NYC Marathon 2026 Transportation: Road Closures, Airport Runs and Car Service

When is the 2026 NYC Marathon, and what does it close?

According to NYRR's official marathon site, the 2026 TCS New York City Marathon runs Sunday, November 1, 2026. NYRR reports 59,226 finishers in 2025, so this is one of the largest single-day road closures of the year in New York.

The course starts on Staten Island, crosses the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge into Brooklyn and runs north through Bay Ridge, Park Slope, Williamsburg and Greenpoint. It crosses the Pulaski Bridge into Queens, takes the Queensboro Bridge into Manhattan, heads up First Avenue, dips into the Bronx over the Willis Avenue Bridge, returns on the Madison Avenue Bridge and finishes in Central Park. Every road trip that day has to answer one question: does the route cross that line, and if so, where and when?

Closure and reopening times are set by the NYPD. The city's official 2026 closure bulletin says closures and reopenings may happen on a rolling basis, can change without notice and are at the NYPD's discretion. The closure table below comes from that bulletin.

Which closures matter most for a car? (2026 official bulletin)

The table lists the closures in the city's 2026 bulletin that most often break a normal car route. Times are for Sunday, November 1, 2026, unless noted. The bulletin also lists side streets in every borough and no-parking zones from Saturday, including First Avenue from 58th to 125th Street, so a car cannot wait there.

The 2026 bulletin also covers Saturday, October 31, when the Abbott Dash to the Finish Line 5K closes the westbound lanes of 42nd Street from Seventh Avenue to the FDR Drive from 8 to 10 a.m., Sixth Avenue from 42nd to 59th Street from 8 to 10:15 a.m., and Central Park South from Fifth to Eighth Avenue from 8 to 10:30 a.m. First Avenue from 42nd to 47th Street also closes near the start. If you land Saturday morning and your hotel is near Central Park South, time the pickup around those windows.

How do you get to and from JFK on Marathon Sunday?

JFK itself is far from the course, so the airport end of the trip is normal. The problem is the Manhattan end. The 2026 bulletin closes the Queensboro Bridge lower level from 6:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and First Avenue north of 59th Street from 7 a.m. to 10:30 p.m., and several FDR Drive exits on the Upper East Side close intermittently from 8:45 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. A JFK run to a Midtown or downtown hotel can avoid all of that. A JFK run to an address east of First Avenue in the 60s, 70s or 80s may need a walk across a controlled crossing.

Give the reservation your exact address and tell us which side of First Avenue it is on. For Brooklyn addresses, the same logic applies to Fourth Avenue, Flatbush Avenue and Bedford Avenue. Book through the JFK airport car service page with your flight number. Airport pickups include 45 minutes of complimentary waiting for domestic flights and 60 minutes for international flights, starting when the flight actually lands. We track your flight.

How do you get to and from LaGuardia?

LaGuardia trips usually reach Manhattan by the Robert F. Kennedy Bridge or the Queens-Midtown Tunnel, neither of which is on the course. The friction points are the Upper East Side and East Harlem, where First Avenue is closed and the 2026 bulletin closes FDR exits from 63rd to 125th Street intermittently from 8:45 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. The Willis Avenue and Madison Avenue bridges between Manhattan and the Bronx also close from 7:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.

If you are flying out of LaGuardia from an Upper East Side apartment, a pickup on a westbound side street near Lexington or Park Avenue is usually simpler than a door east of First Avenue. Our LaGuardia car service team can confirm a legal pickup point when you book.

How do you get to and from Newark?

Newark is the least affected airport for most Manhattan trips. The Lincoln and Holland tunnels are not on the course. The friction is at the finish. The 2026 bulletin closes Central Park West from Columbus Circle to 81st Street from midnight to 10:30 p.m., Columbus Avenue and Broadway from 59th to 77th Street from 6 a.m. to 9:30 p.m., and Central Park South for most of the day. Hotels around Columbus Circle and the southern edge of the park are the hardest addresses to reach by car that day.

For those hotels, meet the car a few blocks south, for example on a side street below 57th Street, and say so in the booking. Reserve through our Newark airport car service page.

Should you book hourly service on Marathon Sunday?

Hourly service makes sense when the day has several stops that sit on different sides of the course, or when you cannot predict when a runner will finish. The car waits on your side of the barricade instead of being rebooked each time a plan changes. Point-to-point is the better fit for a single airport transfer.

An hourly car service in New York City is priced the same on Marathon Sunday as on any other Sunday. What changes is drive time, so build slack into the hours you book. Overtime is billed for the actual additional minutes at the applicable per-minute rate for your selected vehicle. Non-airport pickups include 15 minutes of complimentary waiting. Larger groups usually fit better in a Sprinter van in NYC, which keeps everyone together through a crowded finish area.

Can a private car take a runner to the start?

It can, within tight limits. NYRR's transportation-to-the-start page strongly encourages official transportation. Runners chose a mode (Staten Island Ferry, NYPL bus or NJ Meadowlands bus) by September 8, and NYRR assigns departure times by pace. NYRR warns that taking a mode or time you were not assigned can cause you to miss your wave and may bring a warning or penalty.

For runners who still use a private car, NYRR lists McClean Avenue and Ocean Avenue as the only car, taxi and rideshare drop-off, outside Fort Wadsworth, with roughly a half-mile walk to the start villages and no parking. The car must arrive before the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge closes to all traffic at 7:00 a.m. Before 7:00 a.m., vehicles from New Jersey on the Staten Island Expressway may use Exit 14 (Narrows Road North / Hylan Boulevard); after 7:00 a.m. they must use the Clove Road exit. A chauffeur cannot get past race credentials or NYPD barriers.

Where should a car meet runners and spectators after the finish?

Do not set a pickup at the finish line. The runner has to exit the controlled area, collect any checked bag and walk out before a car can help. Pick a meeting point several blocks from the park on a street that is not on the closure list, and agree on the side of the street in advance. The 2026 bulletin closes streets on the west side of the park from 59th to 86th Street, so a point south of 57th Street or east of Fifth Avenue below 59th is often easier.

For spectators, NYRR's spectator guide says the subway is the best way to move between viewing spots, and spectators are not allowed on the course bridges. Check MTA service on race morning and the city's weekly traffic advisory in race week. A car is still useful for the legs outside that loop, such as the hotel run before a flight.

What should you send when you book a Marathon-weekend car?

• Exact pickup and drop-off addresses, with the side of the avenue for anything near the course.
• Flight number and airline for airport legs, so the pickup follows the actual landing time.
• A backup meeting point a few blocks away in case the first one is behind a barricade.
• Passenger count, bags, and the mobile number of the person who will text the chauffeur.
• Whether you want hourly standby or one point-to-point leg.

Compare vehicles on our all-in chauffeur rates page, then send the plan through Marathon weekend car reservations or call (888) 420-0177. For other event and route planning, see the Detailed Drivers blog and our NYC airport transportation guide. Sedan and SUV bookings receive a full refund when cancelled at least 48 hours before the scheduled pickup time. Sprinter bookings receive a full refund when cancelled at least 72 hours before the scheduled pickup time. Cancellations inside the applicable notice period are charged in full. If your flight is cancelled, there is no cancellation charge. These windows apply unless your quote says otherwise: event bookings and high-demand dates can carry a different window because of event pricing and availability, and your quote will state it.

NYC Marathon 2026 transportation FAQs

Sources: NYRR transportation-to-the-start and spectator pages (checked October 3, 2026); City of New York 2026 TCS New York City Marathon street-closure bulletin (checked October 29, 2026). Updated October 29, 2026.