

Tracking runners

Anyone who wants to cheer on a family member or friend running the marathon can download the TCS New York City Marathon app, which is available for free on the Apple and Google Play stores.

Each runner will have their own page on the app, which will display a dashboard of live tracking stats and give users the option to view and order race-day photos.

Street Closures

MTA officials will close the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge to all vehicular traffic between 7 a.m. and 4 p.m. on Sunday, and the bridge's upper level will be closed to traffic in both directions beginning at 11 p.m. Saturday.

Additionally, the Central Park Transverse Roads at 65th, 79th and 96th Streets will be closed for most of the day, and buses will not be allowed to cross Fifth Avenue during the race.

More bus diversion information will become available at new.mta.info as the race progresses.