Everything you need to know about the 2018 NYC Marathon

Everything you need to know about the annual TCS New York City Marathon

It's hard to believe that it's almost time for the annual TCS New York City Marathon, yet here it is—just a few weeks away. On Sunday, November 4, thousands of runners will once again flood the streets of New York in an endeavor to complete to 26.2-mile trek through each of the five boroughs.

The marathon will begin in Staten Island and will conclude in southern end of Central Park. If you're looking to participate, we've got some bad news: the deadline to qualify was last year, however, you can most certainly show up as a spectator and support the runners. You can bet that there will be loads of street closures as a result of the marathon, so if you're looking for intel on that, keep reading.

What time is the NYC marathon?

The marathon, happening on Sunday, November 4, will begin at 8:30 a.m. in Staten Island. Groups of runners begin at different times—the wheelchair division, for example, kicks things off at 8:30, but the final wave of runners won't get started until 11 a.m.

What's the NYC marathon route?

TL;DR version: runners begin in Staten Island and cross the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge into Brooklyn; they'll run up Fourth Avenue, then close to the Brooklyn waterfront and over the Pulaski Bridge into Long Island City; after a short run through Queens, they'll cross the Queensboro Bridge into Manhattan, heading north through the Upper East Side and Harlem; then, they cross the Willis Avenue Bridge, run through the Bronx, and then back into Manhattan over the Madison Avenue bridge; then, it's the final leg down Fifth Avenue and through Central Park, before ending at the park's southwestern end.

There's a course map that better illustrates what the route looks like.

Where can I watch the NYC marathon?

Plenty of places! The official marathon website has details on the best places to watch—namely, the ones where people celebrate the most, like Brooklyn's Fourth Avenue—but anywhere along the course is fair game.

The marathon will also be broadcast on ABC7 and livestreamed via the channel's website.

What streets will be closed for the NYC marathon?

The NYPD has released its list of street closures, and it's extensive—prepare for major closures in all four boroughs, along with lane closures on the Queensboro, Verrazzano, Madison Avenue, and Pulaski Bridges, along with the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway. The full list is here.

Per the MTA, the Verrazanno Bridge will be entirely closed to traffic from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.; the upper roadway will close at 11 p.m. on Saturday, November 3 to get ready for the event. The Central Park transverse roads at 65th, 79th, and 96th streets will also be closed for much of the day.

How can I get around during the NYC marathon?

The MTA has released a subway map with handy marathon pointers, including the best stops for major viewing locations like the 8-mile mark in Fort Greene, or the 21-mile mark in the Bronx.

According to the MTA, some stations—major ones like 59th Street-Columbus Circle, 42nd Street-Grand Central, and 42nd Street-Bryant Park, along with ones along Central Park West—will likely experience higher volume than normal on Sunday. Additionally, these are the bus routes that will experience major changes as a result of street closures throughout the city:

Brooklyn: B1, B4, B8, B9, B11, B16, B24, B25, B26, B32, B35, B37, B38, B41, B43, B44, SBS44, B45, B48, B52, B54, B57, B61, B62, B63, B64, B65, B67, B69, B70, B103, Q59, and X27.

Bronx: Bx1, Bx2, Bx15, Bx21, Bx32, Bx33, BxM2, BxM3, BxM4, BxM6, BxM7, BxM8, BxM9, BxM10, and BxM11.

Manhattan: M1, M2, M3, M4, M5, M7, M10, M15, M15SBS, BX15, M20, M31, Q32, BX33, M57, M60SBS, M66, M72, M79SBS, M86SBS, M96, M100, M101, M102, M103, M104, M106, and M116.

Queens: Q32, Q39, Q60, Q66, Q67, Q69, Q100, Q101, Q102, Q103, QM2, QM5, and QM6.

Staten Island: SIM1C, SIM2, SIM3C, SIM4C, S51, S53, and S79.

There are also a number of subway service changes this weekend; the MTA's Weekender site will have everything you need to know about those.

• TCS New York City Marathon [Official]