What You Need to Know Before Watching the 2018 New York City Marathon

On Sunday, November 4, an expected 52,000 runners will take to the streets of New York City for the 2018 TCS New York City Marathon, an iconic 26.2-mile event that draws elite and amateur athletes from around the world to race through all five of the city’s boroughs.

It’s the largest marathon in the world—and also a “five borough block party,” Peter Ciaccia, TCS New York Marathon race director, tells SELF. Each year, nearly 2 million spectators line the course (in certain locations, the crowds are 4 or 5 people deep) for the race that celebrates the beauty of New York and showcases the “fabric of the city,” says Ciaccia.

If you live in or near the Big Apple, watching the festivities in person is a seriously cool and inspiring bucket-list experience. And if you're elsewhere, you can still partake in the action. Here, everything you need to know about this year's competitors, the epic course, and how and when to tune in.

The race draws elite runners from around the world, with many in contention for the win this year.

The NYC Marathon is one of six World Marathon Majors, the largest and most renowned 26.2-mile races across the globe. That means many of the top elite runners, both in the U.S. and elsewhere, toe the line in NYC every November. This year is no exception. ”The field is rich, stacked, and fierce,” says Ciaccia.

On the women’s side, there is a “hell of a field,” says Ciaccia, including a strong contingent of Americans who Ciaccia says the running community has dubbed the “wonder women.” The group includes Shalane Flanagan (2017 NYC Marathon winner), Des Linden (2018 Boston Marathon winner), Molly Huddle (3rd in 2016 NYC Marathon), Allie Kieffer (5th in 2017 NYC Marathon), Kellyn Taylor (8th in 2017 NYC Marathon) and Stephanie Bruce (10th in 2017 NYC Marathon).

The American women will face strong international competitors, like Kenya’s Mary Keitany—“probably the most experienced runner in NYC,” says Ciaccia—who won the race in 2014, 2015, and 2016, and came in second last year. Ketany will be joined by fellow Kenyan Vivian Cheruiyot, winner of the 2018 London Marathon.

Top contender’s in the men’s race include Kenya’s Geoffrey Kamworor, who won the NYC Marathon last year in his debut race at the marathon distance. “He has trained with and been mentored by Eliud Kipchoge [the Kenyan runner who last month broke the men’s world marathon record],” says Ciaccia. “Word is that he is in unbelievable shape.” There’s also Kenyan-born American runner Bernard Lagat, a foour-time Olympian who will be making his debut in the marathon distance.

On the wheelchair side, Marcel Hug and Manuela Schär—both from Switzerland and the respective men’s and women’s winners from last year—will race again this year. Schär recently smashed the push-rim wheelchair world record at the 2018 Berlin Marathon last month.

There are several factors about the NYC Marathon that set it apart from other major races.

As mentioned, the course winds through all five of the city’s boroughs, from the picturesque start line on the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge in Staten Island to Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan, the Bronx, and back into Manhattan for the iconic finish line in Central Park.

Unlike the fast, flat courses of other World Major Marathons, including the Berlin Marathon and the Chicago Marathon, NYC is neither flat nor fast.

“The course has its challenges right from the get-go,” says Ciaccia. The first two miles spanning the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge mark “the toughest part of the course,” he says, as the elevation reaches its highest point of the entire course. Runners will cross four other bridges along the way—”there are little nuances to all of them,” says Ciaccia—and tackle other climbs both big and small, including the “deceiving” incline at mile 24 on 5th Avenue (“it’s very subtle, but it’s a climb”), plus rolling hills for the final 2 miles of the race as runners weave through Central Park. “It’s undulating,” Ciaccia says of the topography.

On top of that, much of the course is on wide, open streets, which means runners have little shelter from the wind and any other weather elements that may come into play (it will be November, after all).

Runners with a combination of patience, hill experience, and strong finishing power will be well-suited to tackle the challenging course.

Because of its varied topography, runners who have previously run the course, like Ketany, Huddle, and Flanagan, are at an advantage. “If you’ve been here a few times, you have a good feel for the course,” says Ciaccia. “If it’s your debut, it’s really tough. You really have to be a student of the course and know where the tangents are.”

Experienced cross country runners, like Cheruiyot and Kamworor, who have both won titles at the World Cross Country Championships, are also well positioned for success. “Our course is suited for that because of the hills, turns, and climbs,” says Ciaccia. Leg speed and a strong finishing kick through the final stretch in Central Park are helpful, too.

The most important thing, though, says Ciaccia, “is to have a little patience and hold back a little bit.” That’s part of the strategy, he explains.

If you live in NYC or will be visiting on November 4, here’s how you can catch the action IRL.

The entire course, except for the Queensboro Bridge at mile 15, is open to spectators, says Ciaccia. To join the most raucous cheering sections, go to Flatbush Avenue and 4th Avenue in Brooklyn or 1st Avenue in Manhattan. “The crowds are crazy, crazy there,” says Ciaccia. Beyond that, more than 120 bands and 16 performance stages will be set up along the course, and up to 15 jumbotrons broadcasting the race in real time will be placed throughout the city.

Scope the official course map here, and download the TCS New York City Marathon App for more information. Through the app, you can also track an unlimited number of individual runners with live splits every mile and 5K, plus predicted finish times. You can also track runners and view unofficial results on race day via this webpage.

Not a New Yorker? Here’s how you can watch the race from afar.

The race will be broadcast live on race day, Sunday, November 4, from 9:10 A.M. to 2 P.M. EST on ESPN and ABC. Again, downloading the app is your best bet for tracking individual runners and catching real-time updates.