Susie

Some other posts are saying how crowded it is going to be. I am taking my 11 year old son. Will the museums be even more crowded? Exactly when will the race occur? Will this interfere with taxi rides and driving out of town on Sunday? We're staying midtown between 5th and Broadway. Thanks for any help!
Susie

nyer

Museums may or may not be more crowded--many people really focus on the Marathon itself and don't visit other sites. Traffic will be aproblem--The marathon runs through all 5 boroughs and specific streets & avenues are closed off.
http://www.nyrrc.org/nyrrc/marathon/index.html for all the details

Add to that the thousands of people coming in to the city just for the day to view the event... Take mass transit if you can--in the city itself you really have no choice, but if you were thinking of driving in from a nearby area, DON'T

suzanne

It's going to be crowded around Central Park...that's where the marathon ends....right near the Natural History Museum, i believe. The marathon will go all day long. If you stay in Midtown or head downtown, you'll avoid the crowds, but regardless, driving out of Manhattan will probably be a nightmare. Take the train if you can.

Susie

Thanks to both of you. Do you think if we leave in the morning on Sunday, we'll avoid the gridlock?

John

Susie:

Race starts in Staten Island at 10 am. Then Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan 59th up first to Bronx, then back to Manhattan Central Park..finish at 63 treet near Tavern On the Green. It takes the leaders to finish in 2.10 Hrs. Then the 'death March' lasts till midnight! So...I will say get out of town around 10 am and you will be safe. After that the streets will be closing down.
JOHN

Susie

John,
Thank you so much. That is exactly what I needed to know!

grant

Well, I don't want to confuse things, but here is my experience from last year. Took advantage of a great air fare sale and the realized that it was marathon weekend - oops. Arrived Saturday AM at Grand Central Terminal using the airport shuttle bus from LaGuardia (There were 5 of us - to many to cab). 42nd street was closed because the runners were "practicing" so instead of getting on the hotel mini bus to get to our hotel from GCT as planned, we just walked (it was a nice day and kind of cool to see the race participants.) No problems as far as crowds at museums, stores, etc. We didn't leave until about 6 PM Sunday evening (normally we would have left at 7 for our flight, but we left early just incase we got into race delays), then we just went over to GCT and got back on the shuttle bus. No problem with traffic, no delays at that time. I found the city to be very organized with the race, and as soon as runners were safely through an area, the streets were back open. I would hate to see you run out of town early on Sunday morning if it is not necessary, HOWEVER, I do not want to be responsible for you missing a flight, or getting into a traffic jam, so I do think that you need to decide what is best for you and your son. Your routes may differ from ours and that could make a big difference. Good luck!