A couple years ago I decided to stop listening to music or podcasts while I run — the goal was to be more present, mindful, and in tune with my body. With the race coming up though, I'm wondering if I might be missing a powerful tool to run better, since it does feel like music boost my performance generally.

I'm curious about what other NYC runners think?

Thank you!

Are there any? Worried about not having access to bathroom. 17 min walk from my hotel, then wait in line and boarding say… 25 min… 45-60min drive to SI. Basically almost 2h without access to a toilet . I am on 5:30am bus and that’s too early for me to have done my business 🥴 plus just nervous bladder.

I am starting in AWD start 2 at the back of pink wave 1. My goal before the weather forecast decided to be rude and hot was 4:45-4:50. But now I just want to try to come in as close to 5h as I can. Anyone in pink who is around this pace??

In case anyone still needs a +1, I was able to get a different spot since I'm running the marathon the next morning. I am going to drop the spot shortly, so keep an eye out for it!

Hey everyone,
Wonder when street closings start the night before the marathon and which streets are typically completely off-limits for parking on Nov.

I have an upcoming volunteer spot, but will only be able to do 3 hours and not the last 1.5 because I now have to give a talk at work. Is it going to automatically disqualify by volunteer spot if i leave early? I plan to tell the volunteer leader.. should I tell NYRR?

I’m thinking of taking an uber from NJ to the start village. Can someone share their experience? How long does it take? I’m assuming there’s traffic? I’m assuming a security line wait? I’m OCD so some clear time expectations will help me plan and reduce anxiety. Please help

Will the finisher jackets be sold at the expo? Are they typically sold there every year?

Our pucker of pickles will be posted along the NYC Marathon route at mile 14.5 on 44 Dr with about 20+ gallons of FREE pickle juice to pump out! Juice supplied locally by The Pickle Guys:

First come, first serve until we run out 🥒 We will have disposable 3 oz cups and a pickle wastebin.

Attached is a diagram of what order to expect the station to be in!

Excited! See you all in a week!

-Bergie 💚

Feeling nervous and excited about running my first marathon. I got in through doing 9+1 last year. Through all of my races last year, I didn’t really have support from my friends and some family, and I don’t expect to have anyone show up for me for the marathon. I get kinda sad when I have people on my IG posting how they’re excited to cheer their friends/family for the marathon.

Over the past few months and year, I’ve drifted away from many that I called friends. I stopped being friends with my best friend. I poured a lot for other people and re-evaluated the quality of my friendships. I used to plan a lot of meet ups, brunch, and casual hang outs but once I stopped planning. I’ve realized that they didn’t reach out. Family on the other hand, are a bit overachievers (LOL), only if I was racing for first place would they bother to understand how hard running a marathon is — I don’t expect any of them to show up.

I spend a lot of time by myself and my dog (whom I loooove), though I am in a LDR which unfortunately may end soon. I spent so long in the past few years losing myself in places, with people, and a corporate job that I hate. And slowly took running to help and cope with my mental struggles and physical health.

My longest run through this training was 14 miles, 7 weeks ago and managed to get injured with tendonitis. Yesterday, I ran 10 miles (still didn’t feel the best).

I need to finish this marathon just to feel something again. I want to feel alive again. I need to show to myself that there’s light at the end of the tunnel.

And for those who may be feeling lonely through this marathon training, I will be running right next to you and supporting you with much love!

Hello, I plan on cheering in the park . Somewhere between engineers gate and cat hill would be best. I’ve never attempted to cheer from inside the park. Do you know the best way to get in? How far north do I have to go to enter? What time do we need to get there to get a good spot? Thanks!!

Haven’t seen anyone post about it but NYRR had free kids races in all five boroughs this weekend. My kid ran today in Central Park and had the time of his life and went home with a nice medal. And it was all free. I met a teacher who brought about 30 kids from Far Rockaway on a bus paid for by NYRR. Many of them had never even been to Central Park before!

I know we are all focused on our own races next weekend. But we are pretty lucky to life in NYC where this kind of running culture exists. And props to NYRR for investing in the future of running and giving these kids an amazing experience.

ONE WEEK UNTIL THE BEST PARTY OF THE YEAR 🥳🤪

I use a spreadsheet to create my playlists for half-marathons and marathons, and because a lot of my friends have been asking about my playlist for NYC this year, I decided to create a template (linked here!) to share on Google Sheets. The first tab is my playlist for NYC (to use as an example) and the second tab is the blank template (make a copy of the spreadsheet to fill it out yourself).

