The information below is for 2024. It will be updated when the 2025 information has been published.
Below is the start procedure. New for 2021 is that it was one more wave, making it 5 waves.
Remember that Daylight Savings Times ends 2am November 2, 2025. That means that you have to set your watch 1 hour back (usually done automatically) and you get one hour extra sleep.:)
The US Senate has passed bill saying that it will be permanent DST from 2023. But it still has to be passed by the House of Representatives and signed by the President.
Regular backpacks and bags (other than the clear plastic bag you will receive at the Expo) are not allowed into Fort Wadsworth or on the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge. Hydration backpack/vest is allowed. If your vest allows for both water bottles and a bladder/water reservoir, you are only able to use bottles and they must be in the front pockets of the vest. Fuel belts and hand-held water bottles are allowed. All water bottles must be 1 liter or smaller.
When you arrive at the starting area at Fort Wadsworth, go to the area corresponding to your start color (Blue, Orange or Pink). Here is a map of the start area and a photo of how the start looks with the Blue, Orange and Pink start. You get a larger version by clicking on the photos.
Then, get in line for toilet. The lines may be quite long.
A free breakfast consisting of tea, Water, Gatorade Endurance products, bagels, PowerBars, and Dunkin' Donuts coffee will be available in the start villages.
The start consist of 5 different waves. Each wave with about 11,000 runners. It was only one wave until 2008. That year they started using 3 waves. In 2013 it was increased to 4 waves. And in 2021 it was increased to 5 waves.
The start times for the 5 waves are: 9:10am, 9:45am, 10:20am, 10:55am, 11:30am. The following will be published to your NYRR Dashboard: Bib number, wave, corral, color and starting time. It will be published mid-October.
They assign you a wave based on your pace. These are NOT exact times, so don't trust it too much :) Also, the starting system is quite different starting in 2016. Previously every runner had to give a predicted finishing time when registering. That was the bases for the assigned start corral. From 2016 every runner who has run a NYRR race, including NYCM the last years, are automativally given a pace based on those races. That can not be edited by the runner. While those who have not run a previous NYRR race still have to give their predicted pace. Updated for 2024!
Wave 1: under 3:24 (correspontds to under 7:14 NYRR pace)
Wave 2: 3:25 to 3:45 (correspontds to 7:15 to 7:57 NYRR pace)
Wave 3: 3:46 to 4:05 (correspontds to 7:58 to 8:39 NYRR pace)
Wave 4: 4:06 to 4:35 (correspontds to 8:40 to 9:43 NYRR pace)
Wave 5: the rest
The NYRR pace is not your real pace! Here is the difference:
If you have run a NYRR race the last two years, you will find your NYRR pace on your NYRR Dashboard. It's called "Best Pace". If not, your estimated Marathon time will be there.
It's important to know that your NYRR Pace is not your Marathon Pace. That is a common source of confusion. NYRR pace is something that NYRR uses to compare times in distances from 5km to Marathon.
What they do is to take NYRR races that you have done from 5 km to Marathon, and convert the time to 10 km time using a formula. That formula is based on statistics from many big Marathons and other races.
Your REAL pace if you run a 3:30 Marathon is 8:00 per mile. But the NYRR pace, using the table below, is 7:26. That sounds reasonable since you will be able to run a faster pace on a 10km than a Marathon.
So the NYRR pace is the pace you should be able to do in a 10km. That is a good way to compare different distances, but it will never be 100% exact. That means that the NYRR pace will be faster than the Marathon pace and it will be slower than the 5 km pace.
You can calculate your NYRR pace yourself by using the table below.
You get a larger version by clicking on the table.
Each wave has 3 separate starting lines. Blue run on the right side of the upper deck of the Verrazzano Narrows Bridge. Orange run on the left side on the upper deck. Pink run on the left side of the lower deck. Blue and Pink join about mile 3.2. Orange run on the other (left) side of 4th Ave until mile 8 where all join.
Orange and Blue both run on 4th Avenue in Brooklyn from mile 2.4 (and Pink from mile 3.2). But be aware that Orange run on the LEFT side of the road until about mile 8 and Blue / Pink run on the RIGHT side of the road. You are NOT ALLOWED TO CROSS OVER TO THE OTHER SIDE until all join at mile 8!
