The New York City Marathon course is changing for the first time in 15 years, organizers announced Tuesday.
The tiny stretch of the annual race that flows through The Bronx is being rerouted to a different part of the borough for the race’s 50th anniversary, after years of complaints from residents who griped the steady stream of runners through the current course cut them off from necessary amenities.
The marathon “wouldn’t be what it is without the support of the communities the course runs through,” said Road Runners, the race’s organizing body, in a statement.
“To minimize the race’s impacts on the Bronx community as the neighborhood has evolved over the past 50 years of the 5-boro marathon, the 2026 … New York City Marathon course will include minor adjustments that will improve access to local businesses in the area.”
More than 60,000 racers will now flow through a less congested part of Mott Haven in The Bronx for their 22nd mile — and will have to suffer fewer corner turns, to boot, the Road Runners said.
This year, runners coming off the Willis Avenue Bridge will continue running down Alexander Avenue till East 141st Street rather than making a left on East 138th Street as in previous years.
The route then calls for another left on Third Avenue and a right onto East 138th Street, leading the runners onto the Madison Avenue Bridge and back into Manhattan.
The changes mean the race will completely avoid the Western Beef Supermarket and 24-laundromat on Morris Avenue, plus a major access point to the nearly 1,800 apartment units of the NYCHA Patterson Houses.
It also cuts the number of turns from seven to five in the run, which is being sponsored by the IT and consulting firm Tata Consultancy Services.
But there will be no change to the amount of race mileage that weaves in the borough. The Bronx is still only represented by a slim 1-mile stretch, although that part is widely considered the toughest of the entire 26.2 race because it’s roughly halfway through and known as “The Wall.”
The course adjustment marks the first time the marathon route has changed in 15 years.
In 2011, runners entering Brooklyn from the Verrazano Bridge were diverted around a residential block before charging onto Bay Ridge Parkway for the first time. Previously, the races went straight onto the parkway off the bridge.
The course has gone through several other changes since its inaugural race in 1970 — when runners whipped around the Central Park loop four times and then some.
More than 60,000 runners are expected to storm this year’s marathon for its 50th anniversary, making for the highest athlete total so far in its history.
