NYC Marathon Alters Bronx Route in First Change Since 2011

The New York City Marathon is rerouting its Bronx section for the first time in 15 years, trimming two turns to ease the burden on Mott Haven residents.

The TCS New York City Marathon, set for Sunday, November 1, will take a slightly different path through the Bronx this year — the first course change in 15 years, according to New York Road Runners. Runners will still enter the borough over the Willis Avenue Bridge, turn left onto East 135th Street and right onto Alexander Avenue as always. But instead of turning left on East 138th Street, they will continue north to East 141st Street, turn left onto Third Avenue, then right onto East 138th Street before crossing back into Manhattan via the Madison Avenue Bridge. The redesign removes two turns, cutting the Bronx section from seven turns to five.

New York Road Runners says the change is meant to "minimize the race's impacts on the Bronx, as the neighborhood has evolved over the past 50 years," following a lengthy 2024 assessment of the course's effect on local resources. According to ForumDaily New York, the old route forced road closures around the Western Beef supermarket and a 24-hour laundromat on East 140th Street — the only supermarket in what Bronx Sole co-founder Justin Mashia calls a "food desert" — and complicated access for residents of the roughly 1,800-unit Patterson Houses complex. Mashia, quoted by Gothamist, welcomed the change: "I'm glad they're listening to the Bronxites in that community because our voices often times go unheard."

For the roughly 60,000 runners, the practical difference is small but real: ForumDaily New York notes the change comes around the 32-kilometer mark, when legs are already tiring and every turn counts, and the removal of two sharp corners smooths one of the most challenging sections of the five-borough course. Much of the South Bronx route remains familiar, and Mashia expects crowd energy to shift rather than disappear, telling Gothamist that "those blocks on 138th are filled with energy and there's no energy like big Bronx energy." A New York Road Runners spokesperson, Liv Ren, said the new route should also improve access to local businesses in the area.

The change lands in a milestone year: 2026 marks the 50th anniversary of the five-borough course, which debuted on October 24, 1976, after the marathon's first six years as a loop around Central Park. The modern route still starts on Staten Island, crosses five bridges, and finishes in Central Park. New York Road Runners landed on two redesign concepts after its 2024 assessment and stakeholder consultations, then presented them to the city, resulting in Tuesday's announcement. The race kicks off on Staten Island at 8 a.m. on November 1, when runners will test the first new Bronx routing since 2011.