How to Pace the NYC Marathon

The big day is here. The first Sunday in November. The New York City Marathon race day. You’ve been dealing with the taper tantrums for the past two weeks and now you’re going to see why that was so important. This race is challenging but if you put in the work, you’re about to be rewarded. My personal opinion is that NYC is difficult to negative split due to the course, so the following is based on attempting to run an even or slightly positive split. 

How to approach a marathon depends on your goals: how long you have been running, what your training cycle has been like, if you’ve had any injuries, and if you have a realistic marathon pace (that you have practiced) or a dream marathon pace (something that feels like you’re racing a 5k).

The Marathon Before the Marathon

The New York City marathon is one of the best races on the planet, but it is logistically tricky. Most of us have to wake up 4-5 hours before the race even starts to take a ferry or bus to the start line, and then sit on grass or concrete for hours.

Some pre-race tips:

• Eat a meal first thing upon waking and then eat your normal, pre-run meal whenever you usually eat before your long runs; this likely means you will have to bring food to the start. This will make sure you have enough carbohydrates stored in your body for the marathon and not start hungry.

• Bring throw away clothes to the runners' village. Make sure that you’re willing to throw away or run the entire 26.2 miles with whatever you bring, as there is NO BAG CHECK at race start. If you’re cold before the start, shivering burns calories which this could set you into a caloric deficit before the race.

• I DO NOT recommend doing any type of running before the marathon other than jogging in place or some simple dynamic warm-ups.  Our dynamic lunge matrix is one of my favorite drills to do to stay loose before a race. 

The First 10 Miles

The cannons go off! You should be gradually getting into your run, at or slightly slower than your goal race pace. If you go out too fast in the first 5 miles, YOU ARE GOING TO HAVE A BAD DAY. Conserve your energy, let the crowds sort themselves out and don’t waste time trying to run around people (adding extra distance) just to save a few seconds.

• Mile 1: The iconic Verrazano Bridge.

  • This is your warm up. This is the greatest elevation of the entire course so go out conservatively to not burn your hypothetical matches too early (I’ll explain what this means later). Ideally, run this mile between 20-45 seconds slower than goal marathon pace to loosen up a bit.

• Mile 2: …and then down the Verrazano.

  • Now is where you make up a little bit of time from going conservative at mile 1. Keep the effort relatively the same and run down the bridge approximately 10-20 seconds faster than goal marathon pace. You worked against gravity for mile 1; now gravity is gonna help out at mile 2. Don’t go too fast and risk burning your quads this early in the race. 

• Miles 3-10: Welcome to Brooklyn, fuhgeddaboudit!!!

  • This portion of the race is relatively flat and a lot of fun. Brooklyn has a fierce roar as you run from 4th Ave up to Lafayette & Bedford Aves. Try to stay right on that goal marathon pace within +/- 5 seconds per mile and don’t burn any extra matches. Enjoy the crowds, but don’t get caught up in the hype and start running faster than goal marathon pace, as this will cost you later. 

The Second 10 Miles

Time to check in with yourself. If you kept your goal pace, this is might start to feel a little bit harder, but there shouldn't be any cramping and you shouldn’t be seeing stars… yet. Focus on holding that goal pace now that we’re gonna get into some rollers.

• Mile 13.1: The Pulaski Bridge

  • You've reached the mid-way point of the course; your reward is a slight uphill. This is a great time to see where you’re at time-wise. Ideally, you should be exactly at that halfway split for your goal marathon (Example: Goal is 4:00, halfway mark is about 2:00). While this is a small bridge, slow your mile pace down on the uphill by 15-30 seconds to reap the downhill benefit after. 

• Mile 15ish: The Queensboro Bridge

  • We go from screaming crowds the entire race to nothing but the pitter-patter of marathoners’ footsteps on the bridge. Same rule applies here, slow your pace but keep that relative effort the same (you should not see a spike in heart rate) or else you’ll really burn those matches. 

• Mile 16: Down the Queensboro and into the Crowd Tunnel

  • Coming off of the Queensboro bridge might be one of the greatest sensations you will ever experience. I compare it to being a player running out of the tunnel at a college football game into a stadium packed with tens of thousands of people. It is bone-chilling, in the best way. This is where, just like in Brooklyn, emotion can get the best of you. 1st Ave is a very gradual hill. Stay steady with your goal marathon pace, even though the emotion from the crowd can give you a surge of energy unlike anything. 

• Mile 19.5: That Sneaky Little Bridge into the Bronx

  • Everyone barely mentions this guy but any uphill after mile 19 is worth mentioning. The Willis Ave Bridge is only about 50 ft of elevation gain, but I swear it felt hard when I ran it, so be prepared.

The Final 10K

This not-so-fun 10k is where the body may start to hurt. You might notice the legs feel heavier or tight -- that’s okay and completely normal at this part of the race. Remember, you’re not trying to go faster at this point, you’re just trying to not slow down. Hold the pace the best you can, dig into the crowd, throw your arms up and see if the cheers can help push you on to that Finish Line.

• Miles 20-22: Into the Bronx and back into Manhattan

  • This part of the race is what you’ve been training for. Marathon pace should start to feel difficult, but hold strong and focus on the path in front of you. Keep one leg turning over the other and focus on your nutrition and hydration.

• Mile 23: The 5th Ave Hill (your favorite PT clinic will be cheering here, 105th on runners' left)

  • Get ready, because a gradual, 1 mile hill spanning only about 100 ft of elevation will never hurt so much in your life. I swear I blacked out during this portion of the race in 2021, so try to really dig deep in the pain cave and hold the effort. It’s okay to be a little bit slower than GMP at this point, just keep the legs moving. Use whatever mantra, curse words or happy thoughts you need to make it up this damn hill. 

• Mile 24: Down Cat Hill

  • If you’ve ever done a race in Central Park, you know this infamous hill. But look, for once it’s here to help you! That slight 50 ft decline can help gain a few seconds back from going up the 5th Ave hill. 

• Mile 25: Out of the Park

  • After running down the east side of the park, you exit onto Central Park South (W 59th St) and across to Columbus Circle. This is slightly uphill, but you won’t notice due to the roar of the crowds. Stay calm, focused, and think “smooth form”. Another trick is to focus on your exhale (breathing out) rather than gasping for air. This will help calm your nervous system down a bit.

• Mile 26: The Finish

  • YOU GOT THIS! You're back in the park. 0.2 to go. For some reason, it’s the only uphill where you don’t get a downhill afterwards. HOLD ON HERE. Empty the tank and keep those legs moving until you get to that Finish Line!!!

Bonus: What do the matches mean?

In exercise science and coaching, we talk about a “lactate threshold”. This is typically the maximum at which you can run for 1 hour. This is highly individualized and can be a different pace for everyone. Tempo pace is what your body can hold for several hours at a moderate intensity and is usually thought of as “marathon pace”. Now, if you are running your “marathon goal pace” at a lactate threshold effort, you’re most likely going to bonk early and get cramping or extreme fatigue before the finish. This is the analogy where you “hold” your lactate threshold effort aka matches, until later in the race and not burn them too soon.