Marathon Handbook: Crowding and Fifth Avenue Incline Affect NYC Marathon

61,018 official finishers ran the 2026 New York City Marathon, facing crowding at specific bottlenecks including the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge and the Queensboro Bridge. According to Marathon Handbook, these pressure points fluctuated as waves of runners moved through the city throughout the day.

The Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge Bottleneck

The density of the race field was highest at the very start. Minutes after each wave was released, the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge experienced significant congestion, with as many as 1,429 runners occupying a single 100-meter stretch of the roadway. This early-race density occurred before the field had the necessary space to spread out, making it the most crowded section of the entire 26.2-mile course.

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Pressure Points on the Bridges

As the race progressed toward midday, the focus of course congestion shifted to the Pulaski and Queensboro Bridges. Marathon Handbook reported that the Pulaski Bridge saw a density of 289 runners per 100 meters at 12:23 p.m. Shortly thereafter, at 12:42 p.m., the Queensboro Bridge reached a peak of 299 runners per 100 meters.

While these figures highlight where the most runners were packed together, the data suggests that crowding does not always equate to a direct loss in speed. For example, the Queensboro Bridge crossing cost runners very little in terms of pace, aside from the expected fatigue-related slowing that typically happens in the late stages of a marathon.

The Steep Cost of Fifth Avenue

Runners lost the most time on the incline of Fifth Avenue at mile 23 rather than on the narrow bridges. Data indicates that the median runner ran this climb 16.5 percent slower than their pace during the first half of the race. This represents a 4.5-point increase in time loss compared to the miles immediately preceding and following that climb.

The finish line in Central Park saw its own surge of activity, with the busiest minute of the day occurring at 2:20 p.m. During this window, 251 runners crossed the finish line.

The official count from the event included 61,018 of the 61,060 participants who completed the course, encompassing professional athletes and early starters with disabilities. The remaining 42 participants were excluded from the specific density analysis due to incomplete split times or missing bib numbers.