The New York City Marathon will debut this Sunday, November 1, with a small change to its course. For the first time since 2011, the organizers have altered the route, specifically in a stretch in the Bronx between kilometers 20 and 21. A punctual modification that breaks 15 years of continuity in one of the most recognizable routes in world athletics.
The change affects roughly a mile and its main objective is to reduce the race’s impact on the residents of Mott Haven. The previous route forced runners to make seven turns in this sector, surrounding a block where a supermarket and a laundromat are located. Traffic closures had made access to these establishments difficult for residents for much of the day.
With the new configuration, participants will cross the Willis Avenue Bridge and turn left onto East 135th Street before joining Alexander Avenue. Instead of turning onto East 138th Street, they will continue to East 141st Street, where they will turn left onto Third Avenue and then rejoin East 138th Street to cross the Madison Avenue Bridge. The number of turns is reduced from seven to five.
50 years of a route that made New York a focal point
The modification arrives in a very special edition for the American race. In 2026, 50 years will have passed since the New York City Marathon began crossing the city’s five boroughs. The first edition was held in 1970, but during its first six years the race ran entirely through Central Park. It was in 1976 when it moved to the streets of New York, with a start in Staten Island and a route through Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx and Manhattan.
That decision transformed the marathon’s identity and helped turn it into one of the most recognizable races on the planet. Half a century later, the course maintains its core essence, with the start on the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge and the finish in Central Park, although it now includes this small adjustment in the Bronx. A change of just a few turns that carries special meaning in the year when half a century of history of the five-borough route is celebrated.
Precisely about the appeal of this race, its history, and everything that makes it a distinctive event, we discuss in our special roundtable on the 2026 New York City Marathon.
