New York City Marathon Pace Calculator

The New York City Marathon course

8 m net uphill (16 m → 24 m).

On an elevation chart New York nets out to nearly nothing — 16 m at the start, 24 m at the finish — but the chart hides the delivery mechanism: five bridges, each a separate tax. The Verrazzano opens the race with a ~3.7% climb to its apex and a ~4% dive into Brooklyn, and that dive is the most expensive gift on the course: quads shredded in kilometre three send the invoice on Fifth Avenue. Fourth Avenue rolls gently for 16 km and decides more New York races than any bridge — settle, cut the tangents, resist. The Pulaski lifts you into Queens at halfway; then the Queensboro serves the loneliest stretch in the majors, a long ~3.3% climb with no spectators allowed, ending in the sudden roar of First Avenue, where surging feels mandatory and never is. The Willis Avenue bridge at mile 20 is the steepest short pitch of the route, and from mile 23 Fifth Avenue tilts upward in a slow grind toward Central Park's rolling roads and one final rise to the line. The decks are exposed, too — in a blustery November the bridges cost more than any profile admits.

Course segments

• Verrazzano Bridge climb (Start–1.2K) +2.8% · +33 m

  The gun fires straight into a ~3.7% climb to the highest point of the entire race. Let the opening split be ugly on purpose — every runner on the bridge is paying the same toll.

• Verrazzano descent into Brooklyn (1.2–3.3K) -2.0% · −41 m

  Down the far side at roughly 4%, with 39 km still to go — the descent where New York quietly collects its victims. Short strides, soft knees, and a pace only a touch under goal.

• Brooklyn — Fourth Avenue (3.3–19K) flat · −8 m

  Sixteen kilometres of gently rolling Fourth Avenue, loud and quick — the zone where more New York races unravel than on any bridge. Settle onto the printed split, cut every tangent, and save the theatrics for Central Park.

• Pulaski Bridge into Queens (19–22K) +0.3% · +8 m

  The Pulaski Bridge hoists you into Queens right at the half. It is a short climb, so give it the seconds it asks for, and judge your halfway split on the far side rather than on the span.

• Queensboro Bridge to First Avenue (22–27K) +0.1% · +6 m

  The Queensboro is the race's quietest stretch and its most honest: a ~3.3% grind at miles 15–16 with no crowd to carry you. Climb patiently, and when First Avenue erupts below, hold the table's pace instead of the crowd's.

• First Avenue, Willis & the Bronx (27–35K) flat

  First Avenue runs slightly downhill and reads like an invitation — decline it. The Willis Avenue bridge at mile 20 is the steepest short ramp of the day, and the Bronx miles beyond it are where discipline gets audited.

• Fifth Avenue climb & Central Park (35–42.2K) +0.1% · +8 m

  From mile 23, Fifth Avenue rises so gradually it looks flat on television and feels endless in the legs. Shorten the stride, hold the effort, and keep a reserve for the rolling park roads — the course tips up one last time before the finish.

Race-day weather

The New York City Marathon is run in November. A typical race morning is around 53 °F with a dew point near 40 °F (a temperature-plus-dew-point sum of 93), so no heat penalty in a typical year. If the forecast is warmer than usual, slow your goal with the heat-adjusted pace calculator before race day — heat is the most common reason a goal pace falls apart.

How this plan is built

Splits come from an even-effort, grade-adjusted model: your goal time is spread across the course by each segment's energy cost, so you hold the same effort up the hills and down them instead of chasing one flat clock pace. See the generic marathon pace calculator for a course-blind even pace, or browse marathon pace calculators by course for other majors.

Sources

• NYC Marathon course & elevation profile TCS New York City Marathon course guide (Marathon Handbook) — five-borough route, bridge grades and ~288 m total ascent.
• Metric elevation profile & bridge grades Run Ready — TCS NYC Marathon metric elevation analysis (Verrazzano ~3.7%, Queensboro ~3.3%, Willis Avenue ~6.5%).
• New York November climate (temperature & humidity) Weather Spark / NWS Central Park — average early-November weather for New York City (used to estimate race-morning temperature and dew point).
• Even-effort pacing (grade-adjusted cost) Minetti, Moia, Roi, Susta & Ferretti (2002), “Energy cost of walking and running at extreme uphill and downhill slopes”, J. Appl. Physiol. 93(3): 1039–1046.
• Race-day heat & humidity adjustment Mark Hadley / Maximum Performance Running — temperature + dew-point pace-slowdown method (air temp °F + dew point °F → % slowdown band).

Course split estimates use public profile information and the target you enter. Real race execution still depends on training, fueling, weather, crowding, and pacing discipline; this is planning help, not medical or coaching advice.