The NYC Marathon 2026 runs Sunday, November 1, and this year carries some weight. It marks 50 years since the race first left Central Park and took on all five boroughs in 1976. Around 60,000 runners are expected, more than 2 million people will line the course, and over 240,000 people applied for the lottery. If you live in Nassau or Suffolk and you are running, watching, or hosting someone who is, race day takes more planning than any other Sunday in the city all year.

I have been driving Long Islanders into Manhattan for more than 20 years. Marathon Sunday is the one day when half the routes we normally use are simply not there. Here is how to think about it.

What Makes This Year Different

The five-borough course turns 50. The race itself started in 1970 as laps of Central Park, then moved to the streets for the Bicentennial in 1976 and never went back. Last year 59,226 people finished, a world record for any marathon, and this year's field is expected to be just as big.

The pro races are worth watching too. Defending champions Hellen Obiri and Benson Kipruto are back, and Sifan Hassan is entered. If you would rather watch from the couch in Huntington, WABC Channel 7 carries it live.

One small detail that catches people every year it lines up this way: Daylight Saving Time ends at 2 a.m. on race morning. Clocks fall back an hour. An extra hour of sleep sounds nice until a runner's old alarm clock is wrong and the house is in a panic at 4:30. Your chauffeur's clock will be right.

The Course and Why It Matters to Long Island Drivers

Runners start at Fort Wadsworth on Staten Island and cross the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge into Brooklyn. From there the course runs up Fourth Avenue, through Williamsburg and Greenpoint, over the Pulaski Bridge into Queens at the halfway point, then across the Queensboro Bridge into Manhattan. It heads up First Avenue through the Upper East Side, dips into the Bronx, comes back down Fifth Avenue, and finishes in Central Park.

Look at that map from a Long Island point of view. The LIE and the Queens-Midtown Tunnel drop you on the east side of Manhattan, right where First Avenue is closed and everything parallel to it backs up. The Queensboro is part of the course. The Verrazzano is closed. Brooklyn's main north-south avenue is closed. On most Sundays you have a handful of good ways into the city. On November 1 you have fewer, and everyone else knows it too.

What to Expect for Closures

The NYPD has not published its 2026 closure list yet, so treat this as a guide based on past years. In previous races, the upper level of the Verrazzano closed starting at midnight, First Avenue was closed from 59th Street up to the Willis Avenue Bridge, and the department said closures would run roughly 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Streets usually reopen in stages as the last runners pass, not all at once.

Expect Second and Third Avenues to be heavily jammed from mid-morning into mid-afternoon. Expect Fifth Avenue and the Central Park drives to be off limits. And expect the official advice to be the same as always: take public transportation. That works for some people. It does not work as well for a runner at 6 a.m. in Suffolk County, or for the same runner at 3 p.m. who can barely climb a subway staircase.

If You Are Running

Getting to the Start

No private cars and no spectators are allowed at the start on Staten Island. Every runner gets an assigned way to get there through NYRR, and that assignment is what you follow. Check your runner info for your exact departure point and time, and plan around it.

Where we come in is the part before that. Instead of driving into the city in the dark and hunting for parking, or catching the first train out of your local station and hoping it runs on time, a car picks you up at your door in Dix Hills or Massapequa or Garden City and drops you at your assigned departure point. You eat your bagel in the back seat. You do not think about traffic or garages. You show up calm, which is worth something when you have 26.2 miles ahead of you.

Bib Pickup at the Expo

Bibs are picked up in person, with photo ID, at the Expo at the Javits Center from Thursday, October 29 through Saturday, October 31. For most Long Island runners that means a Thursday or Friday trip to Hudson Yards in weekday traffic, or giving up part of Saturday. We can do a round trip from home or from a Midtown office. If you have never been to Javits on a busy show day, our Comic Con guide covers the drop-off situation on 11th Avenue.

If You Are Watching

First Avenue, around miles 16 to 18, is where the noise is. Runners come off the quiet Queensboro Bridge (no spectators allowed up there) and hit a wall of sound on the Upper East Side. A lot of Long Island families pick a cross street in the 70s or 80s and wait there.

Getting close is the problem. If you drive in through the tunnel you land right in the backup on Second and Third. What we do instead is drop you a few blocks west, around Lexington or Park, so you walk over to First instead of sitting in it. Then the car moves out of the congestion and waits for your text.

Near the finish, the standing room inside Central Park is limited, and runners leave the park on foot to meet their families on the Upper West Side. Pick your meeting spot ahead of time and tell your driver. Phone service near the finish can be spotty with that many people in one place.

If you want to see your runner at more than one spot, our hourly service keeps the same car and driver with you all day. You watch in Brooklyn, move up to Manhattan, and meet your runner at the end without ever looking for a parking space.

Getting Your Runner Home

This is the part people forget to plan, and it is the part that matters most. After the finish, your runner has to walk out of the park, find you, and then get back to Long Island. The LIRR from Penn means more walking, more stairs, and a crowded train full of other tired runners. A garage could be blocks away, through crowds, and you still have the drive home.

We set up a pickup on the West Side, away from the crush near the finish, at a spot you agree on in advance. The runner sits down, the heat goes on, and the car heads home once the roads start to open back up. We have done plenty of these rides over the years. Most runners are asleep before the Cross Island.

Groups and Charity Teams

More than 670 charities have runners in this year's race, and plenty of companies field teams. If you are moving a team, their families, or a group of supporters, a Sprinter van from Long Island keeps everyone together. One pickup schedule, one vehicle, and nobody gets lost on the Upper West Side.

Flying In or Out That Weekend

Thousands of runners and their families fly into JFK, LGA, and Newark for the race, mostly Thursday through Saturday, and fly out on Monday, November 2. If you are hosting a runner from out of town at your house on Long Island, or flying in yourself, our JFK car service handles the arrival and the Monday departure.

Keep the closures in mind for any Sunday trip as well. With the Verrazzano shut, trips to Staten Island or New Jersey by way of the Belt Parkway need a different route, and that traffic gets pushed onto other crossings. If you have a Sunday flight out of JFK or Newark, leave extra time. We plan around the race when we schedule your pickup so you do not have to.

Book Early for Marathon Weekend

Race weekend fills up. Early morning runner drop-offs, Expo trips, and afternoon pickups all land on the same few days, and we only have so many cars. If you know you are running or watching, lock it in now.

For other games, concerts, and big nights in the city, see our NYC events car service page.

Request a quote for NYC Marathon weekend.

Rafi has been running car service on Long Island since 2005. For airport transfers, corporate rides, and event days across Nassau County, Suffolk County, and NYC, visit Infinite Car Service.

NYC Marathon 2026 (Nov 1): Long Island Guide to Race Day Closures, Drop-Offs and Pickups