It was 2 starts, Blue and Red, since I started running the race in 1978. Then they added the Pink start on the lower level in 1988. When ING joind as a title sponsor in 2003, they changed the Red start to Orange to suit ING.
I get a lot of emails from runners who discovers that they are in the Pink start and they are disappointed. That's mainly because of two things: They think that the view from the lower deck is much worse than from the top and they have heard rumors that runners on the top deck stop to pee on the bridge, and every runner on the lower level gets wet. None of these are true! The view is exactly the same, except for right above your head. And you will NOT get peed on if you don't move over to the railing on the side and lean out. A proof of that is that I have started in Pink several times even if I was in Orange. The reason is that it's less incline on the lower deck and it's less incline the first part after the bridge than Orange has.
I don't like the Orange start (see later). What I always do is that if I am assigned Blue start, I start there. If I'm assigned Orange or Pink start, I start in Pink.
Here is a comparison of the courses the first 3.2 miles / 5.2km:
Pink has the least climb and it has four 90 degree turns.
Blue has about 30 feet / 9 meters more climb than Pink. It has two 90 degree turns.
Orange has about 50 feet / 15 meters more climb than Pink. It has four 90 degree turns.
Each color has 6 corrals (A to F) where you have to line up before you go out to the start. Your corral is printed on your registration card and on your bib.
There are toilets inside the corrals!
The 6 corrals for each start (Blue, Orange, Pink) are just a way to separate the runners when they assemble before going out to the start. When the runners walk out to the start, there are no more corrals, just one large group for each start (Blue, Orange, Pink). Since corral A will walk first, they will be in the front of the start, and corral F will be in the back.
The way they decide which wave / start / corral you will be in is that they use your predicted finishing time, or your NYRR pace if you have run a previous NYRR race. You can estimate which wave you will be in using the method that I mention a little above on this page. The best runners are in wave 1, the second best in wave 2, then wave 3, wave 4, and the slowest in wave 5.
The way they place the runners in waves/corrals is based on the predicted finishing time/ NYRR pace. If you have previously finished a NYRR race they use your NYRR pace instead. They start filling wave 1 with the best runners. First, they fill Blue Corral A. Then Orange Corral A, and then Pink Corral A. Then they do the same with corral B, then C etc. After wave 1 they place the runners ranked from about 11,000 to 22,000 in wave 2. They fill it the same way as wave 1, starting with Corral A in all 3 starts, then Corral B etc.. Then the runners ranked from about 22,000 to 33,000 are placed in wave 3. Filling it like in wave 2. Then doing the same for wave 4 and wave 5.
You can run together if you have different waves and corrals by going to the corral that corresponds to the highest bib number. The opposite is not allowed!
That means that if you are assigned Blue start, you can move to Orange and Pink with the same corral letter and any corral with higher letters. And you can move to any corral in later waves. If you are assigned Orange start, you can move to Pink with the same corral letter and any corral with higher letters. And you can move to any corral in later waves. If you are assigned Pink start, you can move to any corral with higher letters. And you can move to any corral in later waves. You just go there, no reason to ask before doing it. The only time you are not allowed to go to another start is if you are in wave 5, Pink, corral F, since it's the last start.
The entrance to the corrals closes early. If you are not there, you are not allowed to start and you have to wait for the next wave! Here are the times for opening and closing of the corrals in each wave:
Corrals opening and closing times
I have now made a short video explaining the start procedure. It explains how the start is assigned (Wave, Color, Corral). And how to change your assigned corral at the start.
There are many Pace Groups. There are pace groups for every 5 minutes from 3 hours to 5 hours. And every 15 minutes from 5 hours to 6 hours. The pace groups are in different corrals. Just walk over to the pace group that you want to follow. They have large signs with estimated finish times. If you don't see a pace group in your corral, don't worry. As I said earlier, there are no more corrals on the start, so you can find your pace group there.
Here are the pace groups for 2024 and where they are in the corrals.
Your finishing time is net time. That means that your clock starts running when you cross the starting line. It may take 5-10 minutes to cross the starting line for the last runners in each wave.
They start each wave with a big cannon! And then they start playing "New York, New York" with Frank Sinatra. It's an emotional moment. One year they wanted to change it and had a live band playing when the cannon fired. That was NOT popular, and Sinatra was back the following year!
Total hits to my NYCM site since 04/28/2008:
Where are the visitors coming from? (Since 03/25/2018)
