What Makes the TCS New York City Marathon Start So Special

The start of the TCS New York City Marathon is "the most spectacular start in sport” in the words of Bill Rodgers, who won the race four times (1976–79). No matter what your place on the starting line, you’ll find the start experience unforgettable.

The start, on Staten Island at the foot of the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge, is special in many ways. As the TCS New York City Marathon returns to its full capacity with 50,000 runners this year for the first time since 2019, we look at some of the unique and memorable aspects of the start experience.

Travel to the Start

Most marathoners arrive by bus and the Staten Island Ferry from locations in Manhattan and New Jersey to the staging area. This year 21,000 runners will ride the ferry; others will take 850 buses from Manhattan and New Jersey.

Fort Wadsworth and the Start Villages

The staging area, known as the start villages, is located at Staten Island’s Fort Wadsworth, a massive Civil War–era fortification adjacent to the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge. The 226-acre fort was a military base for 200 years and is now preserved as part of the Gateway National Recreation area.

The staging area is organized as three color-coded villages—orange, blue, and green—each of which leads to its own start line on the bridge. Runners in each village have room to stretch out, relax, and stay comfortable. The staging area includes 1,400 portable toilets and dozens of tents and other temporary structures to keep runners safe and organized.

Refreshments

Runners can enjoy food and drink, free of charge, while supplies last:

70,320 500ml cartons of Flow Alkaline Spring Water
250 gallons of Gatorade® Endurance Formula Concentrate
50,000 servings of Dunkin’ Coffee
6,000 servings of Dunkin’ Hot Tea/Hot Chocolate
33,000+ bagels

International Minyan and Interfaith Service

For nearly four decades, Jewish runners have held a pre-race morning service, known as a minyan, in the staging area at Fort Wadsworth. The International Minyan for Marathoners is thought to be the longest established religious service of any kind at any major sporting event in the world. Longtime organizer Peter Berkowsky noted that marathon co-founder Fred Lebow often attended the minyan, most memorably in 1992 when he ran the marathon while in remission from cancer. “Whenever he showed up, we would pause our service to offer a special prayer for his welfare,” Berkowsky said.

Interfaith services will be conducted in a tent behind the chapel located in the open area near New York Avenue and Drum Road; all are welcome.

Therapy Dogs

Runners can feel anxiety before the start of a marathon, especially one with 50,000 participants. Since 2016, therapy dogs and their trainers with New York Therapy Animals have provided calm and cheer. Paused in 2021, the service returns this year with therapy dogs in each of the start villages. “The purpose is to offer emotional support to runners while they wait for their start wave,” said NYRR volunteer team staffer Mary Haskins. 

Collection of Discarded Clothing and Other Sustainability Efforts

Runners can discard the extra layers they’ve worn to stay warm while waiting by using blue bins in the start villages and corrals. Six UPS trucks transport this donated clothing from the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge to Goodwill of New York/New Jersey.

NYRR works with vendors, our hired waste removal provider, and in conjunction with city agency partners, especially the Department of Sanitation, to divert and collect waste and sort recyclables.

Transport of Medications to the Finish

Runners can arrange in advance to drop off medications for safe and secure transport to the finish.

Elevated Lactation Experience for Nursing Mothers

New this year, to further support nursing mothers participating in the TCS New York City Marathon, NYRR is working with &Mother, a nonprofit driving change and building equality for mothers in sports, to expand its offerings and pilot some new processes. These offerings and processes build on NYRR's longtime practice of safely and securely transporting breast pumping equipment from the start to the finish of the marathon.

Learn more here and visit the &Mother information booth at the TCS New York City Marathon Expo Presented by New Balance.

Howitzer Cannon and “New York, New York”

To mark each of the five wave starts, military personnel fire a Howitzer cannon, a tradition that dates back to the late 1970s. As runners cheer and begin their 26.2-mile journey, speakers play Frank Sinatra’s “New York, New York.”

Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge

This has been the longest single-span suspension bridge in North America since it opened in 1964. Its midpoint is 274 feet above sea level, the highest elevation on the marathon course. Runners streaming across the bridge will see breathtaking views of the 26.2-mile journey in front of them and realize that the absolute best thing about the start is all their fellow runners and the incredible global running community.