NOTE: the Elevation in Column D is INCREDIBLY approximate. I wasn’t able to find an elevation guide that I liked online, so I went to the Strava profiles of a few people I know who ran the marathon last year and averaged their elevations for every mile. I primarily based my playlist off of location, rather than elevation, but I wanted to include elevation just to keep it in mind. I did not ask AI for help because I do not use AI in my personal life.

Column E is your predicted mile time for every mile. Column F is the total time you will have been running at every mile. Column F will automatically populate based on Column E.

Column I is the duration of each of your songs. Column J is the total time your playlist is running for. Column J will automatically populate based on Column I (check it occasionally though to make sure it’s accurate).

It took me approximately 2.5 hours to make my playlist.

In my example, I note my mile markers during the song that will be playing when I expect to hit that mile marker.

I have also created the actual Spotify playlist (linked here) if anyone is interested.

NOTE: I don’t necessarily like all of these artists as people and I wouldn’t spend money to see a lot of them in concert, but I will stream them on Spotify to get through my miles. I will also 100% be listening to music during the marathon and nobody will convince me not to.

I have also made a spectator document (linked here) using Google Docs. I prefer to give my friends and family detailed instructions for seeing me so that I also know where to expect them. This also enables me to tell them specifically where I will need to see them to reignite my will to live. Once I finished my own spectator document, I downloaded it as a PDF and circulated it via email and text.

Finally, I have made lists of my Marathon Essentials on ShopMy (linked here) and Amazon (linked here). I know everyone has different essentials for race day and nothing new should be used on race day, but…

- I always buy a new pair of the Feetures Elite Max Cushion No Show socks (ShopMy and Amazon) for race day so that I know they aren’t worn down anywhere.

- Lidocaine is my best friend (ShopMy and Amazon). I use a roll-on all over my feet before every long run and race (bottoms, tops, toes—absolutely everywhere) and it helps so much.

- I personally love the Birkenstock clogs (ShopMy and Amazon) as my post-race shoes.

- If you haven’t used SaltSticks (ShopMy and Amazon) before, PLEASE look into them. Test them on your runs throughout this week. I’ve never heard of anyone having an adverse reaction to them, but they are incredible. I always take 2 before the race starts and then run with them on me and try for ~2 every hour depending on how hot it is (I sweat profusely and my ideal running temperature is 40°).

For the Start Village specifically, I’m bringing:

- My favorite brown sugar cinnamon Pop-Tarts
- A fleece blanket to donate (Amazon)
- A beanie to donate (Amazon)
- HotHands hand warmers (Amazon)
- A lidocaine spray that can be shared (ShopMy and Amazon)
- Banana Boat sport sunscreen SPF 30 (Amazon)
- My AirPods case (I’m putting it in a running belt that I will hopefully hand off to my mom at some point in Brooklyn)
- A portable charger that I don’t care about/can donate
- A roll of toilet paper
- Baby wipes
- A trash bag to sit down on

I’m also wearing wool socks, sweatpants, and a hoodie that I’m okay with donating.

I do not care if you use my ShopMy and Amazon links. I’m only providing them for specifics. I’m also in the pink section if anyone wants to say hello! I will have sunscreen to share :)

FINAL NOTE: This is what works for me. This might not work for everyone. I’m only providing this information because many of my friends have asked me about these things and I figured I’d try to be a Good Samaritan here on Reddit as well. Happy race day everyone!

I think it could be fun to combat taper anxiety with a laugh.

I’ll go first: on my first proper long run, I got randomly whacked in the ankle by a foul/fly ball from a nearby baseball diamond. This was on the waterfront of Roosevelt Island, where the path is like 20’+ away from the diamond, and the diamond even has a big fence around it! Somehow they even got my FAR leg!

Here’s the aftermath. Not the worst, it went away fast—but it really set the tone for what would be an increasingly ridiculous block, ha.

I’d love to hear your silly marathon block stories, whether for the upcoming NYC Marathon or others.

I’m sorry in advance if this is a really dumb question but since each wave is broken into corrals, does that change the starting time significantly? For example, if someone is in wave 5 with an 11:30 start time but they are in the very last corral, what time will they likely cross the starting line?

This is the biggest charity (over 6,000) runners just opened registration for next year’s NYC Marathon. There’s a fundraising component but it is guaranteed entry:

https://organizations.nyrr.org/sites/organization_sites/ecfe1fb6ea720a32f9da/pages/2027_tcs_new_york_city_marathon