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The New York City Marathon is more than just a race. It’s also a community celebration for the thousands who line up along the five-borough course to cheer for the participants.
If your role on Sunday is to cheer, here are the best places to watch the race in each borough.
Staten Island
The marathon starts here, but runners line up on the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge and run across it to Brooklyn as soon as the race begins, so there isn’t a place for people to cheer.
Some Staten Island residents put encouraging signs in their yards in case buses carrying runners from the ferry terminal pass by.
Brooklyn
After coming off the bridge, runners begin a long stretch up Fourth Avenue. The closest subway stop is Bay Ridge-95th Street on the R line. Since the subway and race both run along Fourth Avenue, you can hop on and off the R train to see runners in Bay Ridge, Sunset Park and Park Slope.
If you’re cheering with a group and need a spot that’s easy for people from all over to reach, go to Fourth Avenue and Flatbush Avenue, a quick walk from the D, N, Q, R, 2, 3, 4 and 5 trains at the Atlantic Avenue-Barclays Center stop. Walk up to Lafayette Avenue between Fulton Street and Bedford Avenue for one of the best parties along the course.
You can also catch runners at several points in Williamsburg and Greenpoint, along Bedford Avenue between Lafayette Avenue and Nassau Avenue. Take the L train to Bedford Avenue, the M or J train to Marcy Avenue or the G train to Nassau Avenue or Greenpoint Avenue.
Queens
Catch runners as they exit the Pulaski Bridge at roughly the race’s halfway mark.
This is where runners, realizing they still have as far to go as they’ve already come, can use some extra energy. You can take the 7 train to Hunters Point Avenue, Vernon Boulevard or Jackson Avenue, or the G train to 21st Street.
The Bronx
The 20-mile mark, around 135th Street and Alexander Avenueis a notoriously challenging section of the marathon where some runners can hit the proverbial wall.
Many local running clubs set up in this area to ring cowbells and cheer, so it is guaranteed to be a boisterous spot for spectators and runners. Take the 6 train to Brook Avenue or Third Avenue-138th Street, or the 4 or 5 line to 138th Street-Grand Concourse.
Manhattan
The stretch heading up the East Side — between the Queens and Bronx legs — is among the loudest sections. When runners come off the relatively quiet Queensboro Bridge, the wall of sound provides a huge energy boost.
Spectators line the course several people deep on First Avenue from 59th Street to 96th Street, so if you like cheering with a crowd, this is the spot to be. The Q subway line stops at several points along this stretch.
The crowds tend to get smaller the farther north you get — just as the race is getting harder — so runners can probably use some encouragement. North of 96th Streetuse the 6 subway line to get to this part of the course.
When runners return to Manhattan from the Bronx, they run down Fifth Avenue through Harlem.
If you want easy access to a restroom because you expect to be cheering all day, head to the Duke Ellington statue at 110th Street and Fifth Avenue. The Charles A. Dana Discovery Center on Harlem Meer has public restrooms and is a short walk from the course. You can take the 2 or 3 trains to Central Park North and walk over.
The section of the race along Fifth Avenue from 105th Street to 90th Street It is particularly iconic, with museums dotting the east side of the course and Central Park to the west. Many train lines will take you here, including the 4, 5, 6 and Q.
You should avoid saying, “You’re almost there,” unless you head to Central Park South, using the A, C, D or 1 trains at Columbus Circle or the N, Q or R trains at 57th Street and Seventh Avenue. The runners leave the park to run along its southern border before entering it again at Columbus Circle.
If you want to scream and shout as runners cross the finish line triumphantly, you can buy tickets for the grandstand event at West 67th Street and West Drive.
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