If you’re running the New York City Marathon this fall and have every late-race turn committed to memory, there’s one small section you’ll need to relearn.
This year’s race brings the first course tweak in 15 years, though you’d be forgiven for barely noticing it. The adjustment comes in the Bronx between miles 20 and 21, where runners will take a more direct trip through the borough before heading back into Manhattan.
And honestly, two fewer turns at mile 20 probably won’t generate many complaints from the 50,000+ runners on the course.
Until now, everyone coming off the long First Avenue stretch and crossing the Willis Avenue Bridge into the Bronx eventually made a short loop around a block near East 140th Street before working their way back toward the Madison Avenue Bridge. This year, you can say goodbye to that little detour.
Instead, runners will continue north on Alexander Avenue to 141st Street, turn onto Third Avenue and then head south on 138th Street toward the Madison Avenue Bridge, trimming the Bronx portion of the marathon from seven turns to five.
The actual reason for the course tweak has very little to do with saving tired legs. The old route effectively boxed off a Western Beef supermarket and 24-hour laundromat for much of race day, making two heavily used neighborhood businesses difficult for nearby residents to reach. Jennifer Alicea, who lives in the area, told The New York Times, “This is our only supermarket,” and said trying to navigate the neighborhood around the race has become “a real inconvenience.”
Metellus told the Times that this year’s required recertification gave NYRR an opportunity to rethink that stretch of the Bronx with input from city officials and people who live there. Metellus, who grew up in the Bronx, also noted the importance of maintaining access in an area where grocery options can already be limited.
“I had some sensitivities to that because those sections of the Bronx are food deserts,” he told the newspaper.
The timing of it all does have a little extra significance, too. The November 1 race marks 50 years since the marathon first expanded beyond Central Park and traveled through all five boroughs in 1976. Before that, runners were confined to Central Park for four long loops.
As for the overall 26.2-mile tour of New York, it remains very much intact, with runners still hitting all five boroughs and crossing back into Manhattan from the Bronx over the Madison Avenue Bridge.
They’ll just get there with two fewer turns—and without making grocery shopping quite so difficult for everyone else.
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Sean Abrams was the Senior Editor, Growth and Engagement at Men’s Health. He’s a former hip hop dancer who likes long walks on the beach and large glasses of tequila. You can find his previous work at Maxim, Elite Daily, and AskMen.