The New York City Marathon route, printed
The 2025 course, 42.195 km, from New York, United States.
- Styles
- 19 colourwaysto choose from
- 300 DPIsharp at every size
- Price
- From £24.95delivered free
- Paper
- 240 gsmsmooth fine-art paper
The 2025 course is already drawn on the map, with the distance beneath it. Add your name and your finishing time, choose a style, and preview the finished artwork before you buy. Prices from £24.95, and delivery is free.
New York starts on a bridge above the harbour and ends in Central Park, and on the way it takes in all five boroughs over five bridges, each one a climb.
The start is at Fort Wadsworth on Staten Island, and the first mile is the steepest climb of the day, up the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge with the harbour below and Manhattan far ahead. Staten Island is behind the field within minutes. Brooklyn takes up nearly half the race: a long, straight run up Fourth Avenue between packed pavements, then the brownstones and trees of Lafayette Avenue, where the separate start groups finally merge, and north through Williamsburg. The Pulaski Bridge into Queens marks halfway, and Long Island City is noticeably quieter.
Then the noise stops altogether. Spectators are not allowed on the Queensboro Bridge, and its long climb at around mile 15 is remembered by many runners as the loneliest stretch of the race. The bridge comes down onto First Avenue and the sound returns all at once, with crowds stacked deep for miles up the East Side and a slight downhill that invites a faster pace than is wise. A short loop into the Bronx follows, over the Willis Avenue Bridge and back across the Madison Avenue Bridge, and it is around here, past mile 20, that an early pace on First Avenue tends to be paid for.
The last real test is Fifth Avenue, a long, gradual climb south from Harlem along the edge of Central Park before the course turns into the park near 90th Street. The rolling park drives lead down to Central Park South, a short run along 59th Street to Columbus Circle, and back in for the finish beside Tavern on the Green. The race began in 1970 as laps of the park, with 127 starters. It went out to all five boroughs in 1976 for the Bicentennial, meant as a one-off, and the route has kept that shape ever since.
Questions
Where is the hardest part of the New York course?
Most runners point to two places: the Queensboro Bridge, a long climb with no crowd at around mile 15, and the gradual rise up Fifth Avenue after mile 22, which comes when the legs are emptiest.
Why does the course go into the Bronx for such a short stretch?
So that the race touches all five boroughs, as it has since 1976. The Bronx section is short, entered over the Willis Avenue Bridge and left over the Madison Avenue Bridge at around mile 20.
Can I add my finishing time?
Yes. The title and the line beneath it are yours to write, so your name, your finishing time and your club all fit. The 2025 course and its distance are drawn for you, and you see the finished artwork before you buy.
Is this an official New York City Marathon print?
No. Maps & Son is not affiliated with, or endorsed by, the organisers of the New York City Marathon; the name says which course is mapped. The course is drawn from a route file we use with permission.
Can I change the map?
Yes. The designer opens with the course drawn and the map framed around it. Move the map if you like, choose from 19 styles, and preview the finished artwork before you buy.
How much does a race route print cost?
Prints start at £24.95, printed on 240 gsm smooth fine-art paper, with delivery included to the UK and 25 other countries. Sold as A4, A3, A2 or A1 prints, unframed, at standard sizes so a ready-made frame will fit.
Other courses
Maps & Son is not affiliated with, or endorsed by, the organisers of the New York City Marathon. The course is drawn from a route file we use with permission. For the race itself, see the organisers' website.