Marathon Sunday reshapes transportation across the entire city, not just along the 26.2-mile route. Bridges close, buses reroute, and a huge share of Manhattan effectively shuts to car traffic for much of the day. Whether you're running, spectating, or just trying to get across town for something unrelated, the subway becomes the only transportation option that reliably works — everything else is a gamble.

Getting to the start: ferry vs. bus

Runners reach the Staten Island start through one of a small number of official routes: the Staten Island Ferry from Lower Manhattan followed by a shuttle bus, a direct bus from a Manhattan pickup point, or a New Jersey bus option. There's no public parking or general drop-off near the start, so these organized options aren't just convenient — they're effectively the only way in.

Road and bridge closures citywide

Every bridge the course crosses closes to vehicle traffic for a large chunk of the day, and the streets along the route close in a rolling pattern as the field passes through and reopen borough by borough as the last runners clear each section. This isn't limited to the immediate course, either — crossing certain bridges or driving through affected neighborhoods can mean lengthy detours even if your destination has nothing to do with the race.

The subway is your best friend

With so many streets and bridges closed to vehicles, the subway is by far the most reliable way to get around on race day, both for spectators hopping between viewing spots and for runners' families trying to catch a glimpse of their runner more than once along the course. Expect some service changes and heavier-than-usual crowds at stations near the route, and build extra time into any subway trip that touches a station close to the course.

Getting away from the finish

After finishing, runners exit through a long recovery area before reaching city streets again, and the surrounding blocks stay closed to vehicles well after the last finishers come through. Rideshares and taxis are generally difficult to arrange anywhere near Central Park for hours after the race; walking to a subway station outside the immediate finish footprint, even a longer walk than feels appealing post-marathon, is usually faster than waiting for a car.

The short version: treat marathon Sunday like a subway-only day, plan routes that avoid the closed bridges entirely, and build in more time than usual for every leg of your trip, whether you're racing or watching.

A few practical habits worth building in

Whatever your role on race day, a few habits make the transportation puzzle easier: download and set up any official runner-tracking tools in advance so spectators aren't fumbling with an app mid-crowd, agree on a specific meeting point rather than a general area for after the race, and build noticeably more buffer time into every leg of your trip than you would on a normal day. The single biggest mistake both runners and spectators make on marathon Sunday is assuming a trip will take as long as it normally would.

If you're new to the city, it's also worth a short practice trip on the specific subway lines you'll need in the days beforehand, just so race morning isn't the first time you're navigating an unfamiliar station under time pressure.

For visitors unfamiliar with the city, it's worth spending a little time before race weekend simply learning which subway lines connect to the neighborhoods you'll actually need — Brooklyn's R and N lines near the early course, the numbered and lettered lines that reach Manhattan's East and West Sides, and the lines serving Central Park's edges. A little advance familiarity pays off enormously once the crowds and closures are actually in place.

If you're traveling from outside the city, it's worth building your entire day-of itinerary around subway-accessible plans rather than assuming a rental car or rideshare will fill any gaps — on marathon Sunday, they generally won